The article investigates the association of cultural similarities and differences, on the part of the representatives of contending states and mediators, with outcomes of mediation efforts in militarized disputes. A distinction is made between social culture, defined primarily in terms of religious identity, and political culture, defined according to the state's political system. Analysis of 752 mediation attempts in militarized disputes occurring between 1945 and 1995 indicates no association between the cultural identities of mediators and the success of mediation. There is evidence that similarities in social culture between disputants strengthen the prospects for successful mediation. Those effects, however, vary across cultural pairings and are largely inconsistent with Huntington's "clash of civilizations" thesis. Political cultural similarities or differences generally do not significantly affect the outcome of mediation efforts. We do find a positive association, however, between democratic dyads and successful mediation, a finding that is consistent with the cultural/normative explanation for the democratic peace.
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Address all correspondence to : Patrick Regan , Center on Democratic Performance (CDP), Department of Political Science, Binghamton University, SUNY, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA. Tel: (607) 777-2167; Fax: (607) 777-2675; E-mail: pregan@binghamton.edu .