After I have completed the writing of my current book, which is about the ‘Mediation of Cultural Heritage Disputes’, I am planning to write one more book about Mediation entitled – ‘The Path of Dialogue.’

The current chapter structure is as follows:

1. Why we Fight.
2. The Price of Conflict v. Peace.
3. Benefits of Mediation.
4. Competing Narratives and Conflict Analysis – Who are the Parties and Stakeholders and What is at Stake?
5. Is Mediation possible and appropriate – Are the Parties and Stakeholders ready and willing to enter into a constructive dialogue?
6. Getting onto the Path – How does the Process of Mediation work in Multi-Dimensional International Disputes and Armed Conflicts?
7. Agendas, Building Trust and Negotiating in Good Faith.
8. Ethics and Ground Rules.
9. Planning and Preparation – What are the Dimensions of the Dispute.
10. Mediation Framework – What political architecture needs to be innovated, agreed and implemented, in order to end the dispute/conflict and bring about a lasting peace?
11. Joint-development of a Road-Map for Peace.
12. Mediator Tools.
13. Mediation Advocacy Tools.
14. Settlement and Treaties.

See the ‘Path of Dialogue’ page at www.carlislam.co.uk.

Meanwhile, wishing all readers of my posts on LinkedIn a Happy and Peaceful Easter.

I am working over Easter on my next book – the ‘Mediation of Cultural Heritage Disputes.’ These are International Disputes, see my Talk on YouTube:

https://lnkd.in/e-9KagXy

I am on track to complete the research reading I have been undertaking about Mediation in International Relations in six weeks time. I am currently reading the ‘Handbook Of Global And Multicultural Negotiation’ by Christopher W. Moore and Peter J. Woodrow.

After that stage of research has been completed, I will complete my reading of books and articles about Cultural Heritage. So, by mid-August I should be in a position to finalise the Chapter Structure and embark on putting pen to paper.

I estimate that writing process will take around three months. Meanwhile, to view the current Chapter Structure, please visit the ‘Mediation of Cultural Heritage Disputes’ page at www.carlislam.co.uk.

Comments added:

• ‘Dialogue is an approach for discussing issues and interests that is used in a wide variety of cultures. Where debate is often focused on winning, constructing a stronger argument, or scoring intellectual points, dialogue is orientated toward exploration, striving to understand, and, in some cases, discovering a shared reality. Dialogue is useful for discussing issues, gaining a better mutual understanding of them, and developing solutions that meet the needs and interests of all parties. Dialogue also can be aimed simply at developing better understanding and improving relationships or actually solving problems.’ (The ‘Handbook Of Global And Multicultural Negotiation’, by Christopher W. Moore and Peter J. Woodrow, at page 253).

Humanitarian Mediation provides a diplomatic offramp by using urgent, non-political concerns, such as the protection of civilians and delivery of aid, as a neutral starting point for dialogue when formal political channels have failed.

By focusing on ‘low-stakes’ humanitarian goals first, Mediators can build the minimal trust necessary to eventually transition toward broader peace

(i) ‘Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs)’ – Mediators facilitate small, tangible actions like prisoner swaps, humanitarian corridors, or temporary ceasefires for vaccinations. These acts ‘humanize’ the opposition and demonstrate that agreements can be reached and kept without either side losing face or territory.

(ii) ‘Neutral Communication Bridge’ – When direct contact is impossible, humanitarian actors such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, serve as a discreet, impartial link to convey messages. This allows parties to test compromise ideas away from public scrutiny.

(iii) ‘Decoupling Issues’ – It separates immediate survival needs from entrenched political or territorial demands. This ‘problem-solving’ approach allows leaders to de-escalate violence under the guise of ‘humanity’ rather than admitting military or political defeat.

(iv) ‘Legitimacy and Engagement’ – For non-state armed groups, engaging in humanitarian mediation can offer a sense of international legitimacy and a seat at a table, incentivizing them to move toward more formal diplomatic processes.

Humanitarian mediation often serves as Track II diplomacy, where informal talks between non-government experts or NGOs lay the groundwork for official Track I government negotiations. Organizations like the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue explicitly use their humanitarian access to create space for broader political and security dialogue in hard-to-reach conflict zones.

While Humanitarian Mediation does not automatically end wars, it prevents total diplomatic stagnation and provides a ‘slip road’ off the path of escalation, allowing for the eventual reconstruction of the social fabric and durable peace.

See:

• Chas Freeman: World Disorder – Nuclear Weapons & World War: Chas Freeman: World Disorder – Nuclear Weapons & World War – YouTube

• IRAN WAR: Bridges, Electric Power Plants Next /Lt Col Daniel Dav is & Robert Barnes: IRAN WAR: Bridges, Electric Power Plants Next /Lt Col Daniel Dav is & Robert Barnes – YouTube

• Prof. John Mearsheimer : Will Trump Go Kamikaze?: Prof. John Mearsheimer : Will Trump Go Kamikaze? – YouTube
• INTEL Roundtable w/ Johnson & McGovern : Weekly Wrap – 3-April

See – ‘Game Theory #18: Trump World Order’: https://lnkd.in/ezc73eZ7

Extract from my 2022 post – ‘Engineering Convergence through Mediation – Can we put the Genie back into the bottle?’

‘As a guest attending the King’s College London School of Security Studies Annual Conference on the 8th and 9th June 2022, I asked a question related to what was then my research interest in ‘Transforming Geo-Political Conflict Through Mediation’.

My Q.  ‘Is understanding what lies underneath competing narratives [‘N’] the key to Mediation of a peace process in a conflict?’

i.e. can analysis of ‘N’ reveal:

(i) the philosophy and political doctrine driving a conflict on each side; and

(ii) psychological biases which are road-blocks in geo-political mediation?

Answer: I drew the following conclusions from the comments made by the speakers in reply:

(i) Mediation is not possible where a participant [‘P’], i.e. ‘P.1’ requires the destruction of the other P – i.e. ‘P.2’, because the values and interests underlying ‘N’ collide [‘C’].

(ii) Mediation is possible where they potentially overlap and can cohere.

(iii) Where a P.1 is a nuclear power [‘PN’], the use of nuclear weapons is a very real potential outcome in C – one speaker thought this was almost an ‘inevitability’ (which is what Professor John Mearsheimer has been warning since 2014 and as recently as May 2022).

Therefore, before undertaking a step in Mediation each P needs to first see the world through the eyes of the other.

If P.1 views the world through a rose-tinted geo-political lens, it will be looking inwards and not outward, in which case the outcome is likely to be strategic miscalculation, i.e. if the result is a mischaracterization of N by P.1, because P.1 either:

(i) does not understand N; or

(ii) does not believe that N is real, actually exists in the psychology of P.2, and therefore is deeply embedded in P.2’s existential political Doctrine.

This incongruence dooms Mediation from the start, because P.1 cannot even see where the ‘rails’ of the underlying and causal political dispute actually are, let alone the direction in which the train is going.’

I never imagined that four years later the US [P.1] would launch an illegal war of aggression against Iran [P.2], which could result in the use of a nuclear weapon by Israel.

Based upon the above wisdom I received at King’s, I do not believe that this armed conflict is capable of Mediation.

On the contrary, I expect the conflict to escalate and spread.

Meanwhile, I invite Mediators on LinkedIn to think about:

(i) ‘N’;
(ii) who the architects of ‘N’ are;
(iii) the underlying ‘dynamic interests’ driving the conflict; and
(iv) who is geopolitically ‘pulling the strings’ of P.1 – because I do not think that Trump is intellectually capable of ‘8-dimensional chess’, let alone of ‘Grand Strategy.’

See also – https://lnkd.in/eser7K_7

See also – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1917646267?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title, – which is my Easter weekend reading!
I wonder if such a Political Thery could in relation ‘geopolitical convergence’, advocate universal principles of global ‘Fiduciary Governance’?, which could include preservation of Cultural Heritage and Monuments, and of course the Environment – which are linked.

Note that Cultural Heritage is entwined with UNESCO’s broader mandate concerning human rights, the rule of law, development, and peace.

Cultural identity is considered to part of human dignity. It is linked to human rights because cultural heritage is of crucial importance to individuals and communities as part of their identity.

As cultural heritage requires memory, this applies to both tangible and intangible heritage, because material and physical heritage needs to be placed in both a historical and cultural context, in order to understand its value.

The cultural heritage of a people is not limited to the tangible expressions of art, architecture, religion, poetry, or writing in general but also includes its intangible heritage, which is transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity.

More generally, cultural heritage includes the expressions of the people’s spirituality, and the body of values which give meaning to life.

See also:

Joe Kent: Iran War, Israeli Influence & Creating ISIS – YouTube

AI (01,04.2026) – ‘In March 2026, allegations emerged that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers tortured an 18-month-old Palestinian baby, Jawad Abu Nassar, to coerce a confession from his father. …

According to family members, witnesses, and regional news outlets like TRT World and Al Jazeera, the incident occurred near the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza: Separation and Detention: Jawad’s father, Osama Abu Nassar, was reportedly stopped at a checkpoint, stripped, and interrogated while his son was taken by soldiers.

Physical Abuse: Reports and a medical assessment shared by the family alleged the toddler suffered deliberate cigarette burns on his legs, pricking, and the insertion of a metal nail into his foot.

Release: The child was released after approximately 10 hours through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), while his father remained in detention.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur and organizations like CAIR have cited this and other reports as evidence of systematic abuse of Palestinian detainees.’

‘I told you once that I was searching for the nature of evil. I think I’ve come close to defining it: a lack of empathy. It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants. A genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow man. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.’ (Gustave Gilbert – who was, an American Army psychologist assigned to the Nuremberg trials. After closely observing and interviewing the Nazi defendants, he reflected on his search for the nature of evil).

See also:

• ‘Aaron Maté : IDF Tortures a Baby’: https://lnkd.in/eN7mucyb
• ‘2,000 British Soldiers Serving In Israel’s Army During Gaza GENOCIDE’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbN6X1JKRh4
  
  AI (01.04.2026) – ‘British journalist and commentator Owen Jones has heavily criticized the actions of British citizens serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the conflict in Gaza, advocating for their prosecution for alleged war crimes.
  
  Jones has highlighted that British nationals serving in Israel’s armed forces are contributing to atrocities and has called for them to face legal scrutiny. He has stated that “soldiers who committed these war crimes, including Brits,” should be prosecuted, arguing that “following orders” is no excuse.
  
  The calls for prosecution of these individuals are part of a wider campaign by legal groups, such as the International Centre for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) and the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC), which have prepared reports to be filed with police regarding British citizens’ involvement in IDF operations, alleging they participated in serious violations.’
• ‘Brits Face Gaza WAR CRIME CHARGES’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62do2P5mTBk
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8LcRpbZ9qA
• ‘Torture and genocide Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967’, Francesca Albanese –
  
  ‘In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 examines the systematic use by Israel of torture against Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory since 7 October 2023, encompassing custodial and non-custodial practices that meet the threshold for genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
  
  She documents how torture has become integral to the domination of and punishment inflicted on men, women and children, both through custodial abuse and through a relentless campaign of forced displacement, mass killings, deprivation and the destruction of all means of life to inflict long-term collective pain and suffering.’
  https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session61/advance-version/a-hrc-61-71-aev.pdf
• https://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/24/headlines/un_special_rapporteur_says_israel_has_adopted_torture_as_state_policy
• ‘How can any moral person justify or support this!’: https://lnkd.in/eQfD6cm5 – ‘I expect that the image of this depraved woman [who is the Deputy Speaker of the Knesset] holding up a ‘death noose’ and symbolic ‘lethal injection’, will become a defining image of the ‘Genocidal Intent’ of the people she represents. Is this the moral cause for which mothers and fathers in America are giving up their sons and daughter to fight, and to die for?’
• AI (01.04.2026) – ‘Multiple investigations and reports have documented members of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) posting photos and videos of themselves with detained Palestinians in humiliating or abusive circumstances on social media. …
  
  Specific documented instances include an officer posting a photo of himself standing over a handcuffed, undressed hostage, and soldiers filming themselves mocking or forcing detainees into “stress positions”. …
  
  Investigations by BBC Verify and The New York Times analyzed hundreds of such posts across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. These reports found that many soldiers did not hide their identities when uploading this content.
  
  Legal experts and human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and UN investigators, have stated that filming and publishing such images may constitute war crimes as they violate international laws protecting detainees from “public curiosity” and “humiliating and degrading treatment”. …
  
  Additionally, high-profile footage from the Sde Teiman detention facility—which reportedly showed soldiers sexually abusing a detainee—was leaked to Israeli media in 2024 rather than posted by the soldiers themselves.’
• ‘Israel tortured 2 year old child, Gaza doctor testifies’: Israel tortured 2 year old child, Gaza doctor testifies

• Champagne in Knesset as Israel passes ‘racist’ death penalty law

‘Israel’s parliament passed a sweeping death penalty law targeting Palestinians on Monday, triggering widespread international condemnation – as lawmakers celebrated with champagne inside the Knesset. The bill, approved by 62 of the Knesset’s 120 members with 48 opposed and one abstention, will instruct military courts to impose capital punishment on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis in acts defined as “terrorism”. It takes effect within 30 days, and crucially, does not apply to Jewish Israelis convicted of the same crime. Far-right extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who had made the law a core condition of his party’s coalition agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appeared in the chamber wearing a lapel pin shaped like a metal noose before the vote.’

As far as I am aware Israel has become the first state in history to legislate for a death penalty that only applies to one ethnic group, which in the case of the Palestinians – are living under occupation by Israel in breach of International Law.

• ‘Trump Iran War Speech REACT /Lt Col Daniel Davis’: Trump Iran War Speech REACT /Lt Col Daniel Davis
• Bombing Iran Back Into the Stone Age /Lt Col Daniel Davis & Jim Jatras
• COL. Douglas Macgregor : US Boots on the Ground a Disaster
• The US Will TURN On Israel – Courageous Israeli Journalist Gideon Levy
• Pepe Escobar: Iran Just CHANGED the Balance of Power in the Middle East