Politics, mediation, war and peace

 War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.

 Karl (Carl) von Clausewitz (1780-1831) 

The statement that ‘war is a continuation of politics by other means’ is important not because Clausewitz said it but because it reflects a fundamental reality.

Christopher Bassford, Clausewitz in English: The Reception of Clausewitz in Britain and America, 1815-1945, Chapter 4 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994).

The fundamental reality of litigation, mediation, arbitration and trial is that each is a continuation of the other, and the best results in mediation are achieved by those best prepared for war.  Parties who attend mediation knowing the facts of their case, their likelihood of proving the facts that matter, their litigation budget, and their closing argument are more likely than not to settle.  Your ability to secure a durable settlement increases in direct proportion to your readiness, willingness, and ability to fight.  Mediation is not a place to find out the value of your case, it’s a place to find out if you’re going to settle the case you have.

To secure peace is to prepare for war.

Karl (Carl) von Clausewitz