Pauses Without Peace: What Last Year’s Ceasefires Reveal About Global Conflict Management

U.S.-led diplomacy has become effective at imposing short-term ceasefires in global conflicts but is incapable of ending them permanently. These interventions function as instruments of escalation management, creating temporary pauses without resolving the underlying political contradictions. This approach achieves a "negative peace," the absence of active fighting, but fails to build the "positive peace" required for a durable settlement. Case studies like the conflicts in Gaza and between Israel and Iran demonstrate how this strategy prioritizes risk containment over the difficult work of political reconciliation, leading to cycles of suspended violence.