Specificity of the implementation of communicative strategies in English and Serbian mediation discourse

The objective of this research is to identify the specific characteristics of mediation strategies and tactics in the context of societal division (based on English and Serbian language data). The article examines four documents united by the theme of conflict resolution in Europe, namely, the Kosovo issue concerning the status of the autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija within the Republic of Serbia. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that this is the first study of mediation discourse based on geopolitical material, where the mediator is not an authorized specialist tasked with facilitating conflict resolution, but an entire state or state body and its representatives. The study analyzes the linguistic realization and pragmatic potential of mediator strategies used in the texts. It confirms that the strategies of unification, discrediting, persuasion, and manipulation are characteristic of resolving socio-political conflicts. Within these strategies, tactics are identified that enhance communicative influence on the recipient. The analysis reveals that, in order to achieve the goals of mediation – conflict resolution – the mediator resorts to various methods, often manipulative. A characteristic feature is the identical set of discursive tools used regardless of the geopolitical position of the mediators in relation to the participants in the conflict.