This policy brief draws on the panel discussion organised by the Oxford Global Society on 6 October 2025. Panellists emphasised that mediation today is marked by a climate of disillusionment with multilateral diplomacy and intensifying geopolitical rivalry. As states invest more heavily in deterrence and defence, trust in diplomacy as a means to resolve and manage conflict has diminished. Still, the panel agreed that mediation continues to offer something unique: it preserves the possibility of dialogue in conflicts that grow more protracted each day.