Contemporary armed conflicts have been challenging Conflict Resolution studies regarding the means and methods used, among which mediation is one of the most used in contemporary times. This paper discusses the need for a paradigm shift regarding the approach to international mediation. It is argued that, given the particularities of contemporary armed conflicts, involving various actors, national and international, and various root causes, many of them originating from colonialism and the decolonization process, international mediation, traditionally implemented in a top-down, around large negotiating tables and involving international authorities and mediators, by itself has not proved to be sufficient for the construction of sustainable peace. In this vein, this study aims to reflect on the so-called local mediation as an alternative means of peaceful conflict resolution, especially in the context of disputes located in States with great institutional fragility. In addition, the case study discusses the conflict in Libya, a country that has been going through a crisis of transnational scope and severe proportions for more than a decade, in the political, economic-financial, social and security sectors, resulting from two successive civil wars, initiated in the context of the Arab Spring. Based on the case studied, it is concluded that, in prolonged and complex conflicts, local mediation can be the most appropriate means of initiating a peacebuilding process, serving to strengthen international mediation at the national level, whose agreements can only be implemented if there is buy-in at the subnational level.