Mediation mythology

Conclusion TheInterim Guidelines for Selecting Mediators promote a mythology that is broader and already more effective than the specific screening device created by the guidelines is likely to be. That mythology has been quite successful in generating support for the institutionalization of mediation and the establishment of both a market and an occupation in the practice of mediation.The guidelines may prove successful, however, in furthering that mythology — and thus the professionalization of mediation — by appearing to create techniques to insure that mediators fulfill the mythological requirements of the role: passivity, informality, neutrality, and efficiency. If the guidelines become widely adopted, they will also restrict access to the occupation by defining occupational prerogatives that will debar some persons from sharing in them. Furthermore, if licensing does eventually follow, the guidelines will have gone a long way toward providing authoritative, legal consequences to private, and I would suggest, mistaken determinations of what constitutes good and ethical mediation practice. Susan S. Silbey is Professor of Sociology at Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02181.     

Against state terror: lessons on memory,counterterrorism and resistance from the Global South

Critical theory avows that “where there is power there is always resistance”. However, the practical implications and consequences of particular modes of resistance remain, within World Politics, under-theorised. In critical terrorism studies (CTS), this critical imperative to resist has recently emerged in the proposal to remember state terrorism. With this move, CTS aims to disturb the legitimacy of forms of violence/terror that emerge from the state. In this article, I argue that such an agenda of “resistance through memory” has already been put forth in the Global South (specifically, Latin America). Drawing on this historical experience, I elucidate some problems with the critical imperative to resist. More specifically, I show how in Brazil the Global South counter-memorial narratives of state terror share a common ground with the Global North counterterrorism discourses. I do so by analysing three underlying tropes of Brazilian remembrance that replicate Global North representations of terrorists: bestialism, pathology and dehumanisation.     

Cheap Hawks, Cheap Doves, and the Pursuit of Strategy

The post-9/11 threats to American security require a complete revision of American national strategy. For too long, presidents have had to favor quick, cheap solutions to crises, unable to count on support from the “homebody” public for long, drawn-out conflicts. “Cheap hawks” among them have hoped that apocalyptic rhetoric will suffice when resources fall short; “cheap doves” hope that by ignoring the threat, it will go away. But with the war on terror, the revival of geopolitics, and ever-accelerating globalization, the U.S. tradition of bellicose rhetoric backed by underwhelming force is a recipe for failure. To effectively manage its threats, America needs a new catechism and to make sure its economic, energy, and military policies support this.     

Deception and Mutual Gains Bargaining: Are They Mutually Exclusive?

Conclusion We have made great strides in recent years teaching more people — in classrooms, corporate training sessions, and actual negotiations — about negotiations, including how to be more ethical and how to ensure that integrative joint gains are not left on the table. The fact that we even need to write an article like this is an indication of the advances that have been made.Yet exactly because of these advances, more care needs to be taken to ensure that the subtle distinction between what is ethical and what is integrative is maintained. Being ethical in negotiations is more complicated than producing greater joint utility, and the techniques that are helpful for producing greater joint utility should not be made more complicated by the addition of ethical concerns. Each issue — ethics and mutual gains bargaining — can stand on its own, and benefits by being considered on its own. By maintaining this distinction, we believe each will have greater clarity and greater impact, and our teaching and training will be both better received and more valuable to those we teach.     

Practising homeland security across the Atlantic: practical learning and policy convergence in Europe and North America

Abstract

Despite different traditions, interests and perceptions characterizing North American and European approaches to homeland security, since 9/11 policy-makers across the Atlantic have formulated increasingly similar policies to deal with terrorism and other international security threats. Challenging mainstream accounts elaborated in the policy convergence literature, and drawing from sociological works in performance studies, this essay argues that the recent evolution of homeland security policies in Europe and North America can be understood as an instance of ‘practical learning’. From this perspective, this outcome is the result of the acquisition on the part of European and North American policy-makers of the practical knowledge necessary to carry out the new policies, policies learned by mimicking the practices of their counterparts across the Atlantic. This argument is then applied to examine two cases of policy convergence in Europe and North America – the proposal for a ‘European Passenger Name Record’ system and the project of a regional ‘Security Perimeter’.     

Anti-Americanism in Electoral Politics: Insights from South Korea's 2002 Presidential Election

Since September 11, 2001, anti-Americanism has emerged as an important issue in international politics. In democratic election campaigns, anti-Americanism should be an attractive issue where it is expected to have a favorable impact on key swing vote constituencies. Anti-Americanism has certain inherent ideological appeals and more varied historically-based attractions. Anti-Americanism should be least attractive where countries continue to rely on U.S. security guarantees. South Korea's December 2002 presidential election, in which winner Roh Moo-hyun openly sympathized with anti-American demonstrators, appears to contradict this expectation. Yet closer analysis of individual-level polling data shows that anti-Americanism was, both statistically and substantively, much less significant than alternative campaign issues. By activating the numerous voters hostile to the North Korean regime, anti-Americanism actually hurt the victor's electoral chances. The approach appears useful in understanding why anti-Americanism is a more prominent ideology and electoral issue in some regions, such as Western Europe and Latin America, and a less prominent one in others, for example Eastern Europe, East Asia, and Oceania.     

NATO, APEC and ASEM: triadic interregionalism and global order

Among the three core regions in today's world, Europe, North America and East Asia, interregional arrangements have been developed in various forms. Transatlantic relations were institutionalized in the form of a security alliance (NATO), although not in the field of economic relations. The transpacific relations were institutionalized in the economic field with the creation of APEC in late 1980s. The Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) emerged in 1996, with an aim to strengthen the ‘weak leg’ in the triadic interregional relationship. Although the three sets of triadic interregional arrangements display discernable differences, they tend to share some identical functions, such as balancing, governance and identity building. Interregionalism rests on and promotes multi-polarization, complementing the multilateral system, and could be seen as an indispensable element of the world order, which may be better characterized as a multi-level governance system.     

Grief reactions and effective negotiation

Conclusion In the event of death, society has in place a wide range of rituals and supports designed to help mourners deal with their grief. It may be that assigning blame and seeking legal recourse has become a significant ritual for those who have sustained other types of losses and, in some situations, loss through death as well. However, unlike societal death rituals, which guide the mourners, no guidelines exist to help negotiators address the impact of grief on their clients. Thus, in this article, insights gleaned from studies of grief, loss, and separation have been examined in an effort to develop an awareness of the impact of grief reactions on the parties to negotiation.Grief reactions—ranging from denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and guilt to acceptance—serve a useful purpose for those who have sustained grievous losses. Consequently, a better understanding of grief factors may be advantageous to negotiators and, more importantly, to their clients. Such considerations may help challenge perceptions of other parties that may otherwise be prejudicial to one's client (as in the Lindy Chamberlain case) and assist negotiators in trying to anticipate, and thus protect their clients from, grief-related reactions of other parties. In the large number of cases where negotiation and settlement discussions are not only critical but also decisive, grief theory may provide negotiators with better insight into client, and other party, interests and may help them to formulate advice and intervention strategies that take the impact of various grief reactions into account. Nancy Lewis Buck is an attorney and social worker, currently completing a doctoral dissertation at Yale Law School. Her mailing address is 9 Surrey St., Cambridge, Mass. 02138.     

"Us" and "them": European and North American attitudes to immigration

This work compares attitudes toward immigration in Europe and North America. Europe has adopted and reinforced a restrictive immigration policy since the 1970s, but family reunification and asylum for refugees have replaced labor migration to maintain the flow of newcomers over the past two decades. Illegal immigration has increased in countries such as Italy and Spain where immigration is a recent phenomenon. Migratory pressure from the former Soviet block, violence against immigrants in Germany and elsewhere, the crisis of social protection systems, economic recession and increasing unemployment have pressured European governments to reinforce their closed door policy. In the US, restrictions against immigration have relaxed greatly since adoption of the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986. Over 800,000 immigrants have been admitted annually to the US in recent years. The factors explaining the different immigration policies in North America and Europe are not economic or demographic, but stem rather from history, social structure, the functioning of the labor market and social mobility. North America, more than Europe, has a positive view of immigration as contributing to the vitality and renewal of the culture and promoting development by broadening experience and knowledge. Immigration is regarded in Europe as, at best, a necessity in times of labor shortage and economic expansion. European countries tend to perceive themselves as totally formed and not requiring further cultural contribution. Homogeneity in culture, language, and religion is valued. Social mobility is possible in North America through professional success, but in the older and more hierarchical societies of Europe, social status is determined by birth and family or other connections. Since the early 1990s, public opinion toward immigration has become less favorable on both sides of the Atlantic, with increasing proportions favoring limitation. The positive perception of immigration in America and the work of pressure groups have thus far blocked restrictionist measures. In Europe, restrictive policies are in perfect harmony with public opinion.     

Teaching negotiation with computer simulations: Pedagogical and practical considerations

In Conclusion Two sets of issues — one set focused on teaching objectives, the other set on practical concerns — must be addressed if the instructor hopes to use computer-based teaching materials effectively in the classroom. If these issues are not addressed, the simulation may either be used in ways that do not forward the instructional objectives of the seminar or course, or the technology will not be managed and used in a manner that is most conducive to effective learning.     

The Intersection of Religion,Race, Class,and Ethnicity in Community Conflict

This brief essay explores some ways of defining what we need to know — but don't — about conflict within and between communities where there are strong identity differences based on religion, culture, gender, and race. Its particular focus is on the role that religion and religious leaders play in attempting to resolve identity-based conflict.     

Has Regionalism Peaked? The Latin American Quagmire and its Lessons

Since 1960, Latin American attempts at regionalism have undergone distinct phases. More notably, they have tended to diverge across space, gradually giving birth to separate blocs that seem to be tearing South, Central and North America apart. Additionally, within and across these regions several overlapping projects coexist. This article focuses on the dynamics of segmented and overlapping regionalism in order to describe what they look like, analyse how they articulate with one another, and explain why member states have pushed for such a messy outcome. This situation, linked to the evolution of the global context, might be indicating that regionalism in Latin America has reached its peak, beyond which it may be difficult to achieve further progress. Two conclusions are elicited: first, economic integration is becoming a geographically diffused phenomenon rather than a regional one; second, regionalism is still a compelling foreign policy but its causes, goals and outcomes are no longer what they used to be.     

Why Not Invade North Korea? Threats, Language Games, and U.S. Foreign Policy

International relations theory has difficulty explaining how similar policies produce different outcomes. Iraq and North Korea have been identified as members of the "axis of evil" with weapons of mass destruction programs that threaten the United States. Yet in late 2002, the United States prepared to attack Iraq whereas it chose to negotiate with North Korea, even after North Korea admitted to a secret nuclear program in direct violation of its 1994 agreement with the United States. Moreover, a direct comparison with Iraq shows North Korea to possess the greater material capability to threaten the United States. I argue that a language-based constructivist approach can explain these differences in U.S. foreign policy where other theoretical approaches cannot. By examining the U.S. entanglement in intersected language games—the implementation of the 1994 Agreed Framework with North Korea and the enforcement of United Nations Resolutions in Iraq—it becomes possible to show how the United States could construct North Korea's nuclear program as a manageable threat that could be dealt with diplomatically.     

‘Yong lads of very good capacitie.’ Christopher and Cosmus,Anglo-Japanese pioneers

Abstract

On 12 November 1588 two young Japanese men, known to posterity only by their English names Christopher and Cosmus, arrived in London with Thomas Cavendish, who had just completed the third known circumnavigation of the globe. Sources described them as intelligent and literate in Japanese, but also able to speak English, and hence they were consulted and celebrated by English scholars and courtiers; possibly also by Queen Elizabeth I. Three years later they attempted to sail with Thomas Cavendish for Japan via South America, but the English fleet failed to make it through the Strait of Magellan. Christopher and Cosmus almost definitely died on the voyage, along with most of their colleagues, although exactly where and when is not clear. This article attempts a research-based reconstruction of their lives and posits answers to outstanding questions, where did they come from in Japan, why were they on the Spanish galleon sailing to North America, and what was their legacy? It also looks at the aftermath, and later Anglo-Japanese relations.     

Aryan visions for the future in the West Virginia Mountains

This article examines the worldview of William Pierce, a prominent figure among fringe right and neo‐Nazi groups. A self‐proclaimed ‘race separatist’, Pierce established his own spiritual community in the mountains of south‐eastern West Virgina in 1985. Characterized by an idiosyncratic blend of ideas including Darwinian evolution, Teutonic mythology, and the ‘scientific’ findings of early racial theorists, Pierce's Cosmotheist Community observes an unusual religion based on notions of racial destiny and the Aryan path to god‐hood. Home to a small group of devoted believers, the Cosmotheist Community looks toward the day when a white revolution will topple an American government thought to be corrupted by ‘Jewish interests’. Generally viewed as the intellectual leader of the American far right, Pierce is the author of The Turner Diaries (1978), a violent, futuristic novel which may have influenced the perpetrators of the Oklahoma City bombing. Pierce is director of National Alliance, an organization dedicated to the ‘racial purification’ of North America. Specializing in the production of anti‐Semitic and racial propaganda, National Alliance has become a lucrative operation. This article is based on an interview conducted with Pierce.     

Does investing in identity work? An examination of the ethnocentric social capital theory from an oriental perspective

The central thrust of this paper questions the notion of ‘investing in identity’ in the current approach to social capital, and challenges the assumption that the poor can draw upon their identities as productive resources to alleviate poverty. This paper argues that the mainstream social capital model is largely based on the economic model of rationality, which assumes that individuals are rational, and consciously construct social identities with purposive reasons. This perspective, however, neglects agency, subjectivity and the power dimension in the process of identity building. This paper also questions the ethnocentric nature of social capital thinking which plays down the influences of culture and context. Drawing upon the structuration theory of Anthony Giddens, and based on my ethnographic research on Chinese migrants in Hong Kong, I challenge the ‘Hong Kong-derived Chinese identity model’ by Gregory Guldin. Using the concept of ‘acknowledgeable agents’, I argue that the construction of ethnic identity amongst migrants is far more complicated, and agents may use their hyphenated identities to seek room for manoeuvre. I also highlight the transformative, fluid and fragile nature of identity to suggest that he notion of ‘investing in identity’ is problematic because which and what identities, and where and how to invest, are not properly addressed. Taking agents’ subjectivity into account, disinvestment, rather than investment, in identity may be a more desirable livelihood strategy adopted by migrants. Finally, I draw attention to the dark sides of identity, and point out that without a clear understanding of the existing structures of interaction, investing in identity may result in poverty aggravation and further exclusion of the poor.The writer is currently an assistant lecturer at the University of Bradford, UK.     

The making and political life of Miners Shot Down: an interview with Rehad Desai and Anita Khanna

The interview that follows was conducted in Kensington, Johannesburg, in may 2015. I had not originally planned to publish it: I interviewed rehad desai and anita Khanna in preparation for a presentation on their documentary, Miners Shot Down (2014), I was going to give at a conference, to be repeated at the annual colloquium we organise with the school of Communication at the university of Johannesburg to mark the anniversary of the marikana massacre. I had been monitoring the marikana support Campaign quite closely, so I was interested in hearing not only about the documentary – the way it frames and narrates the story of the massacre – but also about its role in this multimedia campaign. I wanted the director and producer to share their thoughts on the impact the film had made, on the response at the local and international screenings they had attended, on what the miners of marikana and their communities thought of it, and on the campaign to have the film screened on South African national television. in the interview, they also describe the involvement of the miners and their communities in the political life of the film and their own experience of filming, producing and promoting the documentary. When Miners Shot Down won the international emmy award for best documentary in november 2015, I reread the interview and thought others might be interested in it – especially scholars working in media, film and communication studies. So here it is. Thanks go to rehad desai and anita Khanna for their time and generosity and to amy maphagela for transcribing the interview.     

International Relations Theory and the Second Korean War

Ever since the first Korean war in 1950, scholars and policymakers have been predicting a second one, started by an invasion from the North. Whether seen as arising from preventive, preemptive, desperation, or simple aggressive motivations, the predominant perspective in the west sees North Korea as likely to instigate conflict. Yet for fifty years North Korea has not come close to starting a war. Why were so many scholars so consistently wrong about North Korea's intentions? Social scientists can learn as much from events that did not happen as from those that did. The case of North Korea provides a window with which to examine these theories of conflict initiation, and reveals how the assumptions underlying these theories can become mis-specified. Either scholars misunderstood the initial conditions, or they misunderstood the theory, and I show that scholars have made mistakes in both areas. Social science moves forward from clear statement of a theory, its causal logic, and its predictions. However, just as important is the rigorous assessment of a theory, especially if the predictions fail to materialize. North Korea never had the material capabilities to be a serious contender to the U.S.–ROK alliance, and it quickly fell further behind. The real question has not been whether North Korea would preempt as South Korea caught up, but instead why North Korea might fight as it fell further and further behind. The explanation for a half-century of stability and peace on the Korean peninsula is actually quite simple: deterrence works.