Ready for Prime Time: The When,Who, and Why of International Mediation

Most of the literature on international dispute resolution emphasizes timing and ripeness when considering whether or not a dispute is suitable for mediation. In addition to this focus, the authors believe analysts should consider whether a particular mediator is ready for prime time. Their framework posits that one may gauge the appropriateness of a mediator for a particular dispute along three different types of considerations: operational and political; strategic and diplomatic; and relationship and cultural fit. They provide numerous case examples illustrating how the choice of a mediator might apply in each dimension.     

Stage Development Theory: A Natural Framework for Understanding the Mediation Process

Scholars and practitioners of mediation have generally paid little attention to the development of theoretical frameworks for understanding what is taking place in the mediation process. By borrowing from stages of adult psychological development theory (in this scheme, physical; hedonistic/impulsive; conformist/authority-seeking; rational/individualistic; and integrative), we can better understand some of the behaviors that people exhibit in mediation and perhaps find ways to help parties expand their behavioral repertoires so that new avenues for resolution appear to them. Using frequent examples from mediation practice, the author describes each stage, then assesses the limits and possibilities of relating this theoretical framework to mediation. She sees this juxtaposition of theory to practice not so much as a how to for mediation practice, but rather as a new window through which mediators can view mediation clients, the mediation process, and their own behavior in the mediation room.     

The Cairo Stories: Some Reflections on Conflict Resolution in Egypt

The author relates three cases of conflict which he has observed in Cairo and recognizes patterns that cut across each of these stories. The stories shed light on how people in Egypt approach and deal with conflict; in addition, they may help readers understand conflict in their home culture as well as be instructive on how to listen to conflict in different cultures. Six general themes in the way Egyptians approach or handle conflict are identified, and each of these themes is analyzed.     

Mediation and Psychotherapy: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Some mediators believe that mediation and psychotherapy are quite similar, and that when doing mediation, the mediator also is practicing an art form similar to psychotherapy. On face value, some forms of mediation (e.g., evaluative) and some forms of psychotherapy (e.g., psychoanalysis) are so far apart in theoretical conception and in actual practice that they cannot be compared meaningfully. However, the forms of mediation known as facilitative and transformative and the forms of brief or focused psychotherapy that often involve families or couples do have considerable similarity. Overall, numerous resonances exist between these two approaches to mediation and to couples or family-oriented psychotherapies, especially when differences in terminology, licensure, and training requirements are not allowed to obscure commonalities.     

Techniques and sequences in mediation strategies: A proposed model for research

Most studies of mediation strategy focus on the how and what of the process, but fail to take into consideration when particular techniques are used. To improve our understanding of mediation strategies in general, the authors of this article propose a new methodological approach that includes an analysis of the particular techniques that are used as well as the order of their use.he is studying mediation in the Pacific Rim and international peacekeeping. John B. Stark, who is a doctoral student at the University of Missouri, plays chess and studies trust in organizations.     

Trajectories Toward Peace: Mediator Sequencing Strategies in Intractable Communal Conflicts

The author identifies three distinct mediation sequencing strategies used in intractable communal conflicts: the gradualism model; a boulder-in-the-road approach; and the committee strategy. Using case examples of contemporary mediation efforts, he describes the three approaches and their advantages and disadvantages. A wider-angle approach to the differences in how mediators and conflicting parties achieve peace in these destructive conflicts is useful for both scholarly inquiry and practice.     

Negotiation: The Chinese Concept

It is no understatement to say that negotiation activity has skyrocketed in China in recent years; however, these negotiations are frequently unsatisfactory. Part of the reason for this lack of success is that Chinese people have a conception of negotiation that is fundamentally different from that of people in the West. Based on extensive interviews with Chinese and non-Chinese negotiators over a period of five years, the author explains the Chinese approach by using two metaphors: mobile warfare and the joint quest. Understanding this approach has significant implications for negotiation practice.     

Fighting the wimp image: Why calls for negotiation often fall on deaf ears

Conclusion Must calls for war always dominate pleas for more serious negotiation? Not necessarily. But, if negotiation is to prevail, its advocates have to recognize which elements of their rhetoric sound weak and timid to others.Right after the routing of the Iraqis from Kuwait, the conventional wisdom was that American voters would repudiate those members of Congress who had argued for more negotiation — the surrender lobby, one belligerent called them. Iraq would teach elected officials not to talk of negotiation in the future. Now, barely a year from the start of hostilities, the verdict is not quite so clear. With Saddam still in power and the establishment of President Bush's new world order yet to be proven, opinion polls suggest that a growing number of Americans now regard the war as only a partial success. Public awareness of the costs of war, as well as its seeming benefits, can only be to the good, but apostles of negotiation should be careful not to read such numbers as vindication of their views. Skepticism about war still must be matched by some well-founded confidence in its alternative. Michael Wheeler is Director of the Undergraduate Program, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. 02139. He is also Deputy Director of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.     

A willingness to talk: Conciliatory gestures and de-escalation

Conclusion This article points up a lack of any systematic, comparative knowledge about one aspect of the complex process of conflict termination, namely signalling a willingness to talk at the start of termination in such a way that the likelihood of an adversary's recognizing the gesture for what it is (and perhaps responding positively) is maximized. In the absence of systematic analysis, I have suggested a number of plausible working hypotheses about the characteristics of actions that have the best chance of being recognized by an adversary in the midst of conflict as real or genuine. In doing so, I have isolated a number of general principles that could be helpful in explaining why certain actions were successful in starting a process of de-escalation, at least leading to talks about talks, while others were not.I have, thus, focused on the likelihood of successful communication of a credible conciliatory gesture, if this is what a party wishes to convey. Of course, the real world of political conflict gives rise to numerous examples of false conciliatory gestures made for tactical advantage, concessions extracted from a reluctant adversary that will be repudiated once the balance of advantage changes, and de-escalation processes begun purely to obtain a breathing space. However, sorting out the genuinely intended signals from those designed as a ruse or smoke screen does not seem to be an inherently hopeless research task. It is unlikely that the accurate perception of genuine concessions in past conflicts has occurred in a wholly individual or random manner. Our hope, as scholars, must be that systematic empirical analysis will indicate some patterns in this phenomenon, throwing light on the manner in which conflicts begin to terminate, even if this proves only a temporary halt. This article seeks to contribute to such understanding by suggesting a framework within which answers might be sought. Christopher R. Mitchell is Professor of Conflict Resolution and International Relations at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va. 22030. He also serves as Director of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason.Ideas for this article arose originally from work carried out in the Conflict Termination Project in the Department of Systems Science at the City University, London. Sincere thanks are due Dean Pruitt of the State University of New York, Buffalo; Louis Kriesberg of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Program, Syracuse University; Alan Simpson (Visiting Fellow); Shaw Smith (Diplomat in Residence) at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution; and to doctoral students in my class, CONFLICT 751, for helpful comments and criticisms.     

Sustained Dialogue in Managing Intractable Conflict

In the warn-torn new nation of Tajikistan, the author has been part of a five-stage dialogue for peace since 1993. The focus of the dialogue has been on transforming relationships and changing relationship dynamics so that this intractable conflict can be addressed positively. The author briefly describes this multilevel peace process both historically and substantively. He also discusses the continual process of evaluation of the Inter-Tajik dialogue effort as well as focuses on a series of questions that apply to intractable conflicts in general.     

Negotiating with Your Nemesis

The assumption that negotiators can and should eradicate emotions from negotiating is unrealistic. Instead, effective negotiators know how to handle emotional outbursts including how to respond when the other negotiator evokes their nemesis. A nemesis is the hidden part of ourselves that we project onto others who push our hot buttons. When emotions are intense, understanding the possibility that you may be giving or receiving a projection can help you sidestep escalatory behavior. This article explores the concept of the nemesis and offers practical steps for confronting it as well as responding to others' emotions at the negotiating table.     

Common Language,Different Meaning: What Mediators Mean When They Talk About Their Work

Mediators, for the most part, describe their work as facilitation but what they actually mean varies considerably. Based on an exploratory study with nearly 90 mediators in Canada (all of whom are also mediation trainers), the author describes the great diversity among mediators' understanding of commonly-used terms like facilitation, transformative, settlement, and humanistic. She also reports on how such factors as context, gender, and number of years mediating affect mediator perceptions of what they do. In addition, the author shows how perceptions affect the overall philosophy and goal of the mediation practitioner. One implication of this research is that we can no longer presume to know what people mean by mediation, nor can we assume mediators are like-minded in how they understand their work. Thus, practitioners, scholars and policymakers are encouraged to be purposefully clear when describing and writing about the practice of mediation.     

Parasitic Integration: Win-Win Agreements Containing Losers

Parasitic integration involves agreements that are Pareto-superior for two or more of the negotiating parties, while being inferior for one or more of the remaining negotiating parties. The contrast between parasitic integration and integrative bargaining is highlighted. A taxonomy and examples of parasitic integration are provided, as well as linkages to specific areas in the negotiation literature.     

Bringing Peace into the Room: The Personal Qualities of the Mediator and Their Impact on the Mediation

The training and development of mediators has focused primarily onenhancing mediators' technical skills and increasing their understandingof the theory behind the practice of mediation. This article focuses on athird aspect of the development of mediators - namely, their personalcharacteristics. The authors contend that a mediator'spresence - more afunction of who the mediator is than what he or she does - has a profoundimpact on the mediation process. Drawing on analogies fromresearch in the physical and social sciences, the article suggests that themost subtle influences of the mediator's affect and manner may in fact bepowerful influences in helping the mediator bring peace into theroom.     

Crafting the language of consensus

Conclusion In summary, the consensus process provides a necessary set of procedures and standards that provide the essential foundation for reaching mutually supported settlement of disputes. Adjudicatory or voting processes are antithetical to the very nature of the consensus process. When voting takes place, winners and losers are explicitly defined. This can lead to lessened support for implementation of solutions—and even to the losers preferring that implementation fail.As with any other processes, consensus-based processes can—and, at times, should—fail. Where consensus fails, participants will have recourse to other alternatives for making decisions, including administrative, legal, and political forums, the alternative forums which provided the impetus for disputing parties to seek mutually agreeable solutions through a consensus process. Gerald W. Cormick is a mediator specializing in public policy dispute settlement and a Senior Lecturer in the Graduate school of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. His mailing address is 15629 Cascadian Way, Mill Creek, Wash. 98102.This column is based on materials developed by the author for the British Columbia Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, 8 April 1991.     

Caveats for Cross-Border Negotiators

Scholars and practitioners have detailed a number of ways that differences in national culture can affect bargaining behavior: from surface etiquette and protocol to deeper cultural characteristics and to systematic variations in decision making and governance. Such cross-national analysis can be quite useful but is prone to at least four hazardous fallacies described in this article and illustrated, in some cases, by probabilistic reasoning. Along with suggestions for avoiding them, these fallacies include: (1) The John Wayne v. Charlie Chan Fallacy (stereotyping); (2) The Rosetta Stone Fallacy (overattribution); (3) The Visual Flight Rules Fallacy (skewed perceptions and information processing); and (4) St. Augustine's Fallacy (When in Rome...).     

In Search of the Rosetta Stone of the Mediation Profession

Although people have their choice today of an ever-growing number of how-to books and articles about the mediation process, this plenitude was hardly always the case. In fact, back in the early 1950s in the United States, three young mediators with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) drafted a 62-page memo on the subject of their work which included 120 different techniques of mediation, many of which would be familiar and useful to practitioners today. Their pioneering work, however, was neither recognized nor encouraged by the FMCS; in fact, it was suppressed. This article focuses on the reasons for the suppression of that work, providing an overview of the vast changes that have taken place in mediation's history and the federal labor-management mediation agency over the past half-century.     

Realizing the Potential of International Conflict Work: Connections Between Practice and Theory

The author reviews the insights of four expert practitioners of international conflict resolution, pointing out a common theme that signals a major shift in the way we conduct and conceive of international conflict intervention. In addition to traditional top-down interventions, leading conflict resolution practitioners are advocating a bottom-up approach, a complementary effort that includes development of conflict resolution potential among the parties themselves, without external imposition. This increased emphasis on the kinds of structures, understanding, and relationships that help to transform international conflict situations reflects the impact the developing field of conflict studies has had on practice.     

Negotiating National Identity and Self-Determination in Ethnic Conflicts: The Choice Between Pluralism and Ethnic Cleansing

The contradictions of ethnonational identity, which make it a prime force in both the promotion and the destruction of human dignity and social justice, have become more pronounced with the ending of the Cold War. It is necessary to reconceptualize national identity and develop new norms for accepting a group's right to national self-determination through establishment of an independent state expressing its national identity, and even far accepting its claim to national identity itself This article proposes that (1) implementation of a group's right to self-determination cannot be left to the group alone, but must be negotiated with those who are affected by that decision, particularly minority populations; and (2) national identity itself must be negotiated — explored and discussed — with those who are affected by the group's self-definition.     

Framing “the Other”. A critical review of Vietnam war movies and their representation of Asians and Vietnamese

By considering a variety of films, in chronological sequence, I tried to make understandable the representations of Asians, and especially Vietnamese, by European and American filmmakers. While the themes changed from general war movies, through the depiction of bloodthirsty veterans and patriots towards the view of the victimized service men, the representation of the Vietnamese did not change dramatically. Vietnamese soldiers and civilians are portrayed as cunning, cruel, even sadistic, ambivalent, and irresponsible. These articulations of latent and manifest Orientalism in American movies about the Vietnam War are clear manifestations of a discourse which had broader consequences for the way Asians, or for that sake, Vietnamese, have been depicted. Where earlier movies showed a worldview, in which the Asian participants are reduced to simple pawns in a chess game between the superpowers, the post-1975 Vietnam syndrome genre betrayed a stereotype, which reified the Vietnamese as devious and unchanging. Even the films, which are considered to picture the war in more realistic terms, did not change the framing of the Vietnamese substantially. What changed was a manifest Orientalism, symbolized by stereotypes of the Yellow Peril, but the representation of latent Orientalism of the so-called anti-war movies remained. Current American and French cinematic production on Vietnam is not coming to terms with the past. The re-issued Apocalypse Now, Redux is part of a cultural memorial to remember the war in contradictory terms. We were soldiers is not about the Vietnamese and their war, but about we and us. The Other remains an unknown Oriental.This article is derived from a larger contribution to be published by Ravi Srilata and Mario Rutten (eds.) Europe in Asia, Asia in Europe. ISEAS and IIAS, 2003.