Description
Interactive Conflict Resolution is the first book to comprehensively examine this innovative technique for peacebuilding: impartial third parties—through facilitated dialogue and focused analysis—bring together unofficial representatives of groups or nations engaged in protracted, violent conflict.
Ronald J. Fisher discusses the works of major theorists as they have applied this technique to situations in Israel-Palestine, Northern Ireland, India-Pakistan, and Cyprus, among others. He describes various methods, including intercommunal dialogue, interactive problem solving, third-party consultation, and the psychodynamic approach.
Comprehensive in scope, Interactive Conflict Resolution also explores how this technique can be used in conjunction with official diplomacy and other methods of third party negotiations, including mediation and prenegotiations. Fisher also addresses the critical areas which threaten the field, such as funding and institutionalization, and pinpoints the major challenges he sees in the years ahead.
Table of Contents
Part One - The Pioneers of Peacebuilding
1. John Burton: Controlled Communication to Analytic Problem Solving
2. Leonard Doob: Human Relations Workshops Applied to Conflict Resolution
3. Herbert Kelman: Interactive Problem Solving
Part Two - The Potential for the Field
4. Edward Azar: Protracted Social Conflicts and Problem-Solving Forums
5. The Psychodynamic Approach and Unofficial Diplomacy
6. Intercommunal Dialogue
7. Third Party Consultation: A Core Model of Interactive Conflict Resolution
8. A Contingency Approach to Third Party Intervention
Part Three - The Prospects for the Future
9. Assessment: The State of the Art and the Science
10. Critical Issues for Interactive Conflict Resolution: Barriers to Realizing the Potential
11. Challenges for Practice and Policy
About the Author
Ronald J. Fisher is professor of psychology at the University of Saskatchewan and the author of several books on social psychology and conflict resolution.
June 1997