Little Book of Conflict Transformation: Clear Articulation Of The Guiding Principles By A Pioneer In The Field
3/5
()
About this ebook
Conflict Transformation is an idea with a deep reach. Its practice, says Lederach, requires "both solutions and social change." It asks not simply "How do we end something not desired?" but "How do we end something destructive and build something desired?" How do we deal with the immediate crisis, as well as the long-term situation? What disciplines make such thinking and practices possible?
This title is part of The Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding series.
John Lederach
John Paul Lederach, a scholar with the Joan Kroc Institute of Conflict Studies at the University of Notre Dame and a distinguished scholar with the Conflict Transformation Program at Eastern Mennonite University, writes out of his more than twenty years of work in Central America, Asia, Africa, Central Asia, and North America.
Related to Little Book of Conflict Transformation
Related ebooks
Little Book of Strategic Peacebuilding: A Vision And Framework For Peace With Justice Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools: Games, Activities, and Simulations for Understanding Restorative Justice Practices Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Little Book of Transformative Community Conferencing: A Hopeful, Practical Approach to Dialogue Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLittle Book of Strategic Negotiation: Negotiating During Turbulent Times Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Little Book of Dialogue for Difficult Subjects: A Practical, Hands-On Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Restorative Discipline for Schools: Teaching Responsibility; Creating Caring Climates Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMediating Interpersonal and Small Group Conflict Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education: Fostering Responsibility, Healing, and Hope in Schools Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Way of Conflict: Elemental Wisdom for Resolving Disputes and Transcending Differences Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeepening Engagement: Essential Wisdom for Listening and Leading with Purpose, Meaning and Joy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHelping: How to Offer, Give, and Receive Help Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Book of Restorative Justice: Four Classic Justice & Peacebuilding Books in One Volume Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Little Book of Circle Processes: A New/Old Approach To Peacemaking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mediator's Toolkit: Formulating and Asking Questions for Successful Outcomes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEssays About Negotiation, Mediation and Conflict Resolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJustpeace Ethics: A Guide to Restorative Justice and Peacebuilding Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCompassionate Justice: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue with Two Gospel Parables on Law, Crime, and Restorative Justice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Little Book of Restorative Justice: Revised and Updated Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mediator's Handbook: Revised & Expanded fourth edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Little Book of Family Group Conferences New Zealand Style: A Hopeful Approach When Youth Cause Harm Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Promise of Mediation: The Transformative Approach to Conflict Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond the Surface of Restorative Practices: Building a Culture of Equity, Connection, and Healing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Little Book of Restorative Justice for Older Adults: Finding Solutions to the Challenges of an Aging Population Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Little Book of Youth Engagement in Restorative Justice: Intergenerational Partnerships for Just and Equitable Schools Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLittle Book of Restorative Justice for Colleges & Universities: Revised & Updated Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Mediator's Approach: Five (and a Half) Paths Through Conflict Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConnecting Across Differences: Finding Common Ground with Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsManaging Conflicts: A Practical Resource for Resolution and Reconciliation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mindful Guide to Conflict Resolution: How to Thoughtfully Handle Difficult Situations, Conversations, and Personalities Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Relationships For You
Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Book of 30-Day Challenges: 60 Habit-Forming Programs to Live an Infinitely Better Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The ADHD Effect on Marriage: Understand and Rebuild Your Relationship in Six Steps Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better (updated with two new chapters) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen: A Survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer's World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Covert Passive Aggressive Narcissist: The Narcissism Series, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Codependence and the Power of Detachment: How to Set Boundaries and Make Your Life Your Own Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Loving Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It's Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries with Kids: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All About Love: New Visions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Makes Love Last?: How to Build Trust and Avoid Betrayal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Little Book of Conflict Transformation
4 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Little Book of Conflict Transformation - John Lederach
1.
Conflict Transformation?
Conflict resolution . . . conflict management . . . but conflict transformation?
I began using the term conflict transformation in the 1980s, after intensive experience in Central America caused me to re-examine the language of the field.
When I arrived there my vocabulary was filled with the usual terminology of conflict resolution and management. I soon found, though, that my Latin colleagues had questions, even suspicions, about what was meant by such concepts. For them, resolution carried with it a danger of co-optation, an attempt to get rid of conflict when people were raising important and legitimate issues. It was not clear that resolution left room for advocacy. In their experience, quick solutions to deep social-political problems usually meant lots of good words but no real change. Conflicts happen for a reason,
they would say. "Is this resolution idea just another way to cover up the changes that are really needed?"
Their concerns were consistent with my own experience and perspective. My deepest sense of vocation, and the framework that informs much of this book, arises from a faith context that is grounded in an Anabaptist/Mennonite religious-ethical framework. This perspective understands peace as embedded in justice. It emphasizes the importance of building right relationships and social structures through a radical respect for human rights and life. It advocates nonviolence as a way of life and work.
So the concerns of my Latin colleagues hit home. In my work of helping to find constructive responses to violent conflict in Central America and elsewhere, I became increasingly convinced that much of what I was doing was seeking constructive change. Conflict transformation
seemed to convey this meaning better than conflict resolution or management.
Conflict is normal in human relationships, and conflict is a motor of change.
In the 1990s, when I helped found the Conflict Transformation Program at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), we had extensive debates about titles and terms. Resolution was better known and was widely accepted in mainstream academic and political circles. Transformation seemed too value-laden for some, too idealistic for others, and too airy-fairy and new-age for still others. In the end, we stuck with the transformation terminology. We believed it was accurate and scientifically sound and that it provided a clear vision.
For me, conflict transformation is accurate because I am engaged in constructive change efforts that include, and go beyond, the resolution of specific problems. It is scientifically sound language because it is based on two verifiable realities: conflict is normal in human relationships, and conflict is a motor of change. Transformation provides a clear and important vision because it brings into focus the horizon toward which we journey—the building of healthy relationships and communities, locally and globally. This goal requires real change in our current ways of relating.
But the question remains, what does transformation really mean?
Over the past decade or so, the terminology of transformation has become increasingly common in both practitioner and academic circles. There are transformational approaches in mediation as well as in the broader discipline of peace and conflict studies. In fact, I am now part of two graduate academic programs that use this terminology, the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame and the Conflict Transformation Program at EMU. In spite of this, conflict transformation is not as yet a school of thought. I do believe that conflict transformation is a comprehensive orientation or framework that ultimately may require a fundamental change in our way of thinking.
What follows is my understanding of this framework based on my reading, my practice, and my teaching over the past 15 years. This Little Book is not a definitive statement; my understanding constantly evolves, pushed by experiences of practice and teaching.
My understanding both parallels and converges from the work of other authors, although I am not able to explore all of those connections here. I do not want to imply that my particular view of transformation is superior to those who use the term differently or to those who prefer the term resolution. In this Little Book I mean to engage the creative tension between themes of resolution and transformation in order to sharpen understanding, not to discredit the work of those who prefer other terms.
My purpose here is to add a voice to the ongoing discussion, to the search for greater understanding in human relationships.
2.
The Lenses of Conflict Transformation
In everyday settings we often experience conflict as a disruption in the natural flow of our relationships. We notice or feel that something is not right. Suddenly we find ourselves more attentive to things we had taken for granted. The relationship becomes complicated, not as easy and smooth as it once was.
No longer do we take