Intercultural Mediation and Conflict Management Training: A Guide for Professionals and Academics

By Claude-Hélène Mayer

This book introduces the topic of intercultural mediation and conflict management. Based on the latest scientific research and successful conflict management practices, it provides theoretical insights and practical, self-reflective exercises, role-plays and case studies on conflict, mediation, intercultural mediation, and solution-finding in conflict mediation. The book serves both as a self-learning tool to expand personal competences and cultural sensitivity, and as training material for seminars, workshops, secondary, advanced and higher education and vocational training. It is a valuable contribution to the fields of intercultural conflict mediation and conflict management, intercultural communication, intercultural training and coaching.

This is a book about practicing – the applied practice of competent conflict crafts in diverse intercultural contexts.  Conflict practitioners, mediators, and intercultural trainers would be inspired by Professor Claude-Hélène Mayer’s creative integration of relevant intercultural models with do-able conflict strategies and in reaching intergroup harmony with reflexivity and cultural resonance.

--- Professor Stella Ting-Toomey, Human Communication Studies, California State University at Fullerton, USA, and Co-Editor of The SAGE Handbook of Conflict Communication, 2e

Given the difficulty and complexity of successful intercultural collaboration and conflict mediation, this is a much-needed addition to cross-cultural positive psychology. It is rich in content and training. I highly recommend it for teaching, corporate training, and for executive coaches.

--- Professor Paul T.P. Wong, President International Network on Personal Meaning and President Meaning-Centered Counselling Institute, Toronto, Canada

Intercultural conflict resolution is a critically important task in this modern world. This book by Professor Mayer is a welcome handbook on how to use mediation toresolve those conflicts. It should be in the library of every conflict mediator. My congratulations to Professor Mayer for her important work.

--- Dan Landis, Founding President, International Academy of Intercultural Research, Affiliate Professor of Psychology, University of Hawaii 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Springer
• Release date: Jan 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9783030517656

Book preview

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

C.-H. MayerIntercultural Mediation and Conflict Management Traininghttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51765-6_1

Introduction

Claude-Hélène Mayer¹, ²  

(1)

Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

(2)

Institut für Therapeutische Kommunikation und Sprachgebrauch Europa Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Deutschland

The goal of a conflict should not be victory but progress.

Joseph Joubert (1754–1825)

Intercultural mediation has become a new buzzword in the wake of globalisation, internationalisation and Europeanisation globally. Publications in the form of articles and book contributions on mediation between the different cultures are no longer uncommon (e.g., Busch, 2005; Busch & Mayer, 2017; Busch & Schröder, 2005; Mayer & Vanderheiden, 2016).

This training manual is now available in its third updated, revised and translated edition, and the theoretical treatises and excerpts are now enriched by a training-oriented and practical version. In terms of structure and layout as well as content, it is located in the context of constructivist approaches and complements the theoretical basic work of Mayer and Boness (2004) on a theoretical as well as a practical level. Basics of intercultural mediation skills can be acquired through this book. The methodological focus is on cognitively-oriented competence acquisition.

In addition, affective and behavioural competence aspects are addressed, which can then possibly be delved into deeper in the group-oriented training context.

The training manual should be considered as a course. It links four building blocks on the topics of intercultural conflicts, mediation, intercultural mediation and resolution options for overcoming cultural barriers in mediation. The book is therefore not based on a classic book structure. Rather, the contents of the building blocks—which do not claim to be exhaustive—are conveyed in the form of the following methodological-didactic system:

1.

Basic information about theoretical findings and procedures (in addition, see Mayer & Boness, 2004) (Indicated with I for input).

2.

Practice-oriented and self-reflective exercises can be used, which are then adapted and evaluated by the target users in terms of complexity and learning level. The exercise examples are thus exemplary representations that can be adapted (Indicated with E for exercise).

3.

Didactic notes that briefly explain the purpose, aim and objective of the exercise and, if necessary, provide guidance on how to perform it. Users can thus go through the exercises by themselves or use them in training, they can expand them, adapt them or develop their own exercises for the theoretical basic texts.

The course can either be worked through in a chronological order or can also be made available to the learner in selected part-aspects for the targeted development of competences, based on individual or group-specific requirements.

On the one hand, mediators, trainers, educators and consultants can thus use the present building blocks of the course in their seminars, workshops, coaching processes and training, and on the other hand, their personal competences for the intercultural practice, involving materials, may be expanded through further perspectives.

The content overview of the training manual and the individual building blocks are presented graphically as follows (Table 1).

Table 1

Structure of the training manual

The training manual pursues the following learning objectives, which certainly also demand their consideration in the training and education practice in the field of intercultural mediation:

Insight into the state of the art of intercultural mediation;

Development of one’s own understanding of conflict, intercultural conflict, mediation and intercultural mediation;

Impulse for self- & foreign reflection of intercultural negotiation & conflict resolution situations and their mechanisms;

Contribution to the development of a mediative personality;

Contribution to the development and building up of intercultural competence

Extension of the spectrum of solution options in intercultural contexts.

Lots of fun and success during your processing and implementation of the material.

The author,

Abu Dhabi, January 2020

References

Busch, D., & Mayer, C.-H. (2017). Interkulturelle Mediation. Forschungsstand und offene Fragestellungen innerhalb einer Mediationswissenschaft. In K. Kriegel-Schmidt (Ed.), Mediation als Wissenschaftszweig. Im Spannungsfeld von Fachexpertise und Interdisziplinarität (pp. S.179–S.190). Wiesbaden: Springer.

Galtung, J. (1975–1980). Essays in peace research (Vol. 5). Copenhagen: Christian Ejlers.

Additional Recommended Literature (2019)

Busch, D. (2005). Interkulturelle Mediation. Eine theoretische Grundlegung triadischer Konfliktbearbeitung in interkulturell bedingten Kontexten (zugleich Dissertationsschrift, Europa Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)). In H. Schroffer & D. Busch (Eds.), Studien zur interkulturellen mediation (Vol. 1). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

Busch, D., & Schröder, H. (Eds.). (2005). Perspektiven interkultureller mediation. Studien zur interkulturellen mediation (Vol. 2). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

Mayer, C.-H., & Boness, C. (2004). Interkulturelle Mediation und Konfliktbearbeitung. Bausteine deutsch-afrikanischer Wirklichkeiten. Münster: Waxmann.

Mayer, C.-H., & Vanderheiden, E. (2016). Mediation in Wandelzeiten. Kreative Zugänge zur interkulturellen Konfliktbearbeitung (Mediation in times of change. Creative applications in intercultural conflict management). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

Part IConflict

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

C.-H. MayerIntercultural Mediation and Conflict Management Traininghttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51765-6_2

Intercultural Conflicts

Claude-Hélène Mayer¹, ²  

(1)

Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

(2)

Institut für Therapeutische Kommunikation und Sprachgebrauch Europa Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Deutschland

1. I1: What Are Intercultural Conflicts?

While Johan Galtung’s poem on conflict and diversity was written more than four decades ago, it still seems more relevant today than ever before. While recent research has shown that most people across cultures would like to avoid conflict and remove conflict from their lives (Mayer, 2005), in most cases this is neither functional nor realistic. Since the theoretical turn of the 1970s toward a constructivist world view, it has been a matter of adapting one’s own realities, one’s own thinking to the lived and experienced situations (Watzlawick, 2016) in order to deal with them consciously and peacefully, and find solutions. Galtung, as one of the great European conflict and peace researchers, pointed out relatively early on that because we cannot simply exclude conflict from our lives, we should come as close as possible to them in order to connect with them as part of life, to understand the salt of life. With such a fundamentally positive understanding of conflicts, they become an energetic force that adds to life a certain something and can thus enrich life, provide for our development and trigger positive dynamics: Thus, conflicts become small rapids in the calm waters, they give life a new momentum, new energy and should always be seen as a challenge to which we are exposed throughout our lifetime.

Accordingly, Galtung’s conflicts should be understood as everyday challenges through which we can grow, test new ways of dealing with them and experience learning effects. Particularly important are the inner and outer processes that occur when we reflect and process conflicts. However, it seems even more important to live through the experience that challenging conflicts can be solved and contribute to our personal and collective growth. Finally, we feel particularly alive when we become aware that we have solved those conflict challenges that initially seemed impossible to solve. This experience of understanding and managing conflicts, and the vision that conflicts are always linked in a certain context and have a special meaning for us and the lives of other people—however complex and difficult they seem—is fundamental to their sustainable solution. Based on that approach, the book can contribute to the view that conflicts should be experienced as a solvable challenge rather than a threat.

According to Pat Patfoort (2001), an anthropologist who has been involved in non-violent conflict resolution for 40 years, a conflict is a situation in which two seemingly incompatible points of view/desires for action confront each other. One person’s wish to act excludes the other person’s wish to act (Besemer, 1999:14).

For example, when a couple is having an argument as to which place to choose for their holiday, and the husband rather wants to drive to the mountains and the wife prefers the beach, then their preferences seem to be incompatible as both wishes seemingly cannot be taken care of at the same time. Their points of view are clashing (Fig. 1).

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Fig. 1

Clashing points of view

In another situation, for example, a manager in an organisation might particularly want to promote women into leadership, whereas another manager at the same management level tends to promote employees regardless of their gender. Both supervisors hold different views on gender roles.

Both conflict partners argue in a conflict stemming from their own reality and perception (Mayer, 2008; Mayer & Louw, 2012). Accordingly, conflicts present themselves as reality constructs that are individually, socially and culturally shaped (Mayer & Louw, 2012).

According to Lederach (1988:8ff), conflicts therefore serve to negotiate the different perceptions of reality that collide. Here, conflicts are life excerpts that refer to diverse realities (multiple realities) and demand the negotiation of a common solution and meaning, and thus initiate change. This highlights criteria that need to be taken into account:

Conflicts are a long-term process in the context of dynamic relationships;

Understanding and transforming conflicts demands an adequate and descriptive language;

The realities necessitate a critical observation and description.

Through communication and mediation, these social and cultural realities can be uncovered and negotiated. This results in a constructive, qualitatively different form of conflict and conflict resolution, which can provide synergy effects through the conflict transformation (Fig. 2).

../images/978-3-030-51765-6_2_Chapter/978-3-030-51765-6_2_Fig2_HTML.png

Fig. 2

Synergy and win-win-solution

Intercultural conflicts thus encompass a level of reality that can be found in the cultural sphere, and which expands the conflict to include another dimension of reality and makes it more complex (Busch, Mayer & Boness, 2010). This further level of reality requires special attention in the conflict, because it seriously influences the experience and events of the experience and the event.

In view of the type of conflict and the way we are experiencing conflict, our own attitudes will have to be reflected upon and checked, as follows.

1.1 E1: Reflection of a Intercultural Conflict Experience

Please write down a conflict that you have experienced recently (Table 1). Examine that conflict and work on the possible realities. You can orientate yourself along the following questions:

What did you perceive? Describe what you have seen, heard or experienced.

How did you interpret these perceptions? Show which of your explanations relate to what you have experienced. What are your favourite explanations? What explanations do you not like?

Now consider what intentions are actually behind your thoughts, behaviours and statements. What was important to you in the conflict and for what reasons?

Now look at your own formulation: How did you formulate your perceptions, interpretations and intentions? How did you present yourself verbally and non-verbally?

Change perspective and try to answer these questions with your conflict partner in mind.

Table 1

Conflict experiences

../images/978-3-030-51765-6_2_Chapter/978-3-030-51765-6_2_Tab1_HTML.png

Didactic Note

This reflection serves to clarify one’s own perspectives and attitudes in the conflict and to assess the perspectives of the other person. Thus, the ability to expand one’s perspective change and empathy is trained, taking into account different interpretations. At the same time, the distinction between observation and interpretation is called for. This is of fundamental importance in intercultural communication and conflict processing.

1.2 E2: Personal Conflict and Mediation Roots

Personal early childhood, socialisation-related, family, culturally-bound and intercultural experiences with conflicts and with mediation in conflicts form the roots of individual behaviour and attitudes. Therefore, create a mind map on the topic and reflect on the stated questions:

My conflict and mediation roots:

1.

Which conflict culture is dominant in my original family?

2.

Which conflict culture do I experience in my current family?

3.

Which individual conflict strategies do I apply in conflicts?

4.

Which ethnic conflict strategies or attributes do I associate?

5.

Which conflict strategies or attributes do I associate with my culture of origin?

6.

Which conflict strategies or attributes do I associate with people from different/other cultures?

7.

What should my personal behaviour during conflicts look like in future?

8.

Who would first notice the changes in my conflict behaviour? And because of what?

9.

When and in which context have I already applied mediating techniques?

Didactic Note

Conflict and conflict resolution mapping can be used to reflect on your own roots (Fig. 3) of personal and cultural conflict behaviour, to become aware of resolution options and to draw on the experience gained to examine the personal commonalities and differences, and thereafter to discuss them controversially. This is especially true for the questions of conflict, your own culture and conflict and other cultures. Here, topics such as stereotyping, the concepts of culture and nationality can be highlighted fully, dealt with and discussed.

../images/978-3-030-51765-6_2_Chapter/978-3-030-51765-6_2_Fig3_HTML.png

Fig. 3

My conflict and mediation roots and their development

1.3 E3: The Emergence of Conflicts

The next question is how conflicts arise and what factors need to come together to promote conflict development. The political and social scientist Friedrich Glasl (2013:34ff) refers to the following criteria, which fundamentally influence conflicts:

Opposing interests;

Emotional sensitivities;

Perceptions: Perceptions, thoughts, behaviour;

Unilateral views and positional stays;

Unilateral actions and struggle for positions.

Exercise: Link this knowledge to your everyday experiences. Now imagine a conflict situation that you experience or have experienced on a daily basis. This may be a conflict from your family of origin, from your schooling, your current field of activity, in which at least two parties are involved or have been involved. Consider the conflict parties in view of the above factors and write down key points. Go to the change in perspective. If you have ever been in a intercultural conflict, then you can also use this for your analysis.

Conflict Party 1

Opposing interests:

Emotional sensitivities:

Perceptions: Perceptions, thoughts, behaviour;

Unilateral views and positional stays:

Unilateral actions and struggle for the positions.

Conflict Party 2

Opposing interests:

Emotional sensitivities:

Perceptions: Perceptions, thoughts, behaviour;

Unilateral views and positional stays:

Unilateral actions and struggle for the positions.

Which options and solutions are connected to your differentiated factor analysis? Write down your new insights.

Didactic Note

This exercise is used to practise the change of perspective, reflection and analysis of conflict factors to which different intervention options in the conflict solution can be adapted.

1.4 I2: Culture-Related Structures of Reality

Let us turn to the topic of linking conflict and culture. Conflicts are considered to be an everyday and normal component of human life (Kuhn, 1999:55; Myers & Filner, 1992:3) and are even described as being desirable by Augsburger (1992:21), because there is an important connection between conflict and creative, constructive change. The goal is therefore not to eliminate conflicts, but to be seen as a challenge and an opportunity to develop and improve mutual relations. We also adopt this principle for mediation.

According to Bonacker and Imbusch (2010:72), conflicts are also promoters of social change, they can be positive, desirable and inspired as stated by different scientists and philosophers of the Western hemisphere (Bourdieu, 2002; Luhmann, 2015). In general, conflicts illustrate the different interests of the people who are in conflict, and this points to the need to change the relationship. Thus, according to Besemer (1997:24), they open up an opportunity to change social and interpersonal relationships. Conflicts point to differences and thus sensitise one to the awareness of the relativity of one’s own reality:

Most of the time, we assume that we share a single reality with others, but we do not. We simultaneously live in multiple realities (Augsburger, 1992:17).

The recognition of multi-layered perceptions of reality can easily call into question internalised value orientations as well as one’s own identity, and awaken resistance in dealing with conflict (Mayer, 2005:74; Mayer & Louw, 2013). Besemer (1997, 1999); Maringer and Steinweg (1997); Moore (2014); Mayer and Louw (2009) saw value orientations as excellent conflict triggers. At the same time, conflict of needs, conflicts of world views and beliefs as well as identity conflicts emerge on an individual and collective level (Mayer, 2008). Mediation is particularly suitable for taking the different levels of reality, negotiating them and ultimately developing a new, common layer of reality (Mayer & Vanderheiden, 2016).

A conflict arises in the context of individual and social interaction (Glasl, 2013:14/15) between actors (individuals, groups, states, organisations, etc.), whereby at least one actor experiences incompatibilities in thinking, imagining, perceiving, feeling or wanting. Lederach (1988, 1996) noted that the roots of a conflict can originate in the different:

Perceptions;

Interpretations;

Intentions; or

Expressions.

These four areas are shaped by culture and are accordingly anchored in an individual due to their culture. Accordingly, conflict situations in intercultural contexts become very complex, because the subjective, individual perceptions and interpretations, goals and actions are interlinked with the collective, culturally-bound realities and thus, they construct each other.

1.5 E4: An Intercultural Conflict Dialogue: A Pleasant Evening in a Pub?

Read the following excerpt of an intercultural conflict and then answer the questions about the social and culturally-bound construction of reality.

Dialogue: A Pleasant Evening in a Pub?

Raymond and Helene have known each other for 8 years and have been married for 2 years. Raymond is South African and an independent entrepreneur, Helene is German and works at the university. They live together in a South African metropole, have a large circle of friends there and enjoy going out together to coffee shops and pubs. One evening, when they are about to leave for their regular pub, a conflict suddenly erupts:

R: We always seem to have to go to this particular pub. The people there are all so unfriendly and I have no desire to expose myself to this blanket rejection.

H: How, what rejection? You have always liked to go to the pub with me. I always found the atmosphere so pleasant. It’s also so lovely to sit outside there... and you have always liked their snacks.

R: Always the same thing....everyone is staring at us and the waiters just stand there until I finally have to call them so that we are served at all. And all of that just because I’m black and you’re white. Everyone is staring at us as if they had nothing else to do. They don’t accept us...and I don’t want to endure that today.

H: Staring at us? Nonsense, that’s what you imagine! I’ve never noticed that....I would have noticed it if it were so. Why should they stare at us? No, I think that’s your problem. You have a problem with us being a mixed couple.

R: You never notice anything. You just don’t want to see it. Because you only consider yourself and you are a foreigner here. You don’t see what is truly happening here. Why wouldn’t they want to serve us if they accepted us?

H: Why not serve us? The pub is always so full that the waiters are very busy. They don’t do that on purpose! They’re just very busy. One just has to wait. That’s not so bad.

R: You’re so naive. One sees that you just have no idea what it’s really like in South Africa. We are not in Germany... In any case, I no longer feel like going to that pub with you, where I am part of the unaccepted minority. I’ve put up with this for long enough...

H: But… I always thought you love to be there with me. We always meet people there who we know… I didn’t even know… that…

R: You should have noticed that I’m there because of you and I’m putting up with it. It’s clear that I’m going there with you just because you like to go there and because you would like to have me with you. Do you think I would go to such a place on my own? I’d rather go to an African pub.

H: But… how can I notice that if you never say anything directly to me and always just agree?

What Do You Learn from This Conflict Example Regarding the Reality Constructions?

Enter your impressions and analyses of the above in the following table (Table 2), based on the culturally-related reality construction model by Lederach (1988). Focus on the perceptions (similarities and differences), the interpretations and intentions of the conflict partners, as well as their feelings and the expression of them.

Table 2

Questions to the example dialogue

Didactic Note

With this reflection, you practise the implementation of the reality levels analysis (Lederach, 1988) and thus gain another analytical tool for analysing conflicts, especially with regard to their backgrounds. If possible, discuss your results with other people.

References

Augsburger, D. W. (1992). Conflict mediation across cultures. Kentucky: John Knox Press.

Besemer, C. (1997). Mediation in der praxis. Erfahrungenausden USA. Baden: Werkstatt für Gewaltfreie Aktion.

Besemer, C. (1999). Mediation. Vermittlungin konflikten. Stiftung gewaltfreies leben (6th ed.). Baden: Werkstatt für Gewaltfreie Aktion.

Bonacker, T., & Imbusch, P. (2010). Begriffeder friedens-und konfliktforschung: Konflikt, gewalt, krieg, frieden. In P. Imbusch & R. Zoll (Eds.), Friedens-und konfliktforschung. Eine einführungmit quellen (5th ed., pp. S.73–S116). Opladen: Leske & Budrich.

Bourdieu, P. (2002). Diefeinen unterschiede. Kritikder gesellschaftlichen urteilskraft. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.

Busch, D., Mayer, C.-H., & Boness, C. M. (2010). (Hrsg.): International and regional perspectives on cross-cultural mediation. In Studien zur Interkulturel-len Mediation (Vol. 5). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

Glasl, F. (2013). Konfliktmanagement. Ein Handbuch für Führungskräfte, Beraterinnen und Berater (11th ed.). Stuttgart: Verlag Freies Geistesleben.

Kuhn, H. (1999). Konflikte systemisch und dynamisch lösen. Blätter der Wohlfahrtspflege, Stuttgart, 146(3/4), 55–57.

Lederach, J. P. (1988). Of nets, nails and problems: A folk vision of conflict in central America. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Colorado, Colorado.

Lederach, J. P. (1996). Preparing for peace. Conflict transformation across cultures (Paperback ed.). New York: Syracuse University Press.

Luhmann, N. (2015). Soziale Systeme. Grundriß einer Allgemeinen Theorie (16th ed.). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.

Maringer, E., & Steinweg, R. (1997). Konstruktive Haltungen und Verhaltensweisen in