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International Online Training Program On Intractable
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Conflict Research Consortium, University
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Getting People to the Table
Glossary | Menu Shortcut Page
One of the hardest parts of many mediation processes is just getting people to agree to
participate. As is explained in more detail in the section on
Limits
to Agreement: Better Alternatives people are unlikely to be willing to negotiate if
they think they can get a better outcome by using another source of power--usually some
form of force. (Here force does not just mean violence, but any sort of process, such as
the courts, which will force someone to do something they would not otherwise do.) If
people (or a group of people, or national diplomats representing a government) think they
can prevail completely without compromising, they are likely to refuse to negotiate, since
negotiation usually involves the exchange of concessions or compromises.
The only way to overcome this problem is to demonstrate that negotiation is likely to
yield a better outcome than the alternatives. This is easiest once the conflict has
reached a point of stalemate--once both sides have won what they can, and the parties are
at a standoff, neither able to win more, yet not willing to give up either. This is when a
conflict is said to be "ripe" for resolution, and this is usually the best time
to "get people to the table." (Other factors contribute to ripeness as well--see
the essay on
Identifying
Ripe Times for Negotiation)
Another factor that is important in getting people to the table is convincing them that
it is a "safe" place to be. Often lower power parties are afraid that they will
be over-powered in any negotiation. For that reason, they tend to rely on covert forms of
force such as nonviolent direct action or sporadic violence, rather than negotiations to
try to get attention and be taken seriously. The mediator must assure all the parties that
their interests and needs will be fairly considered in the negotiation process, and that
they will not be co-opted or over-powered, due to their inferior status.
Links to more information about getting people to the table:
- Jeffery Rubin -- The Timing of Ripeness and
the Ripeness of Timing
- This is an article on "ripeness," which is one of several key factors in
getting people to the table.
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- William Zartman and Saadia Touval --
International Mediation in the Post- Cold War Era
- This article also describes what factors encourage parties to enter into mediation.
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- Joseph Phelps -- When Dialogue is NOT our Hope
- This article discusses when dialogue is not appropriate or likely to be beneficial. The
same rules, by and large, pertain to mediation as well.
-
Susan Carpenter and W.J.D. Kennedy --
Constituencies and Public Information
The opposite side of getting parties to the table is allowing parties to come to the
table. Excluding key parties, this article illustrates, is a recipe for failure.
Steven McIntosh -- Sanctions
This article examines the use and effectiveness of UN sanctions in five cases. One of
the uses is to encourage parties to sit down at the negotiating table. The article
illustrates that this worked in some case, but not in others, and draws conclusions about
the differences.
Susan L. Carpenter and W.J.D.
Kennedy--Handling the Human Side of the Process
The authors discuss how to get over a variety of "people problems."
Roger Fischer, Elizabeth Kopelman and Andrea
Schneider -- Consider the Other Side's Choice
This strategy is one way to help get the other side to the
negotiating table.
Clem McCarthy -- Conflict Resolution In
Northern Ireland: Reconciling Form and Substance
Getting parties to the negotiating table has been one of the major problems in the
Northern Ireland conflict.
John Paul Lederach -- Process: The
Dynamics and Progression of Conflict
Parties are more likely to negotiate at some stages of a conflict than others.
Louis Kriesberg -- The Negotiation of
Agreements
Getting parties to the table is the first step in the successful negotiation of
agreements.
Harold Saunders -- We Need a Larger Theory Of
Negotiation: the Importance of Pre-Negotiation Phases
This article illustrates how pre-negotiation can help get parties to the table.
Links to related approaches:
Identifying
Ripe Times for Negotiation
Utilize
a Skilled, Credible Third Party
Action Forcing
Mechanisms/Deadlines
Provide a Forum
Links to related problems:
Failing
to Identify All of the Affected People or Groups
Copyright ©1998 Conflict Research Consortium -- Contact: crc@colorado.edu