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International Online Training Program On Intractable Conflict |
Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, USA |
Many facilitated dialogues and mediation efforts fail because the facilitator or mediator does not do a good job or lacks credibility with one or more sides to the conflict. One of the most common problems is that the third party is perceived to be unfair. He or she may be perceived to favor one side over another, or may be thought to be more interested in their own, third, agenda, rather than the interests and/or needs of the disputants themselves. Another problem may be that the third party does not have an adequate background to do a good job. He or she may not understand the nature of the dispute well enough to be an effective facilitator, or she may not understand the parties' cultural biases or constraints. If a mediator comes from a different culture than one or all of the disputants, problems with mutual understanding and trust are often more pronounced.
A related problem is the extent of commitment that the mediator makes. It is often said that a conflict takes as long to get out of as it takes to get into. This means that protracted conflicts, that have gone on for many years take may years to resolve. A mediator who comes into a mediation process for a few weeks--or even months--but who is not ready to really get to know the people and the cultures, and to stay with them for the long term-will likely not be as trusted or be as effective as someone who is willing to give the time and commitment necessary to see the long-running process through to its conclusion.
Copyright ©1998 Conflict Research Consortium -- Contact: crc@colorado.edu