Citation

Dyck D. Confl. Resolut. Q. 2000; 18(2): 129-149.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/crq.3890180204

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article presents the argument that the roles of interpersonal mediator and nonviolent advocate/activist are best carried out when they are each understood as being part of a larger framework of conflict resolution that makes room for them both. It draws on the relevant literature to date that supports the thesis that the skills and energies of both nonviolent advocacy and mediation should come into play in the actual practice of either role. To this end, it challenges the notion of neutrality as a guiding concept in the practice of mediation, suggesting instead that mediators, like nonviolent advocates, should determine the degree to which they intervene or influence the content of a session by the communicative behaviors of those in conflict. Finally, a visual model for illustrating the concrete ways in which the skills, conceptual resources, and energies of nonviolent advocacy might come into play in the practice and training of mediation is presented. The implications of this article are that we, as Western practitioners of mediation, must fundamentally rethink the way we define, carry out, and teach our role by looking, at least in part, to the assumptions and practice of nonviolent advocacy/activism.