Peacemaking and Transformative Mediation

Sulha Practices in Palestine and the Middle East

Erin Dyer Saxon

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9783319603056
• eBook ISBN:
  9783319603063
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Diplomacy & Treaties
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Marks the first work to outline a working theory of sulha practice, from the ideological background to the practice of conflict resolution in Palestine

Provides in-depth understanding of inner workings of sulha practice from a local practitioner perspective

Admits shortcomings of the western model and advocates the strength of local capacities for peace

© The Author(s) 2018

Erin Dyer SaxonPeacemaking and Transformative Mediationhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60306-3_1

Begin Abstract

1. Introduction and Methodology

Erin Dyer Saxon¹

(1)

Divide, CO, USA

Erin Dyer Saxon

Email: [email protected]

Abstract

This chapter aims to give an introduction to the study and the specific methology used. The purpose of the study provides a basis for the project and the approach used to analyze data and return conclusions. Methodology is discussed, including the nature of the interviews. The structure of the study is outlined, including the specific interview questions, theory questions, and central research questions referred to throughout the study.

Keywords

Research designResearch structureTheory questionsResearch questions

End Abstract

Introduction

As a conflict resolution strategy, mediation has proven to be a resilient method of settling disputes worldwide. Yet, the practice of mediation is subject to cultural variation and ideological interpretation. Avruch (1998, p. 24) remarks “Conflict resolution looks rather different depending on which sense of conflict we begin with.” In the United States, the Transformative Mediation Framework (TMF), developed by Bush and Folger (1994), evolved from a culture of individualism and problem-solving. In its thesis, TMF was distinguishable by the focus placed on the existence and impact of mediator ideology on the process, the establishment of a relational ideology in its foundation, as well as the articulation of the importance of the qualitative effects for the parties involved. This theory of conflict transformation has engaged scholars and practitioners across North America, Europe, and Australia. Yet, outside of a “Western” cultural context, the framework is unknown. The question remains: is the Transformative Mediation Framework relevant outside of the “West”?

The practice of mediation is varied even within the same cultural context. Bush and Folger argue that theory drives practice that ideologies inevitably affect the way in which practitioners approach their work. In the mediation field, particular views on the nature of human beings, what conflict is, how one can ascertain that a conflict intervention is going well or poorly, and what role, if any, that social institutions should have in the field of conflict resolution will guide a mediator into an associated model of practice. Using this logic, Bush and Folger describe two models and their associated ideology in the West: problem-solving mediation and individualist ideology, and transformative mediation and relational ideology.

Given a case study in the Middle East, this study uses the underpinning elements of the TMF approach and considers these in a cultural context that differs significantly from the Western basis for the model. The selected case study is located in an area of enduring broader regional conflict, holding the potential for further distinction in worldviews. TMF is considered with appreciation that it is not an indigenous model within the case study, but that TMF could be of potential interest outside of the confines of the West.

A case study was undertaken in Bethlehem, in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) of the West Bank, 10 km south of Jerusalem. The interviews that were conducted with experienced mediators affiliated with Wi’am produced an array of responses that were coded for themes relevant to this study. Sulha, a traditional Arab model of conflict resolution, focuses on mediator influence, restoring harmony and honour, and public acknowledgement of the ending of conflict. Those interviewed described their views on human nature, conflict in general, what successful and failed conflict resolution might entail, and the role that the social institutions should have in the process. The cultural realities specific to the Arab world provided by scholars in the discussion on culture and conflict resolution proved accurate.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this research is to examine whether non-Western approaches to conflict in a politically divided societal context correlate to the transformative approach to conflict and its relational ideological underpinnings.

There are two main facets to the central research problem: the lack of research of the transformative framework as applied in non-Western cultures or regions affected by ongoing political conflict and the uncertainty of whether the relational ideology corresponds effectively with components of Middle Eastern culture and belief systems. The primary purpose of this research is to examine whether the relational ideology, which creates the foundation for the Transformative Mediation Framework, can be a shared belief despite numerous distinctions in culture and values. The secondary purpose is to examine a Middle Eastern approach to conflict: what influences in society create concepts of conflict, how is conflict analyzed, managed, resolved, or transformed, and how these methods are taught within communities.

Exploring the modes of communication in the culture and comparing it to the foundation to the transformative approach addressed the two aspects of the research problem. By observing and understanding approaches to conflict and its resolution or transformation in a non-Western setting currently engaged in a protracted conflict, the primary and secondary foci of the study are supported in coming to an understanding of whether the relational ideology behind the transformative framework can be shared outside of the Western frame of reference despite considerable cultural, social, and political disparities.

Methodology

This study is comprised of a stated research purpose, theoretical foundations in the form of literature reviews on the subjects of mediation as well as culture and conflict resolution, central research questions, theory questions, and a case study and interview questions adapted from Della Noce (2002) for use within semi-structured interviews with practicing mediators to gauge the concepts of their working theory and practice of mediation. Following the field research, the material was contrasted with existing research to analyze the data in light of the theory questions and the central research questions.

Nature of Interviews

The nine semi-structured interviews provided significant, original information that supplemented literature readily available. This study has qualitative aims, where “improved understanding of complex human issues is more important than generalizability of results” Marshall (1996, p. 524). Therefore, this study intends to investigate unexplored elements of TMF, rather than to provide a result that is generalizable to a population.

The selection of interview participants was not informed by qualitative research methods, and mediators were not selected through a process of random sampling. Instead, this study employed what ‘purposeful sampling’, a non-probability form of sampling Bryman (2008, p. 415). In purposeful sampling, the goal is a strategic sampling that will provide the richest and most relevant results in comparison with the research questions. The sample provides variety in terms of participants selected for study, but, due to the non-probability of sampling, is not generalizable to the population.

Importantly, “the essence of the qualitative approach is that it is naturalistic—studying real people in natural settings rather than in artificial isolation. Sampling therefore has to take account not only of the individual’s characteristics but also temporal, spatial and situational influences, that is, the context of the study” Marshall (1996, p. 524). This research was conducted in situ, in the homes, offices, and workspaces of the mediators interviewed, within the context of the West Bank. This physical location added a layer of complexity, because the current social and political situation required an understanding of the environment in which mediators worked.

Structure of Argument

Through a gradual discussion of mediator ideology, the expectations of the third party role, and specific intervention strategies within distinct mediation practices, the same structure of argument is used to illustrate the central characteristics of the model adopted by mediators affiliated with Wi’am. TMF has identified mediator ideology as a key rationale behind practice. The relevance of TMF within this context is discussed through the consideration of whether the ideologies of mediators affiliated with Wi’am align with existing Western mediator ideologies articulated by Bush and Folger or with a decidedly local worldview...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Frontmatter
• 1. Introduction and Methodology
• 2. Theoretical Perspectives on Mediation and the Third Party Role
• 3. Culture and Conflict Resolution
• 4. A Brief History of Palestine and Conflict Resolution
• 5. Interviews with Palestinian Peacemakers
• 6. The Underlying Ideological Framework of Mediation Practice with Wi’am
• 7. Comparison of Palestinian Peacemaking with the Transformative Mediation Framework
• 8. The Promise and Limits of Transformative Mediation in Palestine
• Backmatter