The Promise of Mediation

1
The Promise of Mediation

• The Mediation Movement 4 Diverging Views
• Satisfaction Story
• Social Justice Story
• Oppression Story
• Transformation Story
• Reality of different views suggest
• 1) Mediation movement is pluralistic
• 2) Views on which goal is most important differ

2
Satisfaction Story

• Mediation is a powerful tool for satisfying
  genuine needs
• Win-Win outcomes
• Goes beyond formal rights to satisfy genuine
  needs
• Satisfaction of self-defined needs for all
  sides
• Reduces emotional and economic costs
• Provides great private and public savings

3
Social Justice Story

• Mediation offers effective means of organizing
  individuals around common interests and thus
  builds stronger community
• Reframes issues to focus on common interests
• Strengthens weak by establishing alliances
• Reduces dependency
• Encourages self-help

4
Transformation Story

• Mediation offers capacity to transform the
  character of individuals and society as a whole
• Informality and consensuality
• Validates importance of problems and goals
• Self-determination
• Mobilization of own resources
• Empowerment dimension
• Recognition dimension

5
Oppression Story

• Mediation is a dangerous instrument for
  increasing the power of the strong to take
  advantage of the weak
• Absence of rules magnifies power imbalances
• Allows coercion and manipulation
• Mediator uses excuse of neutrality
• Unjust and disproportionate
• Allows Mediators biases

6
Implications of the Different Stories

• Mediation movement is diverse and pluralistic
• Different approaches to mediation practice
• And also different impacts
• None are the True Story
• Each is a valid account
• However, not all equally reflective
• Satisfaction Story is dominant pattern of
  practice

7
(Implications Continued)

• Each story shows what is and what should be
• Impossible to achieve all the different goals
• Future direction depends on which story we
  believe in as a prescription for the movement
• Satisfaction Story satisfaction of individual
  needs
• Social Justice and Oppression Stories reducing
  inequality
• Transformation Story Transforming human
  character

8
Value of Transformation

• Transformation is different in that instead of
  trying to change peoples situations, it involves
  changing the people themselves, and thus society
  as a whole.
• Unique nature of the goal of transformation
• Only a changed world of changed people can
  achieve the goal of being better off
• Not only being better off matters, but also being
  better

9
A Transformative View of Conflict and Mediation

• Must reexamine our views of conflict
• Question that conflict problems
• View them instead as opportunities for moral
  growth and transformation Transformative
  Orientation
• Conflict is potential for growth in 2 areas
• Strengthening the Self
• Reaching beyond the self to relate to others

10
Empowerment and Recognition

• Empowerment is achieved when disputing parties
  experience a strengthened awareness of their own
  self worth and their own ability to deal with
  whatever difficulties they face.
• Recognition is achieved when (given some degree
  of empowerment) disputing parties experience and
  expand willingness to acknowledge and be
  responsive to other parties situations and human
  qualities.

11
Empowerment Examples

• Empowerment as to goals
• Clearer realization of what matters and why
• Realization of goals and interests in situation
• Empowerment as to options
• Aware of range of options
• Realization that choices exist
• Realization that even mediation is a choice
• Empowerment as to skills
• Increase own skills in conflict resolution
• Learn to better listen, communicate, analyze, etc.

12
(Empowerment Examples Cont)

• Empowerment as to resources
• New awareness of resources already in possession
• Realization that you hold something of value to
  other party
• Empowerment as to decision making
• Reflect, deliberate, and make conscious decisions
  for self
• Asses first and then make decisions

13
Recognition Examples

• Consideration of giving recognition
• Realization that you posses capacity to reflect
  and consider other parties situation
• Feel secure enough to focus on the other party
  some
• Desire for giving recognition
• Goes beyond capacity to desire
• Find a way to acknowledge what other is
  experiencing
• Giving recognition in thought
• See other party in more favorable light
• Reinterpret past conduct in more favorable light
• light bulb goes on

14
(Recognition Examples Cont)

• Giving recognition in words
• Openly acknowledges changed understanding
• Admits new views to mediator
• Accompanies statement of new understanding with
  apology
• Giving recognition in actions
• Makes concrete accommodation
• Express genuine regret if circumstances prohibit
  this

15
Successful Mediation Happens

• If the parties involved have been made aware of
  the opportunities presented during the mediation
  for both empowerment and recognition.
• If the parties have been helped to clarify goals,
  options, and resources, and then to make
  informed, deliberate, and free choices regarding
  how to proceed at every decision point.
• If the parties have been helped to give
  recognition wherever it was their decision to do
  so.

16
An Overview of Transformative Mediation

• We looked at empowerment and recognition as
  objectives, now we must also look at them as
  processes.
• Three overall patterns of mediator conduct
• Microfocusing on Parties Contributions
• Encouraging Parties Deliberation and Choice
  Making
• Encouraging Perspective Taking

17
Solving the Problem of Problem Solving

• Many mediators wind up influencing the outcome of
  mediation
• Transformative approach produces a solution by
  changing the nature of the influence
• New and more realistic definition of neutrality
• More likely to satisfy and empower both parties
• Greatest Strength is in capturing the priceless
  opportunities for moral growth that are inherent
  in all conflicts between human beings