10 Questions from New England ACR (5/21/12)
Tammy Lenski
Editor, NE-ACR Past President, and all-around fab mediator Louisa Williams has put together another gotta-read edition of the newsletter. It includes a review of Thinking, Fast and Slow by Danial Kahneman, whose early work lit me on fire while I was working on my doctoral dissertation in the early 90s. I enjoyed Kahneman’s new book tremendously and am still working to digest all that was in it.

On Negotiation, Extremism and History - Book Review of Brown's and Marriott's ADR Principles and Practice (5/07/12)
Robert Benjamin
The conflict terrain of the last 30 years is an important backdrop to a complete appreciation of ADR Principles and Practice, Third Edition, by Henry Brown and Arthur Marriott, published by Sweet and Maxwell in 2011. The authors, both from the United Kingdom, demonstrate an appreciation for the vagaries of history and gritty realities of mediation, arbitration and conflict management practice garnered from many years of life and professional experience.

Mediation Preparation: Evaluating the Settlement Value of Your Case (4/30/12)
Nancy Hudgins
An important component in preparing your clients for mediation is evaluating the case value for settlement. For your clients to be able to make informed decisions about settlement figures proposed by the other side, they will need to know what to compare them against. Otherwise, they are making decisions in a vacuum.

The Mediator’s Toolkit – Neutrality and the Mediator (4/23/12)
Dave Aschaiek
Neutrality applies to a mediator’s impartiality and refers to the idea that a mediator should not take sides in a dispute or voice an opinion about who is right or wrong in a dispute. While it is critical for a mediator to be impartial, two items must first be examined.

Special Announcement! ACR Annual Conference Keynote (4/02/12)
Rachel Barbour
The Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) is pleased to announce the Keynote Speaker for the 2012 ACR Annual Conference is Ms. Leymah Gbowee, Joint Winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.

Embedding Mediation in South African Justice (3/26/12)
Jacques Joubert
This is a perspective on the future of mediation in South Africa. It discusses the flaws and benefits of the current system, as well as anticipated developments in the future.

The Role of Victory and Place in Conflict (2/13/12)
Ann Begler
My personal philosophy is that in order to truly perform our work at our best we’re required to be on a constant course of self-reflection and in a process of continual self-growth. Several years ago I embarked on a four-year study program of Integrated Kabbalistic Healing. At the time I wasn’t sure how that course of study would become integrated into the work I do in mediation and conflict resolution. As I’ve moved well beyond that particular training, I’ve found, somewhat to my surprise, that the teachings that began with my training frequently filter through my work deep ways ...   1 Comment

When to Negotiate (2/06/12)
Joe Markowitz
Anyone who has still been following budget negotiations in Congress has no doubt noticed that they have reached another interesting stage. Recall that last summer Congress struck a deal in which Republicans agreed to go along with raising the debt ceiling, in exchange for appointing a super committee to come up with additional debt reduction measures.

Effective Use of Civil and Commercial Mediation in Poland: Part 2 (2/06/12)
Sylwester Pieckowski
Poland was one of the first EU Member States to enact a detailed and complete legislation on mediation in civil and commercial matters (“Polish Mediation Law”). The Law entered into force on December 10, 2005. This article discusses Polish mediation in civil matters.

Mic Check (2/06/12)
Bill Withers
What if those who would change the world engaged in a conversation about what will replace whatever we want to tear down? What if protest included conversation? What if people who read this bravely begin talking to me and to others about it?

Ray Shonholtz: The Passing of a Community Mediation Visionary (1/11/12)
Justin Corbett
It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of our friend and colleague Raymond Shonholtz. Ray was a visionary within community mediation from its earliest days.

Effective Use of Civil and Commercial Mediation in Poland: Part 1 (12/27/11)
Sylwester Pieckowski
This article is part one in a two-part series about effectively using mediation in civil and commercial disputes in Poland. This discusses the present laws and norms in mediation and what are the plans for the future.

The View from the Group: A Collectivist’s Perspective on Conflict Management in Organizations (12/12/11)
Christine Tsai
Most research on organizational conflict presents a Western slant on conflict management at work. Expanding research to include non-Western cultures provides a more comprehensive sense of how conflict is managed in organizational settings worldwide.

The Mediator's Toolkit: Cultural Competence - Transcending Culture Differences in Mediation (12/05/11)
Dave Aschaiek
This article considers different definitions of culture, how culture has been seen to influence communication and the concept of cultural competence as it relates to facilitating intercultural communication. This article further examines the concept of cultural competence as it relates to mediation and more specifically the Mediator's role.   1 Comment

Mediation in Italy (11/21/11)
Alessandro Bruni
Alessandro Bruno begins a series of articles describing the development of mediation in Italy and typical processes and approaches.   2 Comments

New Frontiers in Cross Border Family Mediation (11/07/11)
Sabine Walsh
Front my point of view as a mediator and as a participant in the training programme, I can see only enormous benefits for bi-national families in using mediation to resolve, and even prevent the crises that can result in children being taken from their home country and the fallout that ensues.

UN Member Countries Promote Use of Mediation to Peacefully Resolve Conflict (10/31/11)
Chris Poole
The General Assembly resolution marks mediation’s rise to prominence on the international stage and lays a foundation for its expanded use in peacefully resolving conflict.

Conflict and Conversational Practice-- Article 3 of 3 (10/31/11)
Milan Slama
During the last couple of decades, different approaches have been developed and applied by many professionals who practice in the arena of conflict and dispute resolution. Many of us have heard about evaluative, facilitative, transformative, and narrative approaches to mediation. All of these approaches offer several valuable features and all have something in common.

Would You Like Fries With That? (10/10/11)
Mitch Chyette
An examination of how the various negotiating traps illustrated by the debt-ceiling negotiations and how we can avoid them.   1 Comment

Leading from the Back of the Room (10/03/11)
Jan Frankel Schau
Today I read about a Business leader who spoke of "leading from the back of the room" and I was struck by the notion that I had risen to the position of leadership where I take a seat which is not rightfully my own.

Judging Before You Listen (9/19/11)
Diane Cohen
This morning I watched a Ted Talk by Evelyn Glennie about how to listen (See below). I found it fascinating for a few reasons.

Understanding the Incomprehensible: Identity, Security and Terrorism (Updated) (9/05/11)
Camilo Azcarate
Understanding the Incomprehensible: Identity, Security and Terrorism was written ten years ago to understand international conflict. This article has now been written to examine the state of international affairs in the last decade.   1 Comment

Revolution: Traditional Conflicts and Digital Conversations (7/18/11)
Inessa Colaiacovo
As social networks connect more and more people, what impact do they have on geopolitical conflict?

The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organization Network: Mediating in the Midst of Conflict (7/03/11)
Husam El-NouNou, Amjad Shawa, Donald Mellman
This article focuses on two particular conflicts involving Fateh and Hamas which will show the goals of such mediations to be on the parallel tracks of 1) the Palestinian state and 2) the Palestinians as a united group of individuals.

Gov. Cuomo’s Excellent Negotiation: A Lesson from the Real World (7/01/11)
Robert Benjamin
While most of the attention on the recent passage of the New York Marriage Equality Act is understandably on the legal, political, social policy, and civil rights implications, the opportunity to study the negotiation process marshaled by Governor Andrew Cuomo should not be missed, especially by those who study and practice negotiation, mediation and conflict management. Cuomo’s negotiation success was less the result of reasoned persuasion and more about his strategic, flexible and effective management of people and circumstance, many of which were unexpected and predictably irrational.