Comparing Mediation And Lok Adalat: Toward An Integrated Approach To Dispute Resolution In India
Gregg Relyea, Niranjan J. Bhatt 06/08/2009
To resolve litigated disputes, Indian courts are using a variety of modern methods, including mediation, and traditional methods, including Lok Adalat, on a broad scale. Lok Adalat (the "people's court") is derived from the ancient panchayat system of justice, where panchas, village elders, helped people resolve their disputes. A close examination of mediation and Lok Adalat reveals several fundamental similarities and distinctions that lend themselves to different types of disputes. To compare mediation and Lok Adalat, the authors used a 20-point analytical template, which may be used to define and distinguish the essential characteristics of ADR processes.

The World is Looking to Obama — and America
Anna Spain 07/16/2008
Despite all the media coverage of the national election campaign, most Americans probably don't realize how captivated foreigners are by Barack Obama, let alone understand why.

The Four Faces of Face
John Ng 05/15/2008
This paper investigates the relationship between maintaining face and mediation and its effects on parties.

Eye of the Storm Leadership - Chapter One
Peter Adler 04/01/2008
Peter Adler is pleased to here provide Chapter One of his new book "Eye of the Storm Leadership." This chapter is entitled: Guerilla Bridge Building and includes free access to the accompanying video.

Bond Newsletter
Geoff Sharp 04/07/2008
Bond University's eagerly awaited Dispute Resolution Centre's April Newsletter is just out!Edited by John Wade, the letter always delivers sophisticated content for the experienced mediator.There's a good article on Overconfidence at mediation and in a follow up to my popular post The Secrets of Successful (and Unsuccessful) Mediators - a completed Questionnaire for Advanced Mediators that John gives to experienced mediators in his regular Advanced Mediation Courses about what they see and do...

Aotearoa New Zealand
Geoff Sharp 07/09/2007
I love this country. Some days it takes my breath away.Like yesterday.I was asked to help out a group of Maori in trouble.They wanted to korero (speak) together and had invited me to their hui (gathering) to help.I was manuhiri (a visitor) and when I arrived at the hui I was met by the tangata whenua (home people) and the kaumatua (elders of the tribe) and we proceeded to hongi (sharing of breath and pressing of noses)We started with a mihi or whaikorero (welcome) followed by a karakia...

Practical guides to negotiating in China
Geoff Sharp 10/01/2007
Last week on the Conflict Management Division Listserv* Roger C. Mayer, Professor of Management at The University of Akron put the word out for any short, practical guides to negotiating in China and got this nice collection of online articles from Kim Foster (the first one is open access but 2 - 4 require $);1. Negotiating into China: the impact of individual perception on Chinese negotiation styles Author(s):Zhenzhong MaInternational Journal of Emerging Markets; Volume: 1 Issue: 1; 20062....

The growth of mediation in China
Geoff Sharp 09/04/2007
Nestled beside a post advising that reincarnating Tibetan Buddhas must obtain Chinese Government approval in future comes this interesting post on Monday over at China Briefing Blog on the growth of mediation in China.Labor disputes in China are rising quickly with an annual growth rate of 27.3 % - so something needs to be done.China is looking to deal with the crisis by a bill strengthening mediation so as to 'help fairly solve labor disputes without going to court and thus safeguard...

The Wisdom of Native Americans
Joe Epstein 07/27/2007
Native American wisdom focuses on healing wounds, and bringing peace through good feelings, not fear. While mediations are focused principally on legal issues, Native American wisdom teaches us to be mindful of a person's emotional damage as well. Mediators should not only emphasize a need for a legal resolution, but also strive to heal broken relationships, and rebuild personal self-esteem and confidence. Addressing these non-monetary dimensions directly is what makes mediation a unique opportunity for both financial resolution and closure. A mediator can assist in addressing non monetary dimensions by using Native American wisdom. This article will present twelve values inspired by Native American wisdom. Each value will be defined used traditional Native American quotes. We will then use actual stories and give examples and tips on how each value can effectively aid in a dispute resolution. The use of stories to explain basic concepts allows the reader to retreat from a linear thought pattern, thereby giving a context and life to ideas that may otherwise be glanced over and forgotten. We invite you to open your minds to a more balanced approach to mediation and a new understanding of how Native American wisdom can help facilitate the mediation process.

Lessons Learned of Mediation in Indian Country: Exploring and comparing transformative mediation process and theory and American Indian values and processes
Kristine Paranica
06/26/2006
It is difficult to know where to start in this short discourse. However, the beginning for me, as a transformative mediator, is with the worldview. American Indian people hold a relational worldview. Their spirituality, in most forms, identifies a strong connection to other human beings, or at least to all tribal members or Indians, and the life force of the earth.

The Ok Tedi Negotiations: Rebalancing the Equation in a Chronic Sustainability Dilemma
Peter Adler 08/29/2007
Between November 2005 and June 2007, a team from The Keystone Center helped organize and implement a multiparty negotiation process aimed at increased redress for people affected by river contamination from the Ok Tedi Mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Ok Tedi is often cited as one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in the world. It is also a true sustainability dilemma. The mine produces 20% of PNG’s gross domestic product, but it has also disrupted the traditional food webs and lives of more than 50,000 people by putting 90,000 tons of rock waste and tailings per day into the Fly River system. After 18 months of effort, a major benchmark was accomplished. Delegates of the nine affected regions along the river, the mining company, the government, and others concluded a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that will ultimately give the people in the impacted area about 1.1 billion kina (roughly US$350 million) in funds, projects, and services.

What Would Gandhi Do?
Eileen Barker 06/10/2007
While the rewards are great, working as a mediator can be very challenging. We are called upon to help people navigate some of life’s most difficult problems. I sometimes think: If I could seek guidance from any wise person, past or present, who would it be? My thoughts sometimes turn to great political leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr., or noble spiritual beings such as Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama. However, I invariably select Mohandas Gandhi, a man who was a master of both the political and spiritual realms, and who inspired each of these other individuals.

Communicating for Peace
Sanjana Hattotuwa 04/30/2007
Growing up in conflict does one of two things – it teaches you the limitations of violence to engender sustainable social change, or it compels you to enter the cycle of violence itself. Violence is often perceived to be an effective way to change the order of things. The internal logic of martyrdom and suicide terrorism may be inexplicable to those outside terrains of hopelessness, but easier to understand when juxtaposed against the backdrop of a perceived lack of alternatives and indoctrination. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), now often touted as a panacea for socio-economic development, fail to make any sense for those enmeshed in violent conflict. This is why I have proposed a deep and meaningful exploration into the way ICT can help engender peace and conflict transformation. I am interested in how (and indeed, if) democracy and peace can be strengthened in countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Colombia, Timor Leste using ICT – how they could be made more resilient to the mercurial actions and policies of political leaders and non-state actors that often sow the seeds for more conflict, how they could give voice to the voiceless and marginalised, and how they can strengthen the participation of youth and empower women in reconciliation.

Persuasion in Negotiation and Mediation Article by John Wade
Geoff Sharp 08/20/2007
Prof. John Wade's latest article on Persuasion in Negotiation and Mediation is fresh out today.Typically, it's 30 something pages are brimming with generous take-aways.John provides a framework for common patterns of behaviour and persuasion observed in high conflict negotiations in civil and family disputes, often including legal representatives.The article sets out:• Some introductory boundaries to the topic of “persuasion”• A composite model of a persuasive lawyer...

The Alliterative Allure of Prof. John Wade
Geoff Sharp 03/19/2007
I mention Prof. John Wade a lot in this blog for a couple of reasons. First, he is wonderfully knowledgeable about all things mediation, but more than that - he is one of my favorite types of people - he is a list junkie... he has 5 ways to do this, 10 ways to do that... Prof. Wade's lists are adorned with alliterative titles like Dobermans and Diplomats (a list of 17 impasse breaking strategies) or How to respond when eager, expensive, entrenched expert egos escalate enmity (a list of...