Logic Overpowers Intuition: The Obama WAR!!! (12/14/09)
Luis Miguel Diaz
President Obama decided to send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in the next six months and then begin pulling them out a year after. He overlooked negotiation and mediation as effective options to end the war. He insists on what does not function to humanly end a war: war intensification.   5 Comments

Negotiators And Snipers: On Strategies For Managing Piracy On The High Seas---And Elsewhere (5/13/09)
r.d. benjamin
Few international incidents end with the successful finality and clarity as did the rescue of the Maerske ship Captain, Richard Phillips, from the clutches of Somali pirates in mid April. Three clean kill shots by U.S.Navy snipers settled the stand-off. Most people in the Western world felt relieved and good about the outcome. Maybe assassination was warranted. Clearly, piracy cannot be tolerated. However, the pursuit of both negotiation and assassination strategies at the same time is troublesome and may be costly in the longer term. If negotiation appears to be merely a pretext for snipers' to act, then will the trust essential for successful negotiations be lost in future negotiations?   15 Comments

Listening to the Language and the Voices of Terrorists (9/01/08)
Noa Zanolli
What is terrorism telling us? What are terrorists saying with their horrific deeds? What grievance do these voices express—justified or not?   8 Comments

The Dirty, Risky Business of Negotiation: Ideology and the Risk of Appeasement (6/10/08)
r.d. benjamin
Fighting has the edge over negotiation as the first inclination of most people when faced with conflict. Our human brain chemistry lubricates the preference for warfare and the use of force, while negotiation, by contrast, requires a willed, determined and conscious effort.   2 Comments

Should We Negotiate with Hamas? Interview with Former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami (3/05/06)
r.d. benjamin
The prevalent view about negotiation with Hamas is to take a tough stance. This is an interview with former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami who thinks otherwise. He thinks we can do business with Hamas and we can negotiate. Here are Mr. Ben-Ami's pertinent comments drawn from a debate between him and another expert on the Israeli-Palestinian history, Norman Finkelstein, sponsored by Democracy Now, and moderated by Amy Goodman on February 14, 2006.   1 Comment

Mediating Evil, War, and Terrorism: The Politics of Conflict (11/11/04)
Kenneth Cloke
We require improved understanding, not only of the conflict in politics, but the politics in conflict. As our world shrinks and our problems can no longer be solved except internationally, we need ways of revealing, even in seemingly ordinary, interpersonal conflicts, the larger issues that connect us across boundaries, and methods for resolving political conflicts that are sweeping, strategic, interest-based, and transformational. A clear, unambiguous reason for doing so occurred on September 11, 2001.

Interview with Bill Lincoln (3/14/03)
Ana Schofield
Bill is a source of inspiration for many and is undoubtedly one of the ‘unsung heroes’ of this profession. Bill, at 62, has spent much of his life dealing with the complexities of conflict. His courage to go into dangerous situations is found where peace and justice are absent. Bill places his words and actions where his heart lies and risks his life for his beliefs. While he may be afraid, he goes ‘on anyway’. How many people today are willing to face fear with the courage of a warrior armed with words instead of weapons?   4 Comments

Where Is The Wisdom? (3/03/03)
Stewart Levine
A chilling wind is blowing. As I write it is sending shivers of fear through my body. These shivers make me profoundly aware of the terror our founding fathers had suffered, and why they held freedom of expression as bedrock for the democratic union they conceived.

Why Has Negotiation Gotten a Bad Name? (2/24/03)
Joshua N. Weiss
You can't negotiate with terrorists! You can't negotiate with rogue states like Iraq and North Korea that would be rewarding their threatening and bad behavior! You wouldn't negotiate with Hitler would you look what happened to Chamberlain!   5 Comments

Reckless Administration May Reap Disastrous Consequences (2/18/03)
US Senator Robert Byrd We stand passively mute in the United States Senate, paralyzed by our own uncertainty, seemingly stunned by the sheer turmoil of events. Only on the editorial pages of our newspapers is there much substantive discussion of the prudence or imprudence of engaging in this particular war. Senate Floor Speech delivered on Wednesday, February 12, 2003.   7 Comments

A Wish For The Future (12/21/02)
John Paul Lederach
I have a wish for a gift given from our generation to our great grandchildren, from the adults of this decade to the children of the end of this Century: Let this be the decade remembered as the time when the beginning of the end of human warfare happened.   7 Comments

Conflict Transformation in an Age of Terrorism (12/16/02)
Ronald S. Kraybill
America has invested lavishly and narrowly in hammers. As a consequence, the mightiest nation in history responds simplistically to a problem of vast complexity. Rather than examine the full extent of the evil mess created by decades of destructive interaction between ourselves and others, we choose responses that under-estimate the gravity of our situation. We satisfy our need to act, but our children will bear the cost, for the problems will grow far worse on the long-term.   5 Comments

A Call to the Conflict Resolution Community (9/24/02)
Bridget Moix
The need for voices which can articulate, with experience and professional knowledge, the dangers of spiraling cycles of violence, of an "us vs. them" approach to the world, of seeking security for oneself through war against another, has never been greater. More than anything, policymakers in the U.S. and internationally need to be convinced that effective alternatives for dealing with entrenched and spiraling conflict do exist, that face-saving ways out of the corners we find ourselves in can be found, that our own security is linked inextricably to the security of our global neighbors and even our so-called global enemies. The conflict resolution field has the experience, the knowledge, and the compassion that is critically needed in the current political debate. If only it will raise its voice.   8 Comments

The Wall and 'Supply Side Security' (9/22/02)
Ronald S. Kraybill
It's time to move past "do-we-or-don't we shell Saddam" to the stuff burning holes in our hearts. Let's name what we're really after. Isn't it security, to know that when we say good-bye to our families in the morning we'll live to say hello again over the dinner table at night? To know that our kids get to have grandkids someday?   3 Comments

The Loss of Civic Connectedness (4/29/02)
W. Steve Lee
An increasing number of people are expressing concern over the loss of civic connectedness in America. Voting, volunteerism, and participation in professional and community associations, it seems, are in decline. Experts, such as noted scholar Robert D. Putnam, warn that our stock of social capital - the fabric of our connections with each other - has plummeted, bankrupting our lives and communities.   1 Comment

Occupation, Terrorism Devastate Two Peoples (4/12/02)
Nir Pearlson
The Weeping will last for generations to come, and what are we to tell our offspring? I was born and raised in Israel, where I served in an elite unit in the Israeli Defense Forces. When my comrades and I were trained to be soldiers, we knew that our army was essential for protecting our homes and families. We also still believed that our army was guided by the principle of "tohar ha'neshek." It translates into English as "purity of arms," and refers to the moral understanding that any weapon must be used solely as a means of defense in preventing the destruction of oneself, one's family and one's nation.   1 Comment

Should We Negotiate With Terrorists – A Counterpoint (1/21/02)
Darrell Puls
Washington Mediation Association President Cris Currie writes on the Mediate.com website that we should be willing to negotiate with all, including terrorists. I bring a different perspective to this discourse, and I differ with Mr. Currie.   7 Comments

Poll Shows Importance of Outreach Discussions with Muslim Nations (12/21/01)
Mediate.com In a poll released by Mediate.com (www.mediate.com) on December 21, 2001, the public seems to recognize that the U.S. long term best interests are served by outreach discussions with Muslim nations.

Should We Negotiate with Terrorists? (12/03/01)
Cris Currie
While it may seem that those of us in the field of conflict resolution have had little to say since September 11, 2001, professional negotiators have not been silent on the subject of terrorism. Roger Fisher addressed this very question in the second edition of Getting To Yes, and in January of 1992, the Negotiation Journal published a special issue called Reflections on the War in the Persian Gulf. The insights found in these publications are just as valid in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack as they were for the terrorism of the 1980s and early 90s.   14 Comments

Statement Against Employment Discrimination in the Aftermath of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks (11/20/01)
EEOC, Department of Labor and the Department of Justice, U.S. We continue to receive reports of incidents of harassment, discrimination, and violence in the workplace against individuals who are, or are perceived to be, Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian, or Sikh. As leaders within the principal federal agencies responsible for enforcing the laws against discrimination in employment, we are issuing this joint statement to reaffirm the federal government's commitment to the civil rights of all working people in our fight against terrorism.

Two Geopolitical Worldviews Compete for the Steering Wheel (11/09/01)
Thomas Jordan
The discussions in the media about the terror attacks in the USA make painfully clear that the commentators and decision-makers react to the events in such different ways that meaningful communication is very difficult. However, the outcomes of these discussions are critically important to us all, because the reactions of the West to terrorism will have far-reaching consequences for the course of events in the global society in the coming years.   1 Comment

Quo Vadis? Reframing Terror from the Perspective of Conflict Resolution (11/09/01)
John Paul Lederach
The events on September 11, 2001 that overtook our daily lives and reoriented our national and global priorities pose significant challenges for our newly emerging century. They leave us with the question -- Quo vadis -- where are we headed? Where we are going and how we get there depends a great deal on how we define the nature of our journey, its challenges, and ultimately its proposed destination. We might best understand our destination as a horizon, visible as a guidepost but never removing the need for continued journey.   2 Comments

How Should We Respond To Terrorism? (11/07/01)
Michael McCabe
Some years ago I wrote a paper, entitled “I used to know all the answers. Now, I know some of the questions.” The question that introduces this reflection is one that I never expected to ask. But it must be asked if we are to learn anything from the events of September 11th.   1 Comment

Understanding the Incomprehensible: Identity, Security and Terrorism (11/07/01)
Camilo Azcarate
The field that studies conflict as a social phenomenon is still in its infancy. Nevertheless, during the last 50 years the work of social scientist has greatly advanced our understanding of the problem. Today, we have a better understanding of the creation and development of such conflicts and we have developed social tools and methods necessary to analyze and address them. The purpose of this paper is to review some of them and to apply this knowledge to the events of September 11.

National Tragedy Brings out the Best in Litigators & Litigants (10/31/01)
Deborah Rothman
The barbaric terrorist attacks of September 11 have brought out the courage, patriotism and selflessness in millions of Americans. It will be interesting to see what effect those tragic events will have on litigators and litigants. A few early returns are most promising.