Glossary
This is a glossary of the formats, methods and concepts the Center for Peace Mediation uses, including a short description of how they are understood and applied.
Conflicts occur when interests, needs or norms collide in a way that a mutual agreement cannot be reached. In the field of peace mediation, conflicts are multilayered and, due to the sum of parties having stakes in a conflict, highly complex. Conflict can be a source of both suffering and change, instability and stability.
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Conflict Transformation is creating constructive change processes that reduce violence, increase justice in direct interaction and social structures, and respond to real-life problems in human relationships (Lederach 2003).
Consultation is a flexible format to include additional expertise on process or thematic issues in mediation efforts. The CPM provides expertise on conflict analysis (see Mediation-Oriented Conflict Analysis), assessment of entry points, access to key actors, clarification of mandate and roles, assessment of capacity building needs and design of institutionalized mediation capacities, as well as the design and implementation of mediation processes.
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Dialogue ...
A Dilemma is a conflict between two or more impulses for action that one feels obliged to follow, be it for pragmatic, moral or legal reasons: Both demands seem to be equally compulsory or awful, but cannot be realized or prevented at the same time and there seems to be no acceptable third option. Dilemmas result from a conflict between two or more goals, values, principles or rules which cannot be brought into an unambiguously accepted hierarchy. Unsolved dilemmas produce feelings of frustration, guilt, powerlessness and can lead to an attitude of resignation and cynicism. The CPM's research on dilemmas in peace mediation aims to develop a routine for managing these dilemmas.
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An Expert Interview is a socio-scientific method of empirical research and can be – depending on its purpose and focus – conducted as narrative interview, focus interview or group interview. In the context of peace mediation, experts are defined as actors who work on and in conflicts as well as actors directly involved in or affected by a conflict. Interviewing experts with different accesses to a conflict allows its multi-perspective complexity to be analyzed and tackled. Expert interviews are essential to give local actors a voice and to design tailor-made responses to a conflict. They stimulate, complement, validate or correct theoretical insights.
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Facilitation is the act of making something easier or making something happen; in the field of conflict management facilitation aims at a better understanding between conflict parties. Facilitation is oriented towards the concrete objectives of a session and its situational background, aiming to stimulate creative, solution-oriented thinking and pragmatic decision-making. Thus, facilitating processes means creating space for positive interaction and then structuring it, in direct response to the dynamics and sensitivities of a conflict system.
The primary precondition for facilitating mediation processes is a clear mandate of all relevant actors: the actors involved in and affected by the conflict; the major stakeholders; and other local or international third parties who are already mandated to mediate in the conflict. Further, a critical examination of one's own potentials and limits to act as a third party in the case and a solid conflict and context analysis are required. |
Peace mediation has become a profession in recent years: a craft based on comprehensive practical skills, a science based on multidisciplinary research and analysis, an art based on talent and intuition, and an ethics based on professional values and principles. Good practice, however, is not about bringing each of these features to perfection. It is about internalizing them to an extent that upholds the role and the skills of a mediator particularly when under pressure or fear and when experiencing confusion or temptation.
Interests are the situational, concrete manifestations of desires, needs, goals or values, the things that people want to achieve or protect in a conflict situation. Unlike positions which are statements such as "I (don't) want that," the interests underlying those positions are answers to the question "What do you want that for?" or "For what reasons is that important for you?"
Satisfying interests creates commitment and liability where power and norms do not work: what people intrinsically want, will make them invest or give away other things that other people may value. Thus, knowing and taking into account all relevant interests involved in and affected by a conflict is the basis for designing robust mandates, feasible processes and resilient agreements - and therefore a core element of CPM's approach. |
Mediation "is a process whereby a third party assists two or more parties, with their consent, to prevent, manage or resolve a conflict by helping them to develop mutually acceptable agreements. The premise of mediation is that in the right environment, conflict parties can improve their relationships and move towards cooperation" (UN Guidance for Effective Mediation).
Mediation Support includes all "activities that assist and improve mediation practices, e.g. training activities for conflict parties and mediators, developing guidance, carrying out research, working on policy issues, offering consultation, backstopping ongoing mediation processes, networking and engaging with parties" (Mediation Support Network).
Peace Mediation is the approach of mediation that aims to prevent, manage or resolve intra- and interstate social, societal and political conflicts and to prepare the ground for building long-lasting peaceful relations. It is often part of comprehensive peace processes and conflict prevention. Peace Mediation includes multiple process methods (mediation, mediation support, dialogue processes) on different tracks and is conducted by specialized mediation experts, diplomats with their support teams and various other actors with differentiated functions and roles.
Mediation Entry Points are the specific features or elements within the anatomy or context of a conflict that help mediation actors create access to the conflict parties or stakeholders and that have the potential for a feasible and successful mediation approach. The specific profile, background and role of the potential third party can be a precondition for – or increase the likelihood of – effectively translating entry points into mediation engagements. Profile and background can be existing relationships, previous mandates, specific expertise, resources and leverage.
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Research can contribute essentially to a better understanding of the inner logics of international conflicts and a better practice of mediation in this context.
The Center's research processes have roughly three steps: I) Collecting relevant questions, needs and experiences of practitioners and scholars, II) Exploring them with an analytical and theoretical bird's eye perspective and III) Translating the results back into pragmatic answers, instruments or new questions. The Center’s research activities provide the scientific basis and conceptual pool for its other activities. |
Supervision (literal: looking at things with a bird’s eye view) is facilitated joint reflection and consultation on professional action within its systemic context. It is a classical quality assurance instrument for professions working for, with and in human relationships. Supervision provides the safety, serenity, stimulation and structure to explore difficult work-related questions and find pragmatic, concrete solutions by activating unseen options and resources.
CPM's approach to supervision is systemic solution-oriented. Potential issues are current cases; specific challenges in a process or conflict context; inner conflicts between competing roles or interests; dealing with financial dependency, political pressure, stress; communication and cooperation; change processes. |
The Center for Peace Mediation provides various kinds of Support for third party actors. Activities can support individuals and organizations (e.g. process design, strategic planning, institutional structures) or the whole peace mediation system (coordination and cooperation between actors and tracks, exchange of knowledge). The Center supports mediators, facilitators and other third parties such as diplomats and decision makers on all tracks, from civil society to state and international actors. The collaboration is understood as a partnership based on complementary strengths and shared responsibilities in view of achieving the goal of the support.
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A Systemic approach allows one to identify the core patterns (e.g. images of self and other, conflict dynamics, trigger points) that govern the interactions in a conflict system. When these interactions are perceived as destructive, the systemic view looks for options to change the patterns or create more constructive ones. This knowledge informs choices on the whether and how of intervention, inclusion and participation. A systemic approach is aware that I) all elements in a system are somehow interrelated and influence each other, II) in the moment an actors starts to observe, intervene or support, he is interrelated with the system ("you cannot not influence"), III) reality constructions, evaluations and interests shape and limit the perspectives and actions of all actors, including the observers, interveners and supporters, IV) the change of a system cannot be forced, but its self-regulation can be stimulated and channeled.
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The Center conducts Training on conflict communication, international conflict management and peace mediation for diplomats, desk officers and field staff who (will) work as process supporters, advisors or mediators or need conflict management and mediation skills in their working environment. Trainings are usually tailored to the profile of the group of participants, their interests as well as their current and potential positions, mandates and spheres of influence as third parties or representatives of conflict parties and stakeholders.
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A Tailor-Made Approach means designing and conducting mediation and mediation support in a continuous feedback loop with the specific needs of involved actors, the particularities of setting and conflict as well as the overall cultural and political context. Based on methodical knowledge and lessons learned (but no blueprint), tailor-made peace mediation approaches are comprehensive and conflict sensitive responses to conflicts.
