Mediation, Conflict Resolution, Cross-Cultural Mediation

Las Memorias del coronel Manuel Baigorria, refugiado unitario entre los ranqueles entre 1831 y 1852, son un contrapunto notable a las representaciones de sus contemporáneos acerca de la barbarie como producto físico y cultural del "desierto", en las que los indios aparecían como salvajes irredimibles. Tras vivir dos décadas entre los ranqueles, Baigorria observa esa sociedad con mirada cargada de simpatía y de reconocimiento. Este trabajo analiza su modo de nombrar y describir al indio, el sentido preciso que da a los términos que emplea, los contextos en los que los usa, los mecanismos de su incorporación al mundo ranquel mediante parentescos simbólicos y biológicos y el modo en que concibió las perspectivas de convivencia entre indios y criollos.

Korea has a long history of linking conflict resolution with particular moral and societal values. In this chapter we explore the potentials and limits of this tradition by focusing on the concept of Han, which many Korean scholars claim as unique to their culture.  We explore in detail two important aspects of Han. First, the concept of Han explicitly acknowledges the emotional dimensions of conflict and its resolution. This focus on emotions contrasts sharply with Western approaches to mediation, which are part of a broader cultural tradition dominated by instrumental understandings of reason.  Second, the concept of Han, as understood and practiced in Korea, shifts the focus of conflict resolution from the individual to the collective. The main task is not to address and solve individual grievances or a clash between particu- lar individuals, as is the case in dominant Western approaches to mediation. The purpose, rather, is to find ways of harmonising the relationship between individuals and the society at large.

L'articolo descrive le caratteristiche principali del servizio di mediazione familiare intergenerazionale a favore di persone anziane, dopo avere sinteticamente illustrato le diverse tipologie di mediazione familiare intergenerazionale. La cornice teorica di riferimento è il modello di intervento elaborato da Morineau (2000, 2018):  il c.d. modello "umanistico".

One of the more popular approaches to resolution of conflict is mediation, where a third-party intervenes to assist disputants in reaching a mutually-acceptable resolution.  This paper presents a lesson learned from a mediation in which the author participated.  The mediation was apparently doomed to failure until an important difference between the disputants was recognized and accepted.  It is shown that though much of the mainstream literature on mediation treats all forms of difference the same, an inability to see the relationship or history between the parties as important makes mediation, at best, reactionary by nature and incapable of dealing with more profound issues that structure the conflict.  Such mediators can only treat the symptoms, not the disease.  Successful mediation depends on the ability of the mediator to assess each conflict or opportunity for mediation in terms of the inherent differences and adapt the mediation process to better fit the situation.

This paper analyses the problem-solving model of mediation in order to comprehend how it addresses the broad range of difference in mediation and to provide ways in which a mediator can assess the potential impact of cultural difference between disputants.  First, this paper defines mediation and the important role a mediator plays in achieving successful resolutions.  The idea of difference in relation to mediation is then presented, with a particular focus on cultural difference.  After this, an example of an actual mediation event is detailed to illustrate the impact that cultural difference can play in conflict resolution.  The case study will then act as the springboard into deeper analysis of observations and lessons learned that, if applied, may strengthen future mediation efforts.

One of the first experiences in Mediation training Latin-American students in an American setting was organized by Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida, in the year 1997. The students came from Colombia and Argentina, and they were lawyers, CPAs and other graduates.
This paper describes the interactions of two different cultural mindsets while navigating the intricacies of a mediation learning set-up. It focuses on how reciprocal perceptions clashed with bilateral assumptions and had to be reframed and solved in the context of basic mediation tenets: self-determination,  neutrality and confidentiality. Some issues like the validity of American mediation concepts (is mediator impartiality a concept that means the same or is it a different concept in Colombia?) when translated to an Spanish-speaking context, pushed the trainers to create a meta cognitive level never bargained for.