A Conversation About Conflict

Search for Common Ground's "Conversations About Conflict" are 1.5- to 2-hour workshops that can be run for any given audience interested in conflict resolution. The purpose of the Conversation is to help people develop a new awareness of conflicts in our lives - how we currently respond to them, what they cost us, and the alternative approaches that can be used to deal with them in a more constructive manner. SFCG offers a dialogue guide and other resources to help you lead Conversations About Conflict.

Resource Link: http://www.sfcg.org/resources/training/resources_conversation.html

A Handbook of International Peacebuilding: Into The Eye Of The Storm

John Paul Lederach and Janice Moomaw Jenner, Editors. Jossey-Bass, 2002.

This handbook offers conflict resolution professionals working in foreign countries a critical, step-by-step guide for dealing with difficult and potentially dangerous disputes in other nations. The editors have gathered a stellar panel of seasoned experts who illustrate how to approach international peacebuilding with effective actions and approaches gained through experience that will contribute ultimately to a more positive outcome. Based on the experience of the contributors' work as global peace brokers, the book includes a wide array of guidelines, pragmatic approaches, and models of constructive, culturally appropriate ways to respond to conflict.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787958794.html

A History of Alternative Dispute Resolution: The Story of a Political, Social, and Cultural Movement

Jerome T. Barrett and Joseph Barrett. Jossey-Bass, 2004.

A History of Alternative Dispute Resolution offers a comprehensive review of the various types of peaceful practices for resolving conflicts. Written by Jerome Barrett - a longtime practitioner, innovator, and leading historian in the field of ADR - and his son Joseph Barrett, this volume traces the evolution of the ADR process and offers an overview of the precursors to ADR, including negotiation, arbitration, and mediation. The authors explore the colorful beginnings of ADR using illustrative examples from prehistoric Shaman through the European Law Merchant. In addition, the book offers the historical context for the use of ADR in the arenas of diplomacy and business.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787967963.html

A Manual for Group Facilitators

Brian Auvine. Center for Conflict Resolution; reprinted by the Fellowship for Intentional Community, 1981.

The role of group facilitator is often pivotal to good results for groups making the transition to consensus. The Manual is a great introduction to the concept of approaching the role of facilitator as someone who welcomes both rational and emotional input. The staff of the Center for Conflict Resolution put their experience in working with groups into A Manual for Group Facilitators. This is an informal outline detailing useful and effective techniques to help groups work well. More than a simple 'how to,' the manual contains a discussion of the values, dynamics, and common sense behind group process that have been verified by our own experience.

Resource Link: http://store.ic.org

A Model for an Introductory Dialogue on Abortion

Public Conversations Project.

The model described here was developed for the single session introductory dialogues on abortion that Public Conversations Project conducted in 1990-1992 (eighteen sessions) and 1995-1998 (ten sessions). Most of these dialogues took place on weekday evenings between 6:00 and 9:30 and involved four to eight participants who did not know one another ahead of time. Several participants were activists but few were highly visible leaders. All groups were evenly balanced with people who described themselves as ?“prochoice?” or ?“prolife.?”

A Public Peace Process: Sustained Dialogue to Transform Racial and Ethnic Conflicts

Harold H. Saunders, International Institute for Sustained Dialogue. St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Harold Saunders, former Assistant Secretary of State and negotiator of the Camp David Accords and now Director of International Programs at the Kettering Foundation, distills over 35 years of experience working with conflicts across the globe. This book describes how sustained dialogue can help conflicting groups of citizens move toward resolution.

A Public Voice '02: Racial and Ethnic Tensions

Milton B. Hoffman Productions.

Each year, many public television stations around the nation air an hour-long program that features U.S. citizens deliberating in National Issues Forums around the nation. The programs also feature distinguished panels of nationally known political leaders, commentators and journalists meeting at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. to reflect on what this 'public voice' may mean in setting direction for America. The topics are different each year.

Resource Link: http://www.nifi.org

ABA's Alternative Dispute Resolution Listserv

The American Bar Association's ADR listserv is an open list dedicated to dialogue and the promotion of wider understanding and information-sharing of the ADR field, as a public service from the Section's National Dispute Resolution Resource Center. To subscribe, send an email to list[email protected] with 'subscribe adr' in the body of the message.

Resource Link: http://www.abanet.org/dispute/discuss.html

Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives

Conciliation Resources.

This full-text online journal provides detailed narrative and rigorous analysis on specific war and peace processes, combining readability with practical relevance. Accord acts as a primer for international readers unfamiliar with specific wars and peace processes as well as a reference tool containing comprehensive texts of peace agreements.

Resource Link: http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/index.php

Adapting systemic consultation practice to public discourse: An analysis of a public conflict episode

Shawn Spano and Claire Calcagno. Human Systems, 7: 17-43, 1996.

Shawn Spano, Ph.D., is a Senior Consultant with the Public Dialogue Consortium, a non-profit group of practitioners devoted to improving the quality of public communication in local communities. In addition to his work with the PDC, Shawn is a Professor in the Communication Studies Department at San Jose State University where he teaches courses and conducts research in public dialogue, interpersonal communication and communication education.

Adventures in Peacemaking: A Conflict Resolution Guide for School-Age Programs

William J. Kreidler and Lisa Furlong. Educators for Social Responsibility, 1996.

Designed to meet the unique needs of afterschool programs, camps, and recreation centers, this guide contains hundreds of hands-on, engaging activities that teach basic conflict resolution skills through cooperative challenges, drama, crafts, music and even cooking. Also included are easy-to-implement strategies and tips for providers to both reduce conflict in their programs and to intervene effectively when conflict does occur. Adventures in Peacemaking blends ESR's innovative conflict resolution curricula with Project Adventure's activity-based programming.

Resource Link: http://esrnational.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

African Centres for Peace Education and Training

Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace runs this site, which includes (among many other things) links to African centers for peace education and training.

Resource Link: http://www.peace.ca/africa.htm

African Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation (ACDD)

Formed in 2005 after the first Canadian Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation, the ACDD is an African-led network of practitioners, researchers, students, and organizations interested in connecting African practitioners to each other, assuring access to the full benefit of African experience and expertise for the larger dialogue and deliberation community, and gaining financial and collegial support for African initiatives.

Resource Link: http://www.africandialogue.org

African Journal on Conflict Resolution

The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD).

In launching a new academic journal focusing on conflict transformation in Africa in 1999, ACCORD fulfilled a long-held ambition to contribute to the intellectual development of thinking, writing and dialogue in the field of conflict management on the continent of Africa.

Resource Link: http://www.accord.org.za/ajcr/intro.htm

Alliance for International Conflict Prevention and Resolution

The Alliance for International Conflict Prevention and Resolution (formerly known as ACRON) is a network of the United States' most pre-eminent conflict prevention and resolution organizations. Formed in 1999 and incorporated in 2003, the Alliance is dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of the conflict management field and maximizing its impact on international peace building.

Resource Link: http://www.aicpr.org

Alternative Dispute Resolution for Organizations: How to Design a System for Effective Conflict Resolution

Allan J. Stitt. Jossey-Bass, 1998.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a rapidly growing field, due to its popularity as an alternative to long and expensive lawsuits. ADR involves resolving disputes of any kind outside of the judicial system, through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and other processes. This book is for people who work within organizations and are involved in disputes themselves, or for people who are required to deal with or resolve disputes. It covers how to set up a dispute resolution process in an organization.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471642959.html

Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution.

Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation is the national newsletter covering cutting-edge alternative dispute resolution (ADR) developments, best practices, and trends in business. Alternatives provides authoritative guidance for using ADR at companies, firms, and the courts. Articles focus exclusively on business disputes - and examine all the ADR strategies business use, including negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and more.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-ALT.html

American University - Peacebuilding and Development Institute

The Peacebuilding and Development Institute provides knowledge, practical experience and skills for scholars and practitioners involved in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, humanitarian assistance and development. There are two components to the institute: one is the summer professional training program and the other is the year-round practical training, capacity building, and curriculum development programs in conflict areas.

Resource Link: http://www.american.edu/sis/peace/summer/

Andrus Family Fund

AFF funds community reconciliation projects within the United States that put their Collaborative Change Approach to the test in addressing one of AFF's three priority issues: identity-based conflict, police-community conflict and conservation conflict. Presently, AFF does not fund international projects, although it will consider supporting international research that will inform our domestic work. AFF also funds programs that help people leaving the foster care system transition to independence.

Resource Link: http://www.affund.org

Antioch University McGregor - Conflict Resolution Graduate Programs

Antioch University's Graduate Conflict Resolution Programs are internationally recognized with a reputation for graduating students who are highly skilled and knowledgeable theorist-practitioners.

Resource Link: http://www.mcgregor.edu/cr/