What's Happening [04.24.12]

Research and pragmatism can help resolve conflicts

Sudan and South Sudan teeter on the brink of war. There's a political standoff between Iraq's Kurds and the government. And then there's Syria, where there's no real ceasefire, only increasing concern the conflict could escalate into a regional war.

It's a dangerous world for civilians who are now the most frequent victims of conflicts.

For their sake, a little-known, non-governmental organization based in Belgium called the Crisis Group (crisisgroup. org) is trying to prevent and resolve those kinds of deadly conflicts.

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CLARIFYING WHAT'S HAPPENING IN A CONFLICT

Cinnie Noble- So often we get wrapped up in an interpersonal conflict and lose track of what’s actually happening to us. We seem to let go of our grasp on the situation. Our emotional responses reflect the chaos and confusion going on in our hearts and minds. At these times, we may tend to misinterpret messages, attribute motives to the other person, lose our focus and lose perspective about what’s going on for us and what warrants clarification.

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Is Transformative Mediation Therapy?

ISCT by Dan Simon- Compared to the settlement conferencing often done in litigated cases, transformative mediation reminds people of therapy. Read my latest blog post for a discussion of how transformative mediation isn't therapy but is therapeutic.