REAL World Insights: Bridging Theory and Practice

Robert Baruch Bush’s recent article in the Harvard Negotiation Law Review tackles something most mediators have noticed: we all agree that party self-determination is fundamental to mediation, yet we practice it very differently. The Gap Between Theory and Practice Bush identifies two distinct approaches: In facilitative mediation, self-determination matters, but it can be set aside […]

Coleman argues that there are three different criteria for how we might adapt our interpersonal conflict strategies:  relational importance, goal type, power differences. These different criteria lead to seven basic types of interpersonal situations. These include: where the conflict is of low importance (independence), compassionate responsibility (high power, cooperative goals), partnership (equal power, cooperative), cooperative

Peter Coleman’s research has identified the four most challenging conditions or “derailers” of mediation as: High intensity conflict: higher levels of destructiveness, emotionality, and intransigence; High degrees of constraints or limitations on the mediation: including legal and time constraints and constituent pressure; Highly competitive relationships between the disputants; and The covert nature of the issues

Peter Coleman is one of the most prolific academics in the field of conflict resolution. He has published many articles and has even developed apps to support people to engage more effectively in conflict. This article is a kind of compilation of his work, with links to many other resources. There is so much in

This article was published by Andrew B. Mamo in the 2023 issue of the Mississippi Law Journal. It’s LONG – 64 pages – so I’m going to give you an overview of the main points and some questions to think about. In this article, Mamo questions what self-determination means and why it is considered important