Give the Mediators a Break - Call in the Transformers

I just read Tom Friedman's op-ed in yesterday's NY Times about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process (go to http://tinyurl.com/yfsbpqa). I have to agree that Pres. Obama should give all sides his phone number and tell them to call when they are ready to seriously address the material issues standing in the way. Peacemaking research supports the concept of "ripeness" for conflict resolution.

Mediation seldom works unless the parties are ready for the hard work of finding a mutually acceptable solution. Or to put it another way, in this particular instance when enough mothers love their children more than they hate the enemy, peace making mediation efforts have a chance. When that happens, astute leaders of all sides involved will sense the sea change of public opinion and act.

At the same time we must not confuse mediation and dispute resolution with the kind of conflict transformation offered by The Institute for Sustainable Peace. Conflict resolution is about addressing the immediate concerns or issues of the parties. As John Paul Lederach reminds us in “The Little Book of Conflict Transformation,” conflict transformation efforts go beyond resolving current disputes and I would say often precede those efforts. Conflict transformation, undertaken with small groups representative of all factions, can build over time to help create a critical mass of individuals ready for substantive peacemaking among their respective groups or tribes.

Conflict transformation begins with bringing people together to build bridges of understanding and trust. In the process, participants address issues of identity - particularly identity defined in terms of whom we name as our enemies. Dehumanizing stereotypes are transformed and people are able to see each other as human beings with common needs, common sufferings, and common dreams.

Tom, thank you for the good word. President Obama, give them your phone number and let them know that you are ready when they are. And in the meantime, the ISP’s peace rangers and other similar groups will do the long quiet cultivation work of conflict transformation.