Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Mediators in the streets and the suites

 Mediators in the streets and the suites

The role of the mediator is to transform destructive conflict into constructive conflict. The levels at which this can be accomplished are essentially infinite; conflict is one natural, ubiquitous human phenomenon and it frequently becomes destructive because it is often rooted in disrespect or the perception of such. At our core, we crave dignity, the positive regard that any human relies upon in our social being makeup. When conflict is actually an expression of contempt it can lead many humans into suspecting such disrespect in all conflicts, even when they are founded in simple disagreement, not emotional dismissal of the other.

When a person can be perceived as a neutral party who cares equally about the well-being of all parties to a conflict, that person can act as a mediator in seeking a workable, acceptable solutionary outcome. Usually, the outcome that is transformative is not a permanent resolution to a conflict but rather a commitment by all the parties to treat each other as being honest, respectful agents in the search for collaborative paths to progress. 

Learning to help others reduce defensiveness is as important as learning to help others reduce actual practices based in disrespect for others. All this requires some understanding of and mastery of aspects of psychology; from the Rogerian "unconditional positive regard" to a trauma-informed approach to hearing from each party, the stance of the mediator is what Kwame Christian calls "compassionate curiosity," listening more, talking less, helping uncover the painful past and the unfortunate assumptions we carry into our human interactions.