Beyond Intractability: A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict
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Introduction:
Frank Blechman, a private mediator and
facilitator, suggests that facilitators should be open to play whatever
role may be missing in the group dynamics. Often, Blechman plays a bad role
model, to give the parties something to react against.
This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).
Role Playing
Frank Blechman
Private Consultant. Formerly at the Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University
What I did as a professor was to try to push people past some
of the existing techniques to a belief that they were entirely capable of
creating new ones. That is certainly how I practice myself, is to look at
situations and say what is missing here? What is it that I could add that might
change the dynamic? Sometimes what I'm adding is a soothing quality or a third
party perspective. But most of the time what I'm adding is actually a bad role
model, which encourages other people then in counterpoint to behave better. I would
like to think that what I've done certainly as a facilitator in public processes
is to amplify the good intentions of the parties.
The infusion of a sense of righteousness into the common urge to bash things around has always proved to be a powerful stimulus to action. -- Kenneth Boulding
Other Resources from Beyond Intractability Reframing Terror From a CR Perspective Louis Kriesberg offers President Bush constructive advice on how to overcome severe obstacles that are blocking the Israel/Palestine peace process by using them as opportunities to build trust and peace.
The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess, Co-Directors and Editors c/o Conflict Information Consortium(Formerly Conflict Research Consortium), University of Colorado Campus Box 580, Boulder, CO 80309 Phone: (303) 492-1635; Fax: (303) 492-2154; Contact
