The Mediation Handbook: Research, theory, and practice

Summary

The Handbook of Mediation gathers leading experts across fields related to peace, justice, human rights, and conflict resolution to explore ways that mediation can be applied to a range of spectrums, including new age settings, relationships, organizations, institutions, communities, environmental conflicts, and intercultural and international conflicts. The text is informed by cogent theory, state-of-the-art research, and best practices to provide the reader with a well-rounded understanding of mediation practice in contemporary times.

Based on four signature themes—contexts; skills and competencies; applications; and recommendations—the handbook provides theoretical, applicable, and practical insight into a variety of key approaches to mediation. Authors consider modern conflict on a local and global scale, emphasizing the importance of identifying effective strategies, foundations, and methods to shape the nature of a mediation mindfully and effectively. With a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, the text complements the development of the reader’s competencies and understanding of mediation in order to contribute to the advancement of the mediation field.

With a conversational tone that will welcome readers, this comprehensive book is essential reading for students and professionals wanting to learn a wide range of potential interventions for conflict.

Table of Contents

         Introduction: Revealing the World of Mediation

         Part I: Promoting Dynamic Mediation in the New Age

1. Mediation Career Trends through Time: Exploring Opportunities and Challenges

Craig Zelizer & Colleen Chiochetti

2. Online Technology: The New Frontier for Mediation and Conflict Engagement

Daniel Rainey & Alan Tidwell

3. Story-Based Inter-Group Mediation

Jessica Senehi

4. The Intersection of Improv and Mediation

Farshad Farahat, Charles Goesel & Alexia Georgakopoulos

5. Value-Centered Mediation: The Centrality and Use of Meaning and Values
   Mark Kleiman
6. Electronic Mediation

Daniel Druckman & Sabine T. Koeszegi

7. Mediation and Spirituality

Zena D. Zumeta

Part II: Mediating in Relational Settings

8. Transformative Mediation: Illustrating a Relational View of Conflict Intervention
   Joseph P. Folger & Dan Simon
9. Narrative Mediation of Family Conflict

John Winslade

10. Victim-Offender Mediation: A Humanistic Approach

Mark Umbreit & Toran Hansen

11. Brain Science Behind Mediating Relational Conflicts

Thomas DiGrazia

12. Mindfulness in Mediation as a Relational Practice

Ran Kuttner

13. Mediation and Collaboration with Multiple Disciplines: The Implementation of Systemic Theory in Alternative Dispute Resolution

Tommie Boyd & Randy Heller

14. Dynamic Mediation: Integrating Forgiveness

John Zivojinovic

Part III: Mediating in Organizational and Institutional Settings

15. Mediation Within and Between Organizations

Christopher Moore

16. Organizational Conflict Management Systems: The Emergence of Mediators as Conflict Resolution Professionals

Alexia Georgakopoulos, Harold Coleman, Jr. & Rebecca Storrow

17. Effectiveness of Mediation in the State Agency Grievance Process

Jessica Katz Jameson, RaJade M. Berry-James, Dennis M. Daley & Jerrell D. Coggburn

18. Mediation and Dispute Resolution Services in Higher Education

Neil H. Katz

19. Mediation as a Tool for Resolvng Workplace Conflicts

LaVena Wilkin

20. Health Care Mediation: Promoting Workplace Collaboration and Patient Safety

Robin Cooper

21. Institutional Mediation and Access to Justice in the State Court System of the United States

Rebecca Storrow

Part IV: Mediating in Community Settings

22. Promoting Peaceful Communities: The Challenges and Benefits of Community-Police Mediation

Evan Hoffman

23. The Prison of Peace Project: A Model for Community Transformation

Douglas E. Noll

24. Sustaining Peer Mediation: Remaining Challenges and Opportunities for Peace Educators

Cheryl Duckworth

25. Encouraging Effectiveness through Communication Competence in Community Mediation

Brian L. Heisterkamp

26. The Space of Conflict: Aesthetic Lessons for Mediators

Dorit Cypis

27. From Peers to Parents: Transferring Peer Mediation Skills from School to Family

Vitus Ozoke

Part V: Mediating within Environmental Settings

28. Conflict, Climate Change, and Environmental Catastrophe: How Mediators Can Help Save the Planet

Kenneth Cloke

29. Mediators as Leaders in Climate Change: The Power of Neutrality

Thomas Fiutak

30. The Role of Mediation in Large-Scale Collaborative Initiatives

Marcelle E. DuPraw

31. Mediation at the Nexus of Climate Change and Conflict

Oliver Leighton Barrett

32. The Public Sector as Mediator: The Role of Public Institutions in Environmental Collaborations and Conflict Resolution

William Hall & Michael Kern

Part VI: Mediating in International and Intercultural Settings

33. Thinking Locally, Acting Globally: Mediating Beyond Borders and Integrated Global Capacity Building

Kenneth Cloke

34. International Multiparty Mediation

Siniša Vuković

35. Exploring International Mediation: Past, Present and Beyond

Lynn Cole

36. Culture, Religion, and Politics in International Mediation

Mohammed Abu-Nimer & Timothy Seidel

37. International Mediation: Some Observations and Reflections

Sean Byrne

38. Success and Failure of International Mediation: Examining Causes and Conditions that Impede or Assist Process Success

Brian Polkinghorn, Anthony Yost & Matt Swiderski


39. Mediation and the Challenge of Fostering Reconciliation in Ethno-Political Disputes: The Case of Guyana

Perry Mars, Frederic Pearson & Marie Olson-Lounsbery

40. Mediating in the Shadow of Conflict: United States Special Operations Forces in Unconventional Warfare

Christian Ramthun, Raffi Mnatzakanian & Patrick James Christian

41. Religion and Mediation: Strange Bedfellows or Natural Allies?

S. Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana

42. Mediating Peacebuilding in Protracted Conflicts: An Interactive Design Framework

          Conclusion: The Future of Mediation in a Changing World

Editor(s) Bio

Alexia Georgakopoulos is a Professor in the Department of Conflict Studies at Nova Southeastern University, USA. She is the Director of the Institute of Conflict Resolution and Communication, a mediation and conflict resolution training and consulting firm specializing in delivering educational training and mediation certification to professionals. A world-class scholar and practitioner in mediation with numerous articles, book chapters, and speaking engagements, she was featured on NBC’s Today Show to discuss peace in the diverse world.

Reviews

"Mediation has burst its banks and spilled over into many fields. It is no longer a meandering stream or a quiet backwater. It has left behind romantic beginnings and entered many new waterways. Read this book and be carried along in the surge."

"In The Mediation Handbook, we have a wonderful new resource that provides insight from some of the most innovative thinkers and practitioners in the mediation world. Drawing on the best lessons of the past and a broad vision of the demands of the future, the handbook offers a wide range of practical approaches for deepening and extending the reach of mediation in the twenty-first century."