Negotiation Law Blog - Do Interest-Based Negotiation and Mediation "Trade Justice for Harmony"? - Comments http://www.negotiationlawblog.com/ Southern California Arbitration Mediation & Conflict Resolution: Settle it Now Dispute Resolution Services: Serving Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Century City en Copyright 2012 Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:01:22 -0800 Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:01:22 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.32-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss John Folk-Williams Thanks for quoting this eloquent essay. In the public policy arena there are many opportunities to make justice an integral part of mediation, but the practical steps are not always clear. Many agency sponsors of collaborative processes are so pressured to show results that they're resistant to taking such a broad view of the process as a social change catalyst. The victims of injustice are usually those lacking the power to compel a place at the table and use adversarial tactics to gain that power. And those with such power not only tend to blame the victim but feel the need to fight back to retain their advantage as long as possible. It takes a lot of hard work to bring these groups around to see the potential benefits of trying to get beyond conflict into a collaborative frame of mind. It's at that point that groups, especially the less powerful, may believe they're being pushed prematurely toward harmony at the expense of justice. This is a conundrum in the public policy sector, but the ideals set out in Cloke's essay are a critical starting point.

John

]]> http://www.negotiationlawblog.com/mediation/do-interestbased-negotiation-and-mediation-trade-justice-for-harmony/#22525 http://www.negotiationlawblog.com/mediation/do-interestbased-negotiation-and-mediation-trade-justice-for-harmony/#22525 CollaborationMediationNegotiationSettlementTruth Justice and the American Way Sun, 17 May 2009 13:57:40 -0800 Victoria Pynchon