Sustainable Approaches to Power and Communication in Long Term Conflicts

Power is one of the two main currencies in conflict, communication is the other. It’s not whether people use power in conflict, but how that determines a course of a dispute. When people are involved in enduring conflicts, finding a way to use power constructively, effectively, and sustainably is essential to how a dispute unfolds over time. Along with developing effective approaches to the use of power, helping disputants find their most effective voice and developing durable channels of communication is a second key challenge for mediators and disputants alike. In this workshop, we will explore how conflict specialists can help disputants who are engaged in long term conflicts develop and use power effectively and build effective systems of communication. We will consider this in terms of specific cases and will look at how mediators, who are normally involved in short term interventions, can help disputants work on long term conflicts.