mediation brief...
TRANSCRIPT
Mediation Brief #1 March 2013
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Brendan McAllister, Senior Associate [email protected]
About the author Brendan McAllister was Director of Mediation Northern Ireland from 1992 -2008. His remit was to promote the use of mediation within Northern Ireland and to develop indigenous practice. He is Associate and Senior Adviser at mediatEUr.
About this issueThis paper was prepared for a seminar on “Mediation in the Mediterranean: Developing Capacities and Synergies”, convened by the ‘Spanish-Moroccan Initiative on Mediation in the Mediterranean’ and the Toledo International Centre for Peace on 11-12 February.
About this series Our Mediation Briefs is a series of publications where our associates and collaborators touch upon key issues in international peace mediation and share their personal experiences, in a short and accessible format.
“A society in which peace is being built is like a wagon with four wheels, each of which is important to keep the wagon stable and moving in the right direction”
www.themediateur.eu
Peace From Within, Help From Without: Engagement Between Indigenous Mediators and Helpful Outsiders
The brief for this seminar refers to ‘local actors’ and
‘international actors’. Actually, I would suggest three different
types of mediator:
International Actor: someone from another country who comes in to mediate or assist in some way.
National Actor: someone based within a country whose remit concerns macro, societal change.
Local Actor: someone whose is concerned with a particular locality within a society; with micro issues.
As Director of an NGO with a remit for the whole of society in
Northern Ireland, I was concerned with macro political and
social conflict and also with supporting activists engaging
more localized disputes, which, of course, were often local
expressions of wider societal issues. My work sometimes
involved collaborating with international actors bearing an
insight or idea and helping them to navigate the local terrain
to find suitable places to land; places suitable for a particular
idea to take root and survive in the local climate. In a sense, I
sometimes mediated between international and local actors.
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Peace From Within, Help From Without: Engagement Between Indigenous Mediators and
Helpful Outsiders
Mediation Brief #1 March 2013
First, I’d like to consider the nature of indigenous
mediation. Where do local mediators come from
and what might be their motivation?
Formation
My formation as a peace activist began long
before I became a mediator. And as an activist I
started mediating before I knew it was mediation.
While I had been involved in peace work since
1974, in 1983 I began convening church-based
meetings in my town at which contentious issues
were discussed and through which my skills at
facilitation began to develop. It was 1986 before
I received my first, formal mediation training.
In 1985, nine police officers were killed in a
mortar attack on the police station in my town. I
led a public demonstration the following night:
around 500 townspeople gathered for a vigil and,
standing on a wall, I addressed them through a
loud hailer, watched by local and international
media.
I think that incident was a Rubicon moment for
me. At a time when the instinct of the average
citizen was to keep their head down, I had raised
mine. I had drawn attention to myself. I received
brief media exposure followed by letters of
support and also some hate mail.
Friends expressed concern for my safety. I had
publicly criticized those who had maimed and
murdered in our town. I had loudly questioned
the morality of violence. In the light of that
experience and a number of other peace actions
in response to shootings and explosions, I knew
that I was breaking with the common sense of
the ordinary citizen and exposing my wife and
children to stress and disturbance.
In 1991, when I began to engage in peace
mediation my employers expressed concern that
my activities were endangering my colleagues.
So, I gave up a job that I loved and had intended
to do for the rest of my working life. Ironically,
this steered me towards full-time mediation
work but mediation was not a career choice; it
was a way of life that I was drawn into.
“At a time when the instinct of the average citizen was to keep their head down, I had raised mine.”
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Peace From Within, Help From Without: Engagement Between Indigenous Mediators and
Helpful Outsiders
Mediation Brief #1 March 2013
I think there is a moment in the life of many
indigenous peace activists when they realize that
if they continue to take the work of peace
seriously it is likely to turn their lives upside
down, place them in danger or even lead to their
death.
For some, this is the moment when they back
away. They come to understand that peace may
exact a personal price that, in the end, they are
not prepared to pay.
For others, a decision is taken that alters their
relationship with conflict. They turn into it and
begin to grapple with the monster of violence, its
many tentacles reaching out and curling round
their limbs, as if playing with them as they
struggle with its smothering embrace, possibly
for the rest of their lives.
My point here is that outsiders wishing to work
with indigenous activists would do well to
appreciate that such people range from those
who are new and enthusiastic about peace work
(and therefore may be untested and naïve) to
those who have already committed their lives to
peace and are conscious of the risks involved.
Outside interveners have a duty of care to
indigenous activists, especially those who are
inexperienced and possibly naïve about the
potential implications of what they are doing. The
outsider can return to the outside; the local
person has to live with the consequences of their
involvement in a mediative initiative.
Peace
When thinking about the development of
peacebuilding it is actually important to consider
the meaning of ‘peace’. In this respect I was
greatly influenced by an article written by the
Irish Catholic priest and moral theologian, Enda
McDonagh, in the early 1990s. McDonagh points
out that sacred scriptures revered by Judaism,
Christianity and Islam were first written in
Hebrew and used the word ‘shalom’ to refer to
peace.
‘Shalom’ means to live in balance: within
yourself; with other human beings; with the
environment; with the cosmos and the whole of
creation; with the Creator. This condition is, says
McDonagh, a ‘rich reality of wholeness’.
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Peace From Within, Help From Without: Engagement Between Indigenous Mediators and
Helpful Outsiders
Mediation Brief #1 March 2013
When those scriptures were translated into Greek,
24 different words were used to translate shalom.
The nearest was ‘eirene’ which means ‘harmony
and order’. While this is a lovely concept, it is less
holistic than the original shalom (which in Arabic
translates as ‘salam’).
When the Christian scriptures were eventually
translated from Greek to Latin, the closest word to
shalom was ‘pax’, meaning ‘legal order’. Thus in
the Roman Empire, ‘Pax Romana’ referred to the
peace of Rome: the order established by Rome,
an order that suited the Roman Empire.
One could observe that in modern centuries there
has been, for example, a Pax Britannica or a Pax
Americana. Peace understood as pax may indeed
be a good thing but it is a long way from the
original concept of shalom/salam.
Perhaps the international community sometimes
approaches conflicted societies more concerned
with pax, with the establishment or restoration of
a form of stability that suits a wider status quo. A
window of opportunity opens in which the
international community seeks to establish order.
Once pax is put in place, the window closes and
the world tends to move on, often without
reaching deeper levels of conflict within a stricken
country and even leaving a legacy of additional
difficulties.
It seems to me that many people engaged in
violent conflict continue to reject ‘peace’
initiatives because they perceive them as serving
international ‘pax’ rather than a deeper, more
holistic peace; they perceive the messengers of
peace as agents of pax, acting on behalf of a
world order that favours vested interests rather
than being a more genuine shalom/salam.
Whether this is true or not is quite beside the
point: perception is the crucial factor.
With regard to mediation this raises two
important implications:
Firstly, indigenous mediators acting in consort
with the international community can be
perceived by some protagonists as serving a
hostile agenda and, even, as a threat. This creates
obvious dangers for local mediators.
Secondly, when faced with extremists and
fundamentalists who might be widely viewed as
insanely opposed to peace, it is important to dig
deeply into their dissent in order to gain a greater
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Mediation Brief #1 March 2013
understanding of their rejection of a pax, a new
order that, in their view, is not a true peace.
Spirituality
This takes us to a third dimension of indigenous
mediation that is important for outside
interveners to consider: the spirituality of peace.
By ‘spirituality’ I do not necessarily mean religion
or faith. In this context I would suggest that
spirituality is a sense that there is more to reality
than what is obvious or tangible and there is a
place within oneself where one ‘goes’ for
reflection or renewal. A place from where an
‘inner voice’ speaks in discernment. For some
people, spirituality might refer to their
relationship with God; for others it might describe
a humanistic engagement with the source of
their creativity. The spirituality of the peace-
builder concerns the deeper values, traditions
and customs out of which the impulse for peace
emanates and is sustained. Religious or
otherwise, there is a spirit in which peace work is
carried out. This is important because I believe
that peace mediation works best at a spiritual
level; that mediation is much less about the
‘physics’ of change and much more about the
‘chemistry’ of human conflict.
I would observe three ‘philosophies’ at work in
societal conflict:
Violence: a belief that you can promote or defend
justice by the destruction of life or property.
Anti-violence: a belief that you can promote or
defend justice by opposing violence.
Many popular movements for peace are driven
by anti–violence. People unite around that which
they are against: violence. However, divisions
quickly emerge once such movements seek
agreement from people about that which they
are for. Anti-violence has its part to play in the
process of peace, a huge part. But anti-violence is
an unsuitable philosophical foundation for
mediation. Although it may be morally admirable
to oppose the violent, such a stance would render
a mediator one-sided.
“Mediators try to excavate the truth, no matter how small or distorted, within
even those viewed by others as obnoxious or disgusting.”
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Peace From Within, Help From Without: Engagement Between Indigenous Mediators and
Helpful Outsiders
Mediation Brief #1 March 2013
Non-violence: a belief that you can promote or
defend justice by serving truth, with compassion.
I have been influenced by the teaching of Jean
and Hildegard Goss-Mayr. As exponents of non-
violence from a Christian perspective, they taught
that since every human being is made by the
Creator, every human being has ‘the seed of God’
or ‘Truth’ within them; every human being has at
least a seed of truth in them, in spite of their
terrible actions.
The non-violent peacemaker seeks to reach that
seed of truth in the belief that when two
individuals or ‘sides’ in conflict gain insight into
each other’s piece of truth, a positive
transformation begins in their situation.
In my view, mediation is a method of non-
violent peacebuilding. Mediators try to excavate
the truth, no matter how small or distorted,
within even those viewed by others as obnoxious
or disgusting.
Placing non-violence within the foundations of
peace mediation enables an indigenous mediator
to approach even the most extreme people in
their society with an attitude of genuine respect
and a belief in each person’s inherent human
dignity.
Without this kind of ‘spirituality’ (whether
religious or humanistic) there is a danger that an
indigenous mediator will lose their way in time
and become identified with one side in a conflict.
Peacebuilding
Thus far I am suggesting that, in my own case as
a local actor, I evolved from anti-violence to non-
violence and that this had two significant
implications.
Firstly, I moved from a ‘campaign’ style of peace
activism to a ‘relational’ style. Establishing
relationships with protagonists on all sides
became more important than advertising my
own views about what was going on in my
country. Out of such relationships it becomes
possible for a critical dialogue to occur and, in
time, to facilitate critical engagement with others.
Secondly, I evolved from a ‘reactive’ approach to
peace – reacting to violence or division – to a
‘proactive’ approach. This involved the
development of strategy. Envisioning where one
might wish one’s society to be in, say, 5 years’
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time leads to consideration of what one’s
contribution will be during that time period and,
in turn, to the development of plans and a more
conscious application of methodology.
As an international actor now, I assume that
there is sometimes a need to support local actors
to make a similar transition towards longer-term,
strategic peacebuilding.
Phases of Mediation Development
In the Northern Ireland situation I would observe
four phases in the development of local
mediation.
Phase 1: 1985 – 1992: Importation – the first
years of formal mediation training were based
upon the so-called North American model. We
were importing an American way of doing
mediation. By 1992 it was clear that while people
loved the training they were not making the
transition from student to practitioner. Mediation
was not happening.
Phase 2: 1993 – 1994: Inculturation – this was a
brief period when we were attempting to find
Irish/Northern Irish ways to say American things;
to infuse an American approach to mediation
into our culture. This was progress but was not
the answer.
Phase 3: 1994 – 2004: Indigenation – a time
when, in a sense, we lessened our reliance on
international experts and focused on a more
pragmatic approach based upon local realities:
the emphasis was on the development of local
practice infused with a mediative mindset rather
than a more orthodox approach in which
mediation was quite formulaic and rigid. This
was the period when mediation really took hold
on the ground in Northern Ireland on issues such
as prisons, policing, public order, parades,
criminal justice, sectarian interfaces, housing,
education, health, political and civic relationships.
Phase 4: 2004 -: Mutuality – a time when our
engagement with the international mediation
community became less deferential to external
knowledge and was based more on greater self-
confidence. Cross-fertilization remains important:
outsiders always have something important to
bring to the local world and the local world
eventually has important points of learning to
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Helpful Outsiders
Mediation Brief #1 March 2013
bring to the outside. Perhaps a local mediation
field comes of age when indigenous practitioners
come to value their own expertise as much as
that of external actors. Looking back on my own
experience, I would say that local actors were not
immune from a sense of failure as citizens of a
failed society. Perhaps there is a tendency for
local actors to internalize their society’s failure. It
may take years to grow out of an inferiority
complex.
Dimensions of Peace
A society in which peace is being built is like a
wagon with four wheels, each of which is
important to keep the wagon stable and moving
in the right direction. I would describe each
wheel (or dimension) as follows:
The effort towards political consensus among leaders.
Agreed law and order. Economic Development (including
infrastructure such as water, electricity, sewage, roads and transport).
Social Progress (health, housing, education, community life, cultural traditions).
Over a period of more than 15 years I worked
with others to establish mediation within each of
the above dimensions. I would describe this work
as ‘applied mediation’ because it involves going
well beyond the orthodox notion of mediation as
‘bringing people to the table’. It involves an
engagement with civic society as well as political
parties and governments, in the belief that every
citizen in a conflicted society has a relevant
contribution to make for peace.
Five Functions of Mediation
In the Northern Ireland context mediation came
to serve any one of the following five functions
which, I believe, are applicable elsewhere:
Assisting communication. Improving understandings. Supporting creative thinking. Exploring accommodations. Facilitating agreement.
Phases of Work
I would suggest that there are three phases in the
evolution of peace in which mediation has a role
to play:
Helping to create the conditions for a peace process.
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Peace From Within, Help From Without: Engagement Between Indigenous Mediators and
Helpful Outsiders
Mediation Brief #1 March 2013
Supporting the peace process. Helping people to live with the
implications of a political settlement.
Relations Between Local Actors
In my own case, my responsibility was to
establish the practice of mediation and support a
field of practitioners within Northern Ireland. In
the early years, this involved identifying
community-based activists to train and mentor in
their practice. Thereafter, my approach was to
step into local situations if, either, local mediators
felt unable to address a particular issue or the
issue was more than local and involved macro
players. In some cases this kind of role was
welcomed. In others, locals resisted outside help,
preferring to work on the issue themselves. This
led at times to a sense of rivalry.
An indigenous mediation field should become
dynamic and, therefore, move with evolving
practice and with ‘market forces’. Money should
go to the most effective players. However, the
pursuit of funding can adversely affect
relationships between local actors.
Outside actors need to exercise discernment
regarding where they choose to hang their coat. It
is possible for an outsider to gain a favourable
impression of a local actor, only to later discover
that the same individual or organization may not
have credibility with local players.
Relations between Local and International
Actors
I would make a number of observations from my
own experience:
1. Travel broadened me. I started attending
conferences in the USA in 1993 and went
there most years thereafter – for training, to
attend conferences, to deliver papers and
workshops, to take groups on field trips, to
maintain networks. Events in Europe had a
similar effect over the years. Exposure to the
wider international field was nearly always
illuminating.
2. The US State department funded a
succession of field trips to America on police
reform, with return visits to Belfast by
individuals involved in policing. Each time,
the arrangement required me to find a US
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college/university to partner and receive the
actual funding. This required sensitive
discussion with each college to ensure that
they did not set out to teach Northern
Ireland police how to do policing in Northern
Ireland. Rather, the Americans’ task was to
tell us about good policing in various parts of
America, leaving it to the Northern Ireland
police to interpret what seemed applicable in
our situation. Such deference was essential
for an effective engagement with police in
Northern Ireland.
3. Visiting theorists and practitioners were an
important means to introduce new ideas. I
think that the helpful outsider tells a good
story and asks a good question. Outsiders
should pay more attention to questions than
to answers. The best answers are to be found
within a conflicted society.
4. Visitors created a good reason to bring local
protagonists together, at a workshop or over
dinner. Meeting the visitor sometimes gave
opponents an excuse to meet each other.
5. On one occasion, I wanted to bring opposing
sides into dialogue and had EU funding to
take them to continental Europe. One person
explained that he could not be seen to go
away to meet certain players. However, if
they happened to attend the same
conference he would be able to engage with
them. So, a ‘conference’ was duly arranged. I
asked a co-operative academic to host the
sides and to speak to them for half an hour
before going away and leaving us alone for
two days.
6. At governmental level, the international
community comes to town to do deals and
move on. Peace negotiations, therefore, tend
to be ‘event-driven’ rather than being
‘process-focused’ (John Paul Lederach).
While this is how the world goes around and
is a reality to work with, it can also mean
that international mediators will push for
deals and outcomes at a pace that leads to
problems later on. Locals, on the other hand,
are more likely to work at the long-term
relationships and the deeper foundations
that should underpin and sustain a peace
agreement.
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Mediation Brief #1 March 2013
7. Sometimes internationals come in a hurry.
They acquire funding for a specific project
within a specific time period. Or they can
only spend a certain amount of time on the
ground before flying out again. Locals, on the
other hand, are typically engaged as part of a
‘life task’. They may work at a slower pace. A
tension between the two paces is not
necessarily bad, but it can be counter-
productive.
8. Engagement with international actors lifted
our imagination in Northern Ireland. I have
no doubt that they made a significant
contribution to the peace process there.
Tasks of the International Mediator
I would suggest this list of potential tasks for the
international mediator:
1. Educator – imparting a conceptual framework for peace mediation.
2. Facilitator – helping indigenous actors to ‘think’ and reflect.
3. Catalytic agent —whereby their presence, as an outsider, enables protagonists to meet and engage in a different way and to draw energy and hope from hearing about other situations.
4. Trainer – helping people to develop their craft and technique.
5. Mentor – supporting indigenous practitioners in the delivery of mediation and its associated disciplines.
6. Mediator – where and when appropriate, to engage in actual mediation, assuming local endorsement and consensus about the introduction of an outsider.
© European Forum for International Mediation and Dialogue e.V. (mediatEUr), 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without full attribution. The views expressed in this publication are that of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of mediatEUr, or the funding agency.
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