Spring Semester 2020 Bachelor Dissertation
‘Resolving or transforming conflict?’
A thematic analysis of mediation guidance within the United
Nations, through the lenses of a problem-solving and transformative
approach to mediation
Jasmine Traore
Peace and Conflict Studies
Department of Global Political Studies Supervisor: Inge Eriksson
Abstract
The field of mediation tend to shift as practitioners and theorists make new recommendations concerning how the mediation practice should be conducted. The United Nations play a crucial role in this, its work involves providing training and guidance for new mediators through various arms of their system. This thesis is analyzing the 2010 publication A Manual for UN Mediators: Advice from UN Representatives and Envoys to identify which skills and strategies they are recommending, through Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six step approach to thematic analysis, connecting to the social constructionist paradigm. According to social constructionism, all mediation practices are based on ideological or value premises. Therefore, the identified recommendations are analyzed and discussed at the level of underlying ideologies. In particular, through the lenses of a problem-solving and transformative approach to mediation. Resultingly, a total of 12 themes relating to recommended mediation strategies and skills are identified, with both approaches to mediation being identified in the themes relating to the strategies and discussed within this regard.
Keywords: Mediator Skills, International Mediation, Transformative Mediation, Problem-solving mediation, United Nations
Table of Contents
Abstract ... 2
1. Introduction ... 4
Research Problem ... 5
Previous Research ... 7
Aim and Research Question ... 10
Disposition... 12
Relevance to Peace and Conflict Studies ... 12
Delimitations ... 13
2. Background ... 14
3. Analytical Framework ... 15
Social Constructionism ... 15
The Problem-Solving Approach to Mediation ... 16
The Transformative Approach to Mediation ... 18
Operationalization of the theory ... 20
4. Method ... 21
Empirical Data... 21
Thematic Analysis ... 22
Braun and Clarke’s Six Phases of Thematic Analysis ... 25
5. Analysis ... 35
Mediation Strategies Identified in the Advice of UN Representatives and Envoys ... 35
Assumptions about conflict: long-term process ... 36
Ideal response to conflict: Facilitating empowerment and recognition ... 37
Goal of mediation: Settling the dispute ... 38
Mediator role: Directive ... 39
Mediator focus: parties’ situation and interests ... 40
Use of time: is ‘open-ended’ ... 40
Mediator Skills and Abilities Identified in the Advice of UN Representatives and Envoys ... 42
Precision... 42
Ability to ‘read between the lines’ ... 43
Honesty and Sincerity ... 44
Impartiality ... 45
Empathy ... 46
Creativity ... 47
Discussion ... 49
6. Conclusion ... 51
Reccomendations for future research ... 53
Final reflections on the theoretical approach to mediation ... 52
1. Introduction
Mediation has been used as a tool for managing conflicts longer than the modern nation-state itself has even existed. The term as we know it today, however, is pluralistic and involves a wide range of third-party activities to manage conflicts or disputes (Diehl & Gireg 2012: 1, 6). Many different definitions of the term exist, as it is applicable across many areas of the conflict spectrum in human relationships, ranging from personal and institutional disputes to international peace efforts between warring states (Diehl & Gireg 2012: 2; Bush & Folger 2005: 8). A common formulation of mediation across the mediation field however characterizes it as an informal process in which a neutral third party with no power to impose a resolution helps the disputing parties to try to reach a mutually acceptable settlement, regardless of the type of conflict to which it is applied (Bush & Folger 2005: 8). Furthermore, in modern conflict resolution, the United Nations (UN) exercise a significant role. In 2011, the General Assembly adopted resolution 65/283 which reaffirmed the international community’s commitment to strengthening the role of international mediation in peaceful settlement of disputes and conflict prevention and resolution, acknowledging the valuable role of mediation in this context (UN. Secretary-General 2017). It is the UN’s ambition to assist in various activities in support of mediation internationally; encompassing support in processes led by regional organizations, Member States or other non-governmental organizations. They also sometimes act as the lead mediator or facilitator in mediation, this is carried out by the Secretary-General or by his representatives and envoys at the request of the parties, on the Secretary-General’s initiative, or upon a request from the Security Council or the General Assembly (Peck 2010: 2). The United Nations aspires to assist support throughout all the various stages of the mediation process: providing a supportive external environment, supporting mediation strategies and processes, providing sophisticated and flexible operational, logistical, security, administrative
and financial support, supporting the implementation of peace agreements and settlements and, strengthening the capacity of mediators (United Nations Activities in Support of Mediation 2017: 9 - 19). To strengthen the capacity of mediators, the United Nations provides training courses to United Nations staff and others through various arms of their system including the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Department of Political Affairs (DPA) with purposes of developing skills for mediators and to provide a larger awareness of the process of mediation according to the United Nations (Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation 2018).
Research Problem
Practice methodology in the mediation field tend to shift as practitioners and theorists make new recommendations about how the practice should be conducted. In the case of the United Nations, these recommendations are present in the 2010 publication A Manual for UN Mediators: Advice from UN Representatives and Envoys, the empirical data selected for this thesis’ analysis. Following the social constructionist paradigm, all approaches to mediation are shaped by underlying ideologies and values (Bush and Folger 2005: 25, 96). Therefore, the engagement with mediation must be done in such a way that is ethical, professional and effective, because underlying ideologies may be encouraged or imposed in the trainings, which could result in long term consequences for the parties seeking mediation and for society as a whole (Pascal Da Rocha 2019: 102). In particular, the recommendations aiming to advance mediation should be discussed in relation to these underlying assumptions. Moreover, a substantial amount of approaches exists to navigate through the complex and sophisticated
complex and diverse setting of conflicts in which it is positioned within. Two contenting approaches will be presented in this thesis, these will act as lenses for the analysis to identify the underlying assumptions shaping the advice. The first approach is the problem-solving approach to mediation. Being the dominant approach to mediation in the field today, it is rooted in conflict resolution and perceives settlement of the dispute as the primary objective of mediation. The underlying ideology shaping this approach is individualism, and the idea that conflict is something that needs to be controlled, contained and settled (Bush and Folger 2014: 243). To challenge this prevailing approach, the transformative approach to mediation was developed. The transformative approach is seen as an extension of conflict transformation and views management of the conflict as the primary objective of mediation. It is based on a relational worldview and instead perceives conflict as an opportunity to identify the deeper relational dynamics that initially led to conflict in the first place, thereby making conflict an opportunity to achieve a longer lasting peace (Lederach 2014: 23).
This thesis will examine the underlying assumptions shaping the advice and recommendations in the manual in accordance to two of these approaches to mediation. The approaches were selected because of their fundamentally different underlying principles, which have the potential to produce different long- and short-term outcomes. In the section below, a deeper discussion surrounding the debate between the transformative and the problem-solving approach will be presented. First, the chapter will introduce international mediation within the current literature. Then, the debate between the two approaches will be elaborated. Finally, the chapter will end with a discussion of the United Nations’ role in international mediation through the lenses the two approaches.
Previous Research
Mirroring the overall field of mediation, research on international mediation show that the process is an interdisciplinary activity, challenging those researchers that strive to study the matter in a systematic and empirical manner. The problems faced by international mediation scholars range from diverging definitions, difficulties studying international mediation in its natural setting and the plethora of studies in mediation of an anecdotal or personal nature (Bercovitch 1991). Despite this, the international arena has seen a spurge of growth of literature surrounding mediation throughout the last four decades since it emerged. Duursma (2014) reported on the rapidly expanded body of literature on international mediation, reflecting the central role that mediation plays in modern day conflict resolution. The recognition of international mediation as a powerful tool for managing and settling conflicts and disputes is shared by many (Pascal da Rocha 2019; Bercovitch 1991; Martynoga and Sielenzak 2018; Duursma 2014; Sarsyan 2003; Suleymanov 2017). The United Nations, being the leading intergovernmental organization in the world and working after principles such as maintaining international peace and security, is closely related to the enterprise as well. Authors studying the United Nations role in the resolution of international conflicts often mention and stresses the importance of mediation within this context (Bercovitch, Ananoson and Wille 1991). However, it is due to the diverse nature of mediation, its contextual essence and the complex and diverse setting of conflicts which international mediation is positioned within, that research studying the success and growth of mediation in this context varies in nature.
The starting point for any mediation activity is conflict. However, what becomes evident in the discussion between the transformative and the problem-solving approach to mediation, is that there are contrasting views about the nature of conflict and what productive conflict entails.
those whose primary objective is managing the conflict (Pascal da Rocha 2019: 103). Lederach (1997: 57) states that the efforts of the conflict resolution practitioner is to help defuse immediate face-to-face tensions and, in some cases, also help repair the broken relationships. For the solving mediator these efforts are linked to their practice, seeing that problem-solving mediation is one branch of conflict resolution. Spitka (2016: 25) adds that the reaching of a settlement may come from bargaining, principled negotiation, creative problem solving and trade-offs. This presents a vast critique of the solving approach – that the solving mediator is too directive in his or her attempt to reach a settlement. The problem-solving mediator controls the process, the substance of the discussion, focuses on areas of consensus and resolvable issues while avoiding areas where consensus is less likely (Bugess and Burgess 1997). According to Bush and Folger (2014: 14) this directiveness deprives the conflicting parties of regenerating a sense of personal strength and achieving some sense of understanding toward the other, resulting in the continuation of a negative conflict interaction. In contrast, transformative mediation aspires to change the conflict interaction from a negative and destructive social force into a positive and constructive social force through its capacity to generate two important dynamic effects: empowerment and recognition. In other words, without recognition and empowerment it is unlikely that the conflicting parties will move on and be at peace with themselves or the other in the long-term. Defenders of the problem-solving approach, however, do not see an issue with directing the process of mediation. Hoffman (1999) argues that mediators’ questions unavoidably will steer the process and that attention must be brought to how, and to what end, that the mediator is directing, not to whether it should be done at all. In his view, the goal is to settle the dispute, not to impose personal growth and development on the conflicting parties. Many agree with him seeing that the problem-solving approach is the dominant approach to mediation in the field today. Williams (1997: 148) defends the approach by arguing that settlement satisfies the conflicting parties and Mckinney
(1997: 47) argues that the problem-solving approach does in a sense allow empowerment and recognition. Although he does admit that empowerment and recognition are highly subjective terms, he does not see how settling the dispute would not empower the conflicting parties. Nonetheless, the problem-solving approach does little to address the deeper underlying issues that cause people to be in conflict in the first place, as this is not needed to settle the immediate dispute or conflict. Although solutions that meet particular demands provide answers to pressing problems, they are ephemeral rather than permanent. Lederach describes this by stating “agreements have been aimed at stopping the shooting and killing, a necessary and laudable human goal. However, this only represents the tip of the iceberg and is episodic in nature, even if the episodes of violence have multiple-year or even multiple-decade parameters” (Lederach 2005: 46). The transformative approach goes beyond negotiating solutions in the now and builds toward something new. Lederach (2014: 23, 25, 101) explains the transformative approach as that which aspires to create constructive change processes through conflict. Conflict is seen as an opportunity to identify the deeper dynamics that initially led to conflict in the first place, making conflict an opportunity to achieve a longer lasting peace. The fundamental way to promote constructive change on all levels is through dialogue. That is why mediation is a such a unique tool of conflict transformation, because of its focus on dialogue. The transformative approach is more appropriate in some situations than others; in conflicts or disputes that are in need for a quick and final solution without needing to attend to the underlying causes, the problem-solving approach would make more sense. Notwithstanding this, the process of mediation can offer benefits that exceed the result of a particular mediation, especially considering its role in international mediation, which is why attention needs to be brought to the less enacted transformative approach to mediation as well.
Finally, the disagreeing opinions regarding the United Nations role in international mediation should be acknowledged because of the diverse nature of mediation which problematizes the orientation of these texts. Touval (1994) criticizes the United Nations’ role in international mediation by defining the goal of the mediator as settling the dispute through persuasion or bargain. While this may be the goal of a problem-solving mediator, it does not correspond to the goals of the transformative mediator. She also states that the United Nations is an ineffective mediator in international disputes, arguing that states motivated by self-interest should mediate intractable disputes instead. Similarly, Elgström, Berovitch and Skau (2003) argues that rather than the United Nations, it is regional actors that should take on the mediation efforts. According to the United Nations, its role in the international arena is to provide support to other actors in addition to occasionally acting as the lead mediator (UN. Secretary-General 2017). With this in mind, the critique may be misguided based on the diverse beliefs surrounding the nature of mediation. Alternatively, studies praising the United Nations’ mediation efforts, acknowledges the considerable contribution to the pacification of international relations it has done. For example, in 1987 the UN successfully mediated an end to the Iraq-Iran war, when Iran accepted the UN-brokered ceasefire (Suleymanov 2017). At the same time however, threats to peace and security still remain alarming and studies are questioning the strategies of the United Nations. In a study on the United Nations’ short- and long-term capacity to deal with threats and to facilitate peaceful relations, Diehl, Reifschneider and Hensel (1996) concluded that the United Nations are ineffective in solving conflicts in the long run.
Aim and Research Question
As demonstrated in the introduction of this thesis, the way mediators’ practice and understand mediation depends on what underlying ideologies they have. According to social constructionism, these assumptions are central in shaping the behavior of future mediators and
with that the future of the mediation enterprise itself. The aim of this thesis is therefore to lay bare these underlying ideologies, especially within the United Nations. To examine this, the following research question has been developed:
What skills and strategies for mediation are recommended by UN representatives and envoys in A Manual for UN Mediators: Advice from UN Representatives and Envoys (2010), and where are these strategies situated in the context of either a settlement-based or a transformative framework?
To answer the research question in greater detail, two operational questions have been developed:
1. Which mediation strategies are encouraged in the manual? 2. What mediator skills/abilities are encouraged in the manual?
The first operational question is developed using a deductive approach while the second operational question is developed using an inductive approach. The method and the empirical data that this thesis will analyze is presented in more detail in chapter 5. Connecting social constructionism, the selected method is a thematic analysis based on Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six step approach, conducted to examine the empirical material and answer the research question presented above.
Disposition
This bachelor dissertation consists of 6 chapters. The first three chapters are provided to give a clear and detailed account on international mediation, especially within the context of the United Nations and the transformative and problem-solving approaches to mediation that this thesis is centred around. The following chapters are commenced for conducting and presenting the analysis within this research design. In chapter 1: Introduction, the research problem, aim, research question, previous research, disposition, delimitations and this thesis’ relevancy to the field of Peace and Conflict Studies are presented. Following, chapter 2: Background provides an account to how the United Nations has performed mediation in the past. Chapter 3: Analytical Framework, is developed as a basis for the second part of this thesis, providing a presentation of social constructivism, and the problem-solving and transformative approach to mediation. Next, chapter 4: Method, is presenting the empirical data that will be analyzed through the help Braun and Clarke’s Six Phases of Thematic Analysis and its corresponding reflexivity journal. Chapter 5: Analysis, is organized according to the operational questions of this thesis and presents and discusses the findings of the analysis. Finally, this thesis ends with chapter 6: Conclusion, which presents the findings in a concluding manner, adds recommendations for future research and ends with a closing discussion of the importance of transformative mediation in contemporary conflict resolution and within humanity as a whole.
Relevance to Peace and Conflict Studies
In practice, the field of Peace and Conflict has made significant contributions to areas of conflict transformation and resolution, above all within the United Nations, the subject of this thesis’ analysis. The growing awareness that the professional field of conflict resolution has
too narrowly defined the nature of mediators in constructive social change, makes this thesis suited as a bachelor dissertation for Peace and Conflict Studies. The awakening perspective sees the potential of mediation and other peacebuilding measures to introduce a positive quality of interaction within the web of systemic relationships in order to promote constructive change processes in the conflict-affected setting as a whole (Lederach 2005). In other words, there is an emerging recognition that a worldview shift is needed from the professional field of peace and conflict concerned with ending the most pressing symptoms of conflict into a focus on how to create and sustain a platform capable of generating adaptive change processes, that address both the episodic expression of the conflict and the epicenter of the conflictive relational context.
Delimitations
This thesis is limited to only one publication concerning the advice and recommendations from mediators in the UN, due to the limited timeframe of the thesis and the qualitative nature of the research. Coding qualitative data is time consuming and therefore a larger volume of publications would have been unfitting for the size of this thesis. Further, the names of the individual representatives and envoys sharing the advice are only provided at the end of the manual and not stated by each advice. Therefore, it is only possible to conclude a general representation of what the attitudes and underlying beliefs shaping the advice of the UN representatives and envoys are, not of the particular individuals. Finally, this thesis is limited to two approaches to mediation. Although there are other approaches to mediation with different underlying ideologies shaping them, the two approaches were selected because of their recognized polarity and the contemporary debate surrounding them.
2. Background
The United Nations have a major role in the management and resolution of conflicts and is a unique actor in the field of international conflict management (The United Nations Institute for Training and Research 2010). It has a critical role in helping to mediate inter and intra-state conflicts throughout the various stages of conflict. According to The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the UN follows an interest-based and problem-solving approach to mediation that encourages the exploration of all parties’ interests, in contrast to power-based or rights-based approaches (UNITAR 2010). The Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) is the principal support structure for the UN’s good office and mediation efforts. While it is the Secretary-General and his representatives that carry out the mediation enterprise, DPPA provides conflict analyses, planning and support of the work of the peace envoys and oversees field-based political missions that serves as they key platforms for preventive diplomacy (DPPA 2020). In the UN, the good offices function is derived from the role, prestige and credibility of the Secretary-General and it is from that role that the DPPA base their work of mediation. For mediation to be effective, the parties must accept a mediation role from the UN, whether the request for mediation is of the parties, the Secretary-General, the Security Council or the General Assembly (Peck 2010: 2). According to DPPA, successful conflict mediation requires an adequate support system to provide envoys with the proper staff assistance and advice and ensure that talks have the needed logistical and financial resources. The Mediation Support Unit (MSU) was established in 2006 and works closely with DPPA to plan and support mediation efforts in the field, including the funding of A Manual for UN Mediators: Advice from UN Representatives and Envoys, the empirical data that this thesis will analyze.
3. Analytical Framework
The aim of this chapter is to provide an analytical framework for the analysis of this thesis and present theory surrounding social constructionism, problem-solving, and transformative mediation. The findings of this chapter will be operationalized at the end, presenting a table exhibiting the key attributes for a problem-solving and transformative mediation approach.
Social Constructionism
Social constructionism is a theory of knowledge in sociology and communication that views reality as socially constructed (Galbin 2014: 82). According to this perspective, it is impossible to know what the universal account of right or wrong, true or false, or good or bad is. The only thing possible to know is that individuals know stories about these dualities (ibid: 82). Knowledge arises from a socially constructed communal process, as meaning is not a property of the objects and events themselves, but a construction by the use of agreed and shared meaning communicated through language. In other words, the content of our consciousness and the mode of our relating and understanding others, are a product of culture and society rather than containing an objective truth (ibid: 84). Individual rationality is therefore not conceived as an attribute of individual thinking, but as a consequence of cultural convention. Language, according to this perspective, presents an ability of generating involvement and promoting change through its creation of realities (ibid: 84).
Mediation, having its focus on transforming or resolving conflict through dialogue should not only be understood within the social constructionism paradigm through the obvious correlation of language. Moreover, it provides an account for the underlying values and ideologies that
shape the various approaches to mediation. The transformative and the problem-solving approaches to mediation have fundamentally different ideas of what productive conflict is, what human beings are capable of and what third parties should do in an intervention. To choose any approach to mediation is to choose a set of values; and to enact those values through the mediation enterprise (Bush and Folger 2005: 232). Therefore, the recommendations for mediation provided by the United Nations should be identified and discussed in relation to these underlying ideologies. Especially because they may be intentionally or unintentionally encouraged in the trainings, which could result in long term consequences for the parties seeking mediation and for society as a whole (Pascal Da Rocha 2019: 102).
Now, the two approaches; problem-solving and transformative mediation, will be introduced and finally operationalized at the end of this chapter. These approaches will act as lenses when conducting the analysis in chapter 5.
The Problem-Solving Approach to Mediation
Individualist ideology has been the predominant ideology in Western society for over 250 years. As a result, the problem-solving practice has been formed according to the individualistic assumptions about human nature and social interaction (Saxon 2018: 14). In practice, the worldview assumes that the human world is composed of radically separate individuals that are driven by their own unique interests and are only interested in others as instruments for fulfilling their own personal desires. The social world is thus dangerous, and individuals do not have the full capacity of either agency or empathy. As a result, social institutions are required to protect against oppression, self-inflicted harm and to facilitate joint pursuits. Conflict, therefore, is viewed as something that needs to be controlled so that it does not spread or persist,
leads to oppression, or squander satisfaction (Bush and Folger 2005: 245). Mediation is thereby one of the means by which the conflict can be solved. The problem-solving approach to mediation focuses on finding a mutually agreeable settlement of the immediate dispute. According to the problem-solving mediator: “when conflict exists, a problem exists, and a problem exists because of a real or apparent incompatibility of parties' needs or interests” (Spangler 2003). The focus is on dividing power and resources between the presumably solid groups rather than attending to the complex, multi-layered and fluid nature of the group identities. While attitudes and perceptions tend to be ignored, the objective is to satisfy the parties needs or interests, and with that, settle the conflict (Spitka 2016: 26). Mediation, according to this approach is a powerful tool for satisfying human needs and reducing suffering and can help reframe a contentious dispute as a mutual problem (Bush and Folger 2014: 10). To reach the goal of settling the dispute, the problem-solving mediator is directive of the process and plays a large role in crafting the settlement terms and obtaining the parties agreement. All of the mediators’ actions are also designed to facilitate the outcome of a settlement. Emotions are controlled as anger might prevent a settlement of the dispute, issues that are non-negotiable are diverted and discussions of the past are discouraged as talking of the past may involve blame which would hinder a settlement. Instead, parties are encouraged to focus on what they want in the future, solve identified problems and develop solutions that meet their interests. In contrast to the transformative approach, time is limited to the particular dispute and certain deadlines needs to be set and met to achieve a final end to the dispute. The conflict is therefore a short-term situation that ends when the settlement has been reached (Burgess and Burgess 1997).
The Transformative Approach to Mediation
In contrast to the problem-solving approach to mediation, relational ideology is the underlying ideology informing transformative mediation and has been built upon and reflected in the fields of political philosophy, moral theory, sociology, psychology, law and others only within the past 25 years. It views individuals as interconnected by having freedom and independence through actions and thought yet exist in constant relation to others (Saxon 2018: 15). According to science, as Margaret Wheatley has noted “nothing in the universe exists as an isolated or independent entity. Everything takes the form of relationships, be it subatomic particles sharing energy or ecosystems sharing food. In the web of life, nothing living lives alone” (Wheatley 2002 in Lederach 2005: 34). Conflict, then, presents an opportunity to strengthen and deepen the capacity of human agency and connection because of the positive view of interaction. Social interaction is, in its essence, a process of discovering and becoming fully “who we really are” as it is through interaction and dialogue that we give meaning to our lives and thereby creating the basis for what goals we actually want to attain (Bush and Folger 2005: 252). According to the transformative approach to mediation, the process of mediation has the potential to offer benefits that exceeds the result of a particular mediation. Conflict transformation is more than a set of specific techniques. It views conflict as a crisis of human interaction and seeks to transform the conflict interaction itself between the disputing parties from a negative cycle into a cycle that is positive (Lederach 2014: 20). Two key components are vital to this transformation of conflict interaction: empowerment and recognition. When empowerment and recognition are realized by the parties in conflict, settlement will follow if it is appropriate (Etcheson 1999: 393). However, in contrast to the problem-solving approach, settlement is not the primary goal of mediation. Instead, the goal is for the parties to make an interactional shift from a negative conflict interaction of disempowerment and disconnection, into a positive conflict interaction of empowerment and recognition. Conflict is thus seen as an opportunity
for moral growth and transformation and the ideal response to the conflict is to facilitate parties’ empowerment and recognition of others (Burgess and Burgess 1997). Empowerment, according to this approach, is the restoration of a sense of personal value and strength. Recognition, is the acknowledgement, understanding or empathy for the situation and the views of the other. In negative conflict interaction, conflict generates an overall sense of weakening and self-absorption, as each party becomes more protective, suspicious, hostile and closed. In turn, the disempowerment and disconnection then reinforce each other in a feedback loop, resulting devastating outcomes of mutual hatred, violence and war. The role of the mediator then, and the essential potential of transformative mediation, is to find opportunities for empowerment and recognition within and between the disputing parties. As they gradually make empowerment and recognition shifts, the interaction as a whole begins to transform and regenerate. Empowerment and recognition too reinforce each other in a feedback loop, resulting in the opportunity of a lasting positive interaction cycle (Bush and Folger 2014: 23, 52, 56, 59). The transformative approach does not seek resolution of the immediate problem, and conflict is thought off as a long-term process and an opportunity for moral growth, transformation and lasting peace. For the transformative mediator, time is open-ended, and the parties are allowed to spend as much time on each activity as they want to. The parties are seen as the experts, with motivation and capacity to reverse the cycle that produces them, so the role of the mediator is to be responsive as to allow them to gain their own sense of empowerment and recognition (Burgess and Burgess 1997).
Finally, the findings from the two approaches to mediation just presented will now be operationalized in the section below. This will lay the foundation for the analysis in chapter five.
Operationalization of the theory
To answer the research question of the thesis, what strategies and skills UN representatives and envoys are encouraging in A Manual for UN Mediators (2010), this thesis conducts a thematic analysis following the social constructivism paradigm. The initial themes of the analysis are based upon the table below, containing idealized descriptions of the key features of the two approaches from this chapter, summarized by Heidi and Guy Burgess (1997).
Transformative
Mediation
Problem-solving
Mediation
Assumpti-ons about conflictConflict is an opportunity for moral growth and transformation.
Conflict tends to be a long-term process.
Conflict is a problem in need of a solution.
Conflict is a short-term situation.
Ideal response to conflict
To facilitate parties’ empowerment and recognition of
others (through the process of mediation.
To take collaborative steps to solve identified problems and maximize
joint gains (through mediation)
Mediation objective
An interactional shift from disempowerment and disconnection to empowerment
and recognition.
Reaching a settlement of the dispute.
Mediator role/ actions
Non-directive: parties are seen as experts, with motivation and
capacity to solve their own problems with minimum help. The mediator is responsive to the
parties.
Directive: the mediator is expert, who directs the problem-solving
process.
The mediator uses their knowledge to develop options to reach a
settlement
Mediator focus
The mediator focus on parties' interactions, looking for opportunities for empowerment and/or recognition of the other.
The mediator focus on parties' situation and interests, looking for
opportunities for joint gains and mutually satisfactory agreements.
Use of time
Time is open-ended; parties spend as much time on each activity as they want to. No pre-set "stages" as in problem-solving mediation.
The mediator sets time limits, encourages parties to move on or meet deadlines, moving the parties
4. Method
The objective of this chapter is to present and evaluate the methodical framework of this thesis, following the analytical framework above. First, the empirical data will be presented and justified. Second, thematic analysis will be presented, clarified and justified as well. Finally, Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase guide for thematic analysis will be made clear, alongside a corresponding reflexivity journal, which acknowledges the researcher as a tool of analysis. Conforming to social constructionism, objectivity is absent in human sciences because of the subjectivity of humans. Therefore, the goal of research is not to produce knowledge that is fixed and universally valid, but to open up an appreciation of what is possible (Galbin 2014: 90). My purpose here is therefore not to try to persuade or prove the correct interpretation of the phenomenon. Rather, in this thesis I will examine the possibilities of understanding of the mediation enterprise by identifying the underlying assumptions shaping the advice and recommendations from United Nations representatives and envoys.
Empirical Data
The empirical data that this thesis will analyze is titled A Manual for UN Mediators: Advice from UN Representatives and Envoys, a collection of 79 interview extracts with 18 UN representatives and envoys compiled by Connie Peck. The manual was published in 2010 by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and the United Nations Department of Political Affairs, with the purpose of familiarizing new UN mediators with a range of skills used by some of the UN’s most experienced mediators. The content of the manual is based on the UNITAR book published for in-house UN use only titled, On Being a Special Representative of the Secretary-General, which involves more extensive interviews with these
representatives and envoys, to determine lessons learned and best practices from their work (Peck 2010: 1). A delimitation within the material comes from the fact that it is not stated which representative or envoy who stated what. Therefore, it is impossible to conclude to what extent the transformative and problem-solving approach is present in the mindset of the individual subjects. Rather, in thesis I will be able to conclude a general image, based on the information provided in the manual. Furthermore, the interview extracts were selected because they correspond to the aim of this thesis: identifying which mediation strategies and skills that the United Nations are encouraging and situating these within the context of a problem-solving or transformative framework to identify which underlying assumptions that may be shaping their work. The manual is also aimed at guiding new UN mediators, which is of interest due to its relation to the problem area of this thesis - that underlying frameworks may be encouraged or imposed in the trainings, which could result in long term consequences for the parties seeking mediation and for society as a whole.
Thematic Analysis
Thematic analysis is widely used in qualitative research and is often seen as an umbrella term for a variety of research methods. There is an ongoing debate about the role of thematic analysis in qualitative research. On the one hand, authors argue that because thematic analysis is a process that is used by different qualitative methods, it is a tool for assisting researchers in analysis rather than a separate method. On the other hand, authors agree that thematic analysis can be used a method in its own right (Nowell et al, 2017). This thesis adopts the second account and will use thematic analysis as a separate method, following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase guide for thematic analysis. In the section, the six phases for conducting a thematic analysis will be elaborated in greater detail next to six corresponding reflexivity
journals. As understood by the social constructionist paradigm, how researchers write is a reflection of their own interpretation of meanings based on the cultural, social and personal politics that they bring to the research. Therefore, an account following the process of the researcher conducting the analysis is useful for acknowledging the researcher as the tool of analysis (Creswell 2007: 179).
Furthermore, by identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns (themes) in the data, thematic analysis is an appropriate choice for conducting this qualitative research and corresponds to the aim of what this research intends to do. The method is used as a tool for organizing and describing data in rich detail as well as interpreting various aspects of the research topic (Nowell et al, 2017). In particular, it is an appropriate choice because of its flexibility (Clarke and Braun 2006). As mentioned above, thematic analysis is widely used within qualitative data. However, there is no clear agreement about what thematic analysis is and how you go about doing it. Therefore, extensive clarification on which thematic analysis principles that this particular thesis will adhere to, will be provided below.
As mentioned, the epistemological position of this thesis is conducted within the social constructionist paradigm. Thematic analysis can either be an essentialist or realist method, which reports experiences, meanings and reality; a social constructionist method which examines how events, realities, meanings and experiences are the effects of a range of discourses operating within society; or a ‘contextualist’ method, which adheres to both (Clarke and Braun 2006). Further, it is flexible with the approaches that determines how themes within the data are identified as well. Themes are that which captures something important about the data in relation to the research question and represents some level of patterned response or meaning within the data set (Clarke and Braun 2006). The inductive approach is data-driven
and follows a process of coding the data without trying to fit it into a pre-existing coding frame, or within the researcher’s analytic preconceptions. In contrast, the deductive approach follows the researcher’s theoretical or analytic interest in the area and is more analysis-driven (Clarke and Braun 2006). This thesis is using both approaches, in accordance to the operational questions of this thesis. The first operational question, asking which mediation strategies can be identified in the manual, is following the deductive approach because the aim is to provide a detailed analysis on which mediation strategies that the United Nations are practicing and situating these within the context of a problem-solving or transformative framework of mediation. Thus, the data will be coded to find specific themes relating to the analytical framework. The second operational question asks what mediator skills/abilities that can be identified in the manual, for this reason, an inductive approach is conducted because there are no accounts to this in the analytical framework, rather the answer will be identified in the data. Lastly, the level at which themes are to be identified must be asserted as well. At the semantic level, themes are identified within the explicit surface of meanings of the data. At the latent level on the other hand, the thematic analysis goes beyond the semantic content and starts to identify or examine the underlying ideas, assumptions, conceptualizations and ideologies that are theorised as shaping or informing the semantic content of the data. Latent thematic analysis tends to come from a social constructionist paradigm and with that in mind, this thesis is positioned at the latent level (Clarke and Braun 2006).
Clarke and Braun’s six phased method will now be introduced alongside a corresponding reflexibility journal. Reflexivity is an attitude of attending systematically to the context of knowledge construction because of the understanding that the perspective or position of the researcher is what shapes all kinds of research (Cohen 2006).
Braun and Clarke’s Six Phases of Thematic Analysis
In this chapter, Braun and Clarke’s six-phased thematic analysis method will be presented next to six corresponding reflexivity journal entries. These are written in italics. As understood by the social constructionist paradigm of this thesis, how researchers write is a reflection of their own interpretation of meanings based on the cultural, social and personal politics that they bring to the research. Therefore, an account following the process of the researcher conducting the analysis is useful because it increases the creditability of the findings and helps the readers evaluate the research (Creswell 2007: 179). Phase 1-5 will be demonstrated below, illustrating the stages of becoming familiar with the data, generating codes and searching for, reviewing and defining the themes. Phase 6 will be delivered in the form of the actual analysis in chapter 5, later in this thesis.
Phase 1: Familiarising yourself with your data
To begin the method, the first step involves becoming familiar with all aspects of the data, to the extent that the breadth and depth of the content is clear. It usually involves repeated reading of the data to search for meanings and patterns before the coding begins. As this phase lays the foundation for the rest of the analysis, it is ideal to read through the entire data set at least once (Braun and Clarke 2006: 16).
The 79 interview extracts from the UN representatives and envoys were collected throughout the first reading of the empirical data. These were all the interview extracts from the manual and none were left out. Any additional text written by Connie Peck were not selected to be analysed. At this stage one delimitation was detected; although the representatives and envoys are named at the end of the manual, it was not possible to see who did which interview.
Therefore, it is only possible to identify the general assumptions of the UN mediators, not the particular individuals. Further, three initial patterns were identified: confidence-building measures, reading between the lines to find underlying causes, and being highly empathetic. At this time, I also noticed the need to differentiate between the two operational questions of this thesis. The analytical framework does not involve the skills and abilities of the mediator, however, after reading through the data, it became evident that this is a highly important aspect of the mediation practise according to the subjects. Therefore, themes surrounding the personal skills and abilities of the mediator will be analysed using an inductive approach, while themes regarding the strategies will be analysed following a deductive approach.
Phase 2: Generating initial codes
In this step, the initial codes from the data are produced. Codes are that which identifies an interesting aspect of the data and refers to “the most basic segment, or element, of the raw data or information that can be assessed in a meaningful way regarding the phenomenon” (Braun and Clarke 2006: 18). When generating the codes, each data item is given full and equal attention as the entire data set is worked through systematically to organise the data into meaningful groups. Interesting aspects that may form the basis of themes should be identified as well. It is very important to ensure that all data extracts are coded in this step.
To follow phase 2, each interview extract was systematically coded with the specific research question in mind. The coding was done manually on my computer by highlighting the data extract for the code in the PDF document, and copy pasting the text into a table on a Microsoft Word document. Next to the text, the code was identified. The coding was conducted according to the two operational questions. First, the data was coded for the first question, following a deductive approach, relating to the key components of the transformative and problem-solving
approaches to mediation. Second, the data was coded through an inductive approach to find out which abilities and skills of mediators that was encouraged in the data.
Phase 3: Searching for themes
This step re-focuses the analysis from a level of codes to the broader level of themes, when all the data have been coded and collated. It involves sorting the codes into potential themes and collating the relevant coded data extracts within the relevant themes. This can be done through visual representations such as tables, mind-maps or post it notes. At this stage, codes are analysed to be considered how they may combine and eventually form themes. The relationship between the codes, the overarching- and sub-themes must be identified and assessed as well. Some codes may not fit into to any of the pre-existing themes, if this is the case new themes can be created. At the end of this step, the candidate themes, sub-themes and extracts of data coded in relation to them, should be assorted.
To answer the first operational question, the codes were combined to create workable themes by using a mind-map based on the six headings in the table presenting the transformative and problem-solving approach from the analytical framework and the previously created table on Microsoft Word with the initial codes/sub-themes. Six themes were identified within the overarching theme: “Recommended mediation strategies” by analyzing the codes in relation to the tables:
• Directive role (Problem-solving Mediation: Mediator role/actions) • Open ended use of time (Transformative Mediation: Use of time)
• Identifying conflict as a long-term process (Transformative Mediation: Assumptions about conflict)
• Facilitating empowerment and recognition (Transformative mediation: Ideal response to conflict)
• Focus on the parties’ situation and interests (Problem-Solving Mediation: Mediator focus)
To answer the second operational question, the data was coded using an inductive approach. In other words, the themes were identified within the data. One overarching theme was identified: “Recommended mediator skills/abilities”. Under this overarching theme, six themes were identified:
• Empathetic • Ability to interpret • Being extremely specific • Impartiality
• Sincerity and Honesty • Creative thinking
Phase 4: Reviewing themes
This phase involves two levels of reviewing and refining the themes. The fist level involves reading all the collated extracts for each theme and considering whether they appear to form a coherent pattern, that establish a ‘thematic map’ where the candidate themes adequately captures the contours of the coded data. The second level considers the validity of the individual themes in relation to the data set and whether the candidate thematic map accurately reflects the meanings evident in the data set as a whole. Internal homogeneity and external homogeneity should also be considered here, it means that no data should fall in between groups or fit into more than one group. At this stage, the entire data should be re-
that has previously been missed, resulting in a satisfactory thematic map of the data. Below are the two thematic maps produced by the data, correlating to the operational questions of the thesis and reviewed according to the steps of this phase.
Overarching theme 1: Recommended mediation strategies
Code Theme
Don’t ask people to do things you know they will not do
Focus on party interests and situation Have good chemistry
with the parties Deal with difficult parties
Accept the inevitability of becoming a
scapegoat
Achieving the best solution Building confidence Facilitating empowerment and recognition Confidence building measures Confidence building Initiating conversation Bringing parties to talk Beginning discussions Transforming fear into confidence
Building confidence through good news Replacing
non-dialogue with non-dialogue Build international pressure
Settling the dispute Proximity talks
Separate discussions Track II Diplomacy Work with the most influential
Stress the side-effects Conflict analogy Consolidate and preserve peace Delays impede effectiveness of solving the dispute
Bring up the tough issues too Code Theme Establish political structures Long-term process Generate public commitment to peace Avoid easy solutions Build durable peace Help parties realize long-term solutions Don’t create short-term solutions Warn against future side-effects Reframe names Directive mediator role Challenge parties to consider alternatives Provide food for thought
Present parties’ ideas as from the mediator Influence leaders Persuade key actors Persuade parties Make bold proposals Make sure they feel like they have ownership Go step-by-step Build consensus Assuage the fears Begin with pleasantries
Don’t rush mediation
Use of time is open-ended
Don’t do quick fixes The mediator must spend a great deal of time with the parties Be patient and wait You have to spend a great deal of time with them Beware of fake deadlines
Overarching theme 2: Recommended mediator skills/abilities
Code Theme
Have empathy
Empathy Empathise with the
parties Getting to the ‘wounded’ part 100% empathetic Get into their shoes Be honest
Honesty/ Sincerity Tell the truth
Having a sincere tone Straightforward Creating trust Don’t be arrogant Explain your intentions
Respect the parties Be appreciative Be sincere and sensitive
Be sensitive and listen Complete impartiality
Impartiality Find the common
ground
Don’t look partial Balance imbalances of power
Don’t ignore parties you don’t agree with Accept all parties Ask about the underlying motives
Ability to read between the lines Find what is in the
back of their heads Identify interests rather than positions
Address all that led to fighting in the first place Code Theme Develop sensors Creativity Have a positive approach
Accept that things are possible
Use creative solutions Play by ear Need to be specific Precision Differentiate between concerns and discrediting Assessing what is possible Trade-off between time and quality Be specific Look ahead
Don’t leave a warring party out
There is need to for more
Think through all steps Structure agreements with specifics Do your homework Choose your team carefully
Create a solid base Spell everything out in an agreement
Deal with the causes of conflict
Ability to read between the lines Ask yourself ‘why’
Understand linkages Understand what and why
Understand what is behind the behaviour Go ‘deeper’ into their thinking
Address the underlying causes
Phase 5: Defining and naming themes
This phase is about identifying the essence of the themes, in order words assessing what is interesting about each theme and why by organising them into a coherent and internally consistent account, with an accompanying narrative in relation to the research question of the thesis. The themes need to be considered by themselves and in relation to each other. The names of the final analysis should be decided as well. They should be concise, punchy and immediately give the reader a sense of what the theme is about.
Overarching theme 1: Mediation Strategies Identified in the Advice of UN Representatives and Envoys
• Long-term process
The starting point for any mediation activity is conflict, and how the conflict is dealt with depends on what assumptions the mediation has about the conflict. Therefore, the first theme presented in this analysis is about the assumptions of conflict. It relates to the transformative approach to mediation and views conflict as a long-term process.
• Facilitating empowerment and recognition
The ideal response to conflict follows the assumptions about conflict. Therefore, this theme is the second to be presented and is about facilitating parties’ empowerment and recognition of others through the process of mediation. It also relates to the transformative approach to mediation.
• Settling the dispute
This theme is about the objective of mediation. In problem-solving mediation, reaching a settlement of the dispute is the primary objective of mediation rather than facilitating an interactional shift.
• Directive mediator role
This theme is about the role or actions of the mediator. It relates to the problem-solving framework in the way that the mediator takes a directing role and uses his or her knowledge to develop options to reach a settlement, rather than being responsive to the parties and viewing the parties as having the motivation and capacity to solve their own problems with minimum help.
• Focus on parties’ situation and interests
This theme is about what the mediators are focusing on and follows the problem-solving framework. The mediator is focusing on parties’ situation and interests and is looking for opportunities for joint gains and mutually satisfactory agreements rather than focusing on the parties’ interactions and looking for opportunities for empowerment and/or recognition.
• Use of time is open-ended
Finally, this theme follows the transformative framework and is about the use of time in the mediation process. In this approach, time is open ended and there are no pre-set stages or deadlines as in problem-solving mediation.
Overarching theme 2: Mediator Skills and Abilities Identified in the Advice of UN Representatives and Envoys
• Precision
This theme is the first theme regarding the personal skills/abilities of the mediator, it is about the ability to be precise, exact and accurate. Never missing any details or specifics in the mediation process, thinking ahead and being concise.
• Ability to “read between the lines”
This theme is about the ability of being construing and interpretative of situations and contexts. Rather than only listening to the surface of what is being said, the mediator is looking for a meaning that is implied behind the words.
• Honesty and Sincerity
This theme is about being honest and sincere. They are combined together because they relate to each other and often go hand in hand. However, while honesty is about telling the truth and being fair, sincerity is about having a heartfelt emotion.
• Impartiality
This theme is about being impartial towards the parties seeking mediation. It is about giving equal treatment to everyone and being fair, despite the mediators’ personal opinions.
• Empathy
This theme is about the ability to feel empathy towards others. In other words, to understand and share the feelings of others.
• Creativity
Finally, this theme is about the art using imagination to create something, whether that’d be solutions, ideas or other original processes.
Phase 6: Producing the report
The final phase of Braun and Clarke’s six-phased method involves the final analysis and the write-up of the report. The goal of the write-up is to convince the reader of the merit and validity of the analysis by providing sufficient evidence of the analysis and a concise, coherent, logical, non-repetitive and interesting account of the story that the data is telling. This is done by providing particularly vivid examples of the extracted data which captures the essence of the point. To successfully produce a thematic analysis report, the extracts needs to be embedded within an analytic narrative that illustrates the story of the data and make an argument in relation to the research question.
Finally, the final phase will be presented in the chapter below, called analysis. Through the five steps just presented and the corresponding reflexivity journal entries, the themes have been collected, collated, reviewed and defined into a coherent account. Now, the findings will be presented in order to identify which mediation strategies are encouraged in the manual, how these relate to the problem-solving and transformative approach to mediation, and which personal skills/abilities of mediators that are encouraged in the manual.
5. Analysis
This chapter will present the findings of the analysis presented in the chapter above. The research question will be answered through an analysis of the two operational questions, asking which strategies and skills to mediation that are encouraged in the manual. Hence, the two overarching themes and the respective six themes within them, developed through the reflexivity journal entries in chapter 4, will be presented. Finally, a discussion of the findings in relation to the transformative and problem-solving frameworks of mediation will be presented at the end of this chapter.
Mediation Strategies Identified in the Advice of UN
Representatives and Envoys
To answer the first operational question: finding out what mediation strategies are encouraged by UN representatives and envoys in A Manual for UN Mediators: Advice from UN Representatives and Envoys (2010) and situating these strategies in the context of either a settlement-based or a transformative framework, the empirical data was analyzed following a deductive coding approach. In other words, the themes were based on theory regarding the transformative and the problem-solving approaches to mediation, summarized in the operationalization of the theory in this thesis. Further, six themes were identified to answer the operational question, presented below. Finally, the chapter will end with a discussion surrounding the results in relation to the problem-solving and the transformative framework.
Assumptions about conflict: long-term process
The first theme presented is about the assumptions about conflict. In particular, about seeing the conflict as a long-term process rather than a short-term situation. It follows the transformative framework in the way that transformative mediators understand mediation as one intervention in a longer sequence of conflict interactions. In the data this is identified in seven various accounts of the extracted interviews. One mediator explains:
“When you are dealing with an internal conflict, if you work solely with the positions as stated by the parties, it will be difficult to address the underlying causes of the conflict. It is only by identifying the underlying interests and the institutional problems that are frequently attached to them that you can go beyond a glorified cease-fire to build peace that will be durable because you have identified the causes” (Peck 2010: 9).
The mediator confirms that a cease-fire is not the solution to the conflict, but building a durable peace is, through identifying the underlying causes. Conflict is thus seen as a long-term process rather than a short-term situation ending with a settlement to the particular mediation. Another example that illustrates this recurring theme is provided by one mediator that states:
“The mediator also needs to help them see that, whatever short-term advantage they may have, it won’t last, because there are other factors that will come into play, such as how the people of the region feel, because they might be jeopardizing the interests of neighbouring countries, or discriminating against a minority, which will create a reaction from a neighbouring country, and so on. One has to ‘relativize’ these things and help them see the long-term consequences of their actions” (ibid: 35).
This advice also enforces the idea that conflict should be viewed as a long-term process. The mediator underlining that there are other factors that will come into play in the long-term process of conflict rather than only focusing on the parties’ short-term advantages. Settlement of the immediate dispute is thus not the end of conflict.
Ideal response to conflict: Facilitating empowerment and recognition
Following the theme above, the second theme regards the ideal response to conflict and views facilitating empowerment and recognition for the parties as the ideal use of mediation. In this theme, the transformative approach to mediation was identified in nine instances. One mediator state:
“Confidence-building measures are indispensable for the peace process and they’ve been neglected for too long. What we had was a political process without preparing the societies on both sides for a political solution. They remained in a war mentality. So, what is necessary is to make certain gestures, to create confidence, particularly among the younger generation that did not go through the war, to prepare the ground for a political solution” (ibid: 10).
The mediator acknowledges the value of confidence-building measures and the need to change the interactional dynamic, which conforms to the transformative view of mediation. Another special representative comments:
“Spoiler behaviour can be an expression of valid concern by the losers. When this is the case, there is a need to address these things and to transform fear and a lack of trust into trust and confidence” (ibid: 43-44).
Spoilers are those actors in conflict who believes that peace will threaten their interests and use violence to undermine the process. This view of dealing with spoilers also conforms to the transformative view of mediation: there is a lack in the dynamic that needs to be dealt with, building trust and confidence rather than fear and lack of trust.
Goal of mediation: Settling the dispute
For the problem-solving mediator, settling the conflict is the primary goal of mediation. This view of what mediation entails was identified in the manual 10 times. One mediator explains:
“‘Too little, too late’ has been a major criticism of Security- Council mandates as well as the planning and deployment of UN operations. Such delay has greatly impeded effectiveness and sometimes resulted in a situation deteriorating beyond the point where it can be pieced back together again” (ibid: 5).
In this case, it is clear that settling the dispute is the goal of the mediation process. The mediator is talking about the importance of good timing and implies that delays in planning and deployment may result in a situation deteriorating beyond solvation. The conflict is thus seen as a problem in need of a solution and settling the dispute is the goal of the mediation enterprise. Another envoy affirms:
“You have to try to work with those who are the most influential on either side. It is often a mistake to seek contact with those who share your opinions because it’s easier to deal with them. If you do that, you end up with a deal that can’t be realized, because those you dealt with have no clout on their respective sides. So, you should try to deal with the leaders – or the direct representatives of the leaders” (ibid: 16)
The focus on ending with a deal relates to the problem-solving approach to mediation. In contrast, the transformative mediator only sees settling the dispute with a deal as a positive outcome of mediation, not as a goal which is what this mediator implies.
Mediator role: Directive
Being directive as a mediator in the process of mediation follows the problem-solving framework of mediation. The UN representatives and envoys noticeably encourages this in the manual, as this was identified in 13 cases while no instances of a non-directive role were identified. One UN mediator says:
“The worst mistake you can make is to try to sell the parties something for which they have developed no sense of ownership. You have to walk them from where they are to the final product” (ibid: 39).
This mediator acknowledges the need for the parties to feel a sense of ownership over ideas and ways to solutions but is still directive in the way that she or he directs the process until the “final product” rather than responding to the parties’ ideas. Another UN mediator recalls:
“As the negotiations progressed, little by little the hardliners were persuaded to stay with the process. . . Throughout all of this, I had to keep smoothing ruffled feathers on both sides, to keep nursing and cajoling and pressuring them individually, as well as by group” (ibid: 44).
The mediator is explaining his or her experience with reasoning with hardliners by persuasion, nursing, cajoling and pressure. S/he is directive in the process and tries to get the parties to follow his or her agenda to settle the conflict rather than seeing the parties as experts capable and motivated to solve their own problems with minimum help.
