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Themes in the Mediation of Social Conflict
Author(s) -
Kressel Kenneth,
Pruitt Dean G.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1985.tb00862.x
Subject(s) - mediation , adjudication , transformative mediation , social conflict , party directed mediation , psychology , social psychology , empirical evidence , empirical research , political science , alternative dispute resolution , epistemology , law , politics , philosophy
During the last several years there has been an upsurge in interest in the mediation of social conflict. Innovations in mediating disputes at all levels of society have also given rise to research aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of mediation and a better understanding of the nature of the mediation process. We critically examine the burgeoning empirical literature, with particular reference to the research reported in this volume. Four major issues are examined: (1) Evidence about the general effectiveness of mediation, especially in comparison to adjudication; (2) findings regarding the types of disputes and disputing parties for which mediation appears most useful; (3) classification of mediator tactics and evidence regarding the effectiveness of these tactics; and (4) methodological and conceptual problems confronting the student of mediation.