BASICS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION:

RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This paper was prepared by RESOLVE, Inc., with Christine Pendzich as lead author. It was part of a program of activities on conflict resolution strategies for participatory management, task managed by Betsy McGean under the overall supervision of Deepa Narayan. Valuable guidance was provided by the Conflict Resolution Advisory Group consisting of Shelton Davis, Steve Holtzman, Miranda Munro, Warren van Wicklin, Charles di Leva, Voltaire Andres, Gordon Appleby, David Cassells, Valentina Okaru, Nat Colletta, Kreszentia M. Duer, Alcyone Saliba, Ellen Schaengold, Eugen Finkel and Ayse Kudat.

A special thanks to all those who provided RESOLVE with feedback on the resource book, Shelton Davis, Betsy McGean, Miranda Munro and Deepa Narayan. Thanks to Katrinka Ebbe and Anders Rudqvist for the final review and editing of the paper and to Cristina Tumale for the formatting.

Introduction

Development interventions often change the power relationships between different groups in society. They may also change these groups' relationship to the environment. Some groups stand to lose while others gain from such interventions and as a result conflicts may emerge. Conflicts or disputes are a normal part of social interaction, but when they become dysfunctional they have a negative impact on all who are involved. Participatory development, involving different groups with different interests in common project undertakings, may also entail disputes and conflicts as part of the process. Effective mechanisms and techniques for conflict prevention, management and resolution are thus necessary for resolving conflicts or keeping them within acceptable limits.

The field of conflict or dispute resolution rests on a few critical ideas about the nature of conflict and how it can be managed. These ideas also have important practical implications. Among diverse individuals or groups it is normal for differences to emerge. Nations, regions and villages differ widely by class, ethnicity, religion and gender. Government agencies may hold opposing views or represent different interests. Factual information about issues and projects may differ across groups. Perceptions of conflicts as well as conflict resolution procedures differ between cultures (e.g. majority vote in Western societies and deliberation until consensus is reached in some traditional societies). Accepting differences as normal, identifying latent and emerging conflicts and the perspectives and interests that lay behind them, are requirements for constructive and culturally appropriate conflict management.

Conflict management efforts need to involve all key stakeholders in the process. Transparency and information-sharing from the start of a development project can eliminate conflicts caused by incomplete or distorted knowledge. Acceptance and ample space for criticism and non-violent expressions of different interests or viewpoints can prevent the development of more aggressive and destructive forms of conflict. In some cultures it may be difficult to openly reveal existing conflicts and in such cases special sensitivity and analysis of the situation of marginalized groups are needed.

Project work in developing countries raises many complex and sensitive issues. To what extent and how should a task team member intervene to bring poor and other marginalized groups actively into the design of a project? What kind of resources should be provided to facilitate indigenous groups' participation in a project negotiation? Can conflict resolution strategies be used to address conflicts that include corruption or violence? None of these questions have simple answers. They can only be addressed in the course of the particular project in a particular cultural and political context. Familiarity with conflict resolution strategies and techniques could facilitate appropriate responses.

Using the Document

The purpose of this document is to:

  • provide World Bank Task Team staff with a practical introduction to the tools and techniques of conflict resolution and;
  • give Task Team staff a reference guide (including names, descriptions and contact numbers) to dispute resolution specialists in countries around the world.

The first chapter of the document lays out the basic framework of conflict resolution, provides an introduction to the premises, strategies and techniques of this problem solving approach. It assumes little prior knowledge of conflict resolution on the part of its readers. It also assumes that most document readers do not plan to become specialists in conflict resolution themselves. They may, however, wish to bring people who are highly skilled and knowledgeable in the field into their project design and implementation teams. [1]

The heart of the document is its listing of highly skilled dispute resolution specialists and centers (Chapters 2-7). The listing covers a wide range of specializations including training, facilitation, and mediation services. The specialists listed also come from a wide variety of backgrounds including law, planning, business, labor, natural resource management, social psychology and political science. It should be added here, that at many of the World Bank Resident Missions there are now skilled social scientists (NGO and Civil Society specialists) who can give advice on appropriate conflict resolution experts and organizations existing in the respective countries.

Design of appropriate and successful dispute resolution processes requires close familiarity with the laws, social structure, cultural norms and politics of the country in which the dispute has arisen. Therefore, the listings are grouped by region and where possible, by country.

The centers and individuals included in the document are divided into two sets:

  • The first set is made up of those whose work is known to the document editors. These centers and individuals offer a wide a range of expertise from the training of NGOs and indigenous communities to the design of broad consultative approaches to structural conflicts such as water and land disputes and the resolution of public policy issues. All have demonstrated experience in working with diverse groups, including private sector representatives and government officials as well as NGOs and community leaders. Many have had experience working with multilateral development organizations. To the extent possible, the sectoral expertise of the center’s staff has been noted. [2]
  • The second set of shorter listings presented at the end of each regional listing are those whose work is less familiar to the editors and those who may not be as oriented to the regions in which the Bank works. Many of them have years of experience in the field, however, and can offer a range of expertise which may be useful in certain situations.
  • In addition, we have included a limited number of resource groups whose offices are located in Canada, the United States or western Europe, but who have broad experience in developing countries and should also be considered as significant resources for helping Bank Task Teams.
  • For those who wish to learn more about the use of conflict resolution strategies in the context of developing nations, we have included a short bibliography of recent publications in this area.
  • Finally, we have included a listing of websites on the Internet.

What are the Premises of Conflict Resolution?

The field of conflict resolution rests on a few critical ideas about the nature of conflict and how it can be managed. These basic ideas in turn have important practical implications. Let us look at the major basic ideas and what each one implies.

#1: DIFFERENCES ARE NORMAL

  • Do not avoid it.
  • Plan for it.
  • Allow time to get through it.

The first premise on which work in the field rests is that, in open discussions among diverse individuals or groups, it is normal for differences to emerge. Very few (if any) large, complex societies have high degrees of social homogeneity. In virtually every country -- and indeed, even within single villages -- people differ widely by class, tribal identity, caste, religion, ethnic group, gender and age. Within any single country’s government, different agencies hold sometime opposing views and often represent competing interests. Differing groups also may hold widely varying sets of factual information about a particular social issue for which a project is being considered or designed. Viewing differences about projects as normal and acceptable opens the possibility of seeing conflict as an important force for positive change when handled constructively. Underlying conflicts should not be avoided, because without understanding and accepting their differences people can't jointly solve problems in more than a superficial way. Worse still, avoiding conflicts may mean that parties who are key to the project’s implementation may not feel their needs are met by it and may not contribute to carrying it out or may actively block it. Instead, it is wise to fully expect that some conflicts will occur, plan for them and learn how to manage them in a culturally appropriate manner.

Accepting conflict as normal gives all groups, including frequently marginalized ones such as lower castes and women, what one Colombian specialist has called the “right to conflict.”[3] This basically means that all groups have the right to peacefully (albeit sometimes strongly!) express their views about what they see wrong or would like to change in a project, without being called troublemakers or being labeled as the problem itself. As anyone working in development knows, general acceptance of just this much in a development setting can mark a radical departure from prior norms. The practical consequence for Bank Task Team members is that it may mean they need to involve a wider range of groups in already complex situations. This can be a challenge, but worth the additional effort in the long run.

Of course not all expressions of differences are constructive or desirable. How people express their differing interests and opinions is critical. Dispute resolution frameworks recognize violent conflict or open aggression as one of the strategies that people often use to get what they want. These strategies, however, often carry a very high price. One of the benefits of being open to expressions of non-violent conflict in project design and implementation is that if strong but non-violent expression is allowed, the parties involved may not feel that they need to resort to violence or open aggression. As mentioned earlier, prevention is one of the most effective forms of conflict management.

In some cultures, of course, it can be very difficult to bring conflicts to the fore. This may be especially although not only true in Asian societies, which place a very high value on cohesion and team work. In many regions, lower status groups may be reluctant to even say that they hold an opinion different from the views of the more powerful groups to whom they are linked through a project. Even if a safe situation is provided, they may have internalized a value of not confronting differences and may therefore still not say anything. In such situations, the Task Team may wish to hold separate meetings with the less powerful groups to elicit their views. If even separate meetings do not encourage the groups to voice their opinions, the Task Team members can consider asking appropriate authorities to give the silent groups permission to speak up. In any case, the Task Team must be sensitive to the marginalized groups need for not upsetting social order and needs to be prepared to not be able to move ahead as far or as quickly as s/he might at first like.

#2:

ALL PARTIES NEED TO BE INVOLVED FROM THE BEGINNING

  • get many points of view
  • consult with stakeholders early on about how a project design process should be organized

A second idea basic to conflict resolution is that it relies on the participation of all legitimate stakeholders in a dispute. No conflict can be considered resolved if any group whose interests are affected by a dispute have been left out of the process of deciding how to resolve the problem. This consideration arises, on the one hand, from an ethical commitment to giving people the chance to take part in making decisions that will affect their lives. It also derives from a practical consideration: experience has shown that when important groups are excluded from a conflict resolution or decision-making process, any decision taken is much harder to carry out.

It is also important for key actors to be involved in all aspects of a conflict resolution process. A striking example from Peru brings this point home:

Dispute Resolution in a Forest-Dependent Community in Peru
A community in northern Peru is located near a forest, on which they relied for wood and other products that supplemented their diet and incomes. The forest is extensive and contains a number of commercially valuable species. The community does not have clear legal title to it.
In the late 1980's, a lumber company based in Lima, the Peruvian capital, began to survey the forest for commercial exploitation. Company representatives claimed that the firm had purchased rights to cut in the forest. Lacking written title, the community found it difficult to defend its rights to the forest. This was all the more difficult given that the son of a general, a minister and a wealthy businessman were all on the company's board.
Despite its concerns, the community began to organize to defend its traditional rights to use the forest. They organized protests and blocked the entry of company equipment into the forest. All too quickly, the protest escalated. Company representatives accused community leaders of being "subversives" -- a very serious charge, punishable by jail, in Peru of the 1980's. The protests led to a violent encounter, at which one of the company's representatives was hurt. The company blamed a community leader and had him arrested. In response, and with the support of local Church authorities, the community organized protests of the arrest.
With the situation growing ever more serious, the national government in Lima decided to name a commission of environmental experts to examine the situation and recommend a solution. The responsible ministry selected a group of environmental lawyers, biologists and other experts to travel to the region and prepare a report. The commission traveled to the community and met with a variety of groups. Shortly after their return to Lima, they issued a report recommending that a management plan be developed for the forest -- and that the community take part in both the preparation of the report and its execution. In sum, the recommendation was quite favorable to the community's interests.
Just the same, the community immediately repudiated the commission's findings. Their main reason for rejecting it was that they had not been involved in the process of developing the report. They alleged that the Commission had been blocked from meeting with them, so community views were not adequately reflected in the final product. In short, they wanted a voice in all stages of the decision-making process that would affect a resource on which they relied.

#3:

SOLUTIONS ARE EASIER TO FIND WITH ACCURATE AND AMPLE INFORMATION AND TRAINING

  • ask parties what information they feel should be considered
  • identify sources of factual agreement, disagreement and uncertainty
  • consider joint fact-finding

Third, in order to achieve the promise of a successfully implemented resolution to a conflict, conflict resolution processes rely on accurate and ample information. That is, they depend not only on improved communication between parties but also on good analysis of technical, scientific, social/cultural, legal and economic information. Resolving a dispute also may involve providing parties with information about innovative new options for solving the problem or about the technical feasibility of options being discussed. It can and should involve providing settings in which the local knowledge of resources that many different groups hold can be brought out, considered and taken into account. Above all else, it needs to be information that is not only analytically correct, but that motivates changes in behavior on the part of the project participants, if such changes are needed for the project to succeed.

In general, conflict resolution strategies are processes -- and the details of how they are organized are important, because the structure of a process affects people’s real interests and therefore their willingness to freely participate in it. If they are to be willing to work to carry out change, they need to decide to take part in a conflict resolution process because they believe it is the best way to satisfy the greatest number of their interests. The process has the greatest chance of satisfying their interests if the parties are involved in the process design from the start.

Training can play a crucial role in setting the stage for appropriate, informed and therefore more successful use of conflict resolution strategies. Often enough, the stakeholders in a project design may have a basic commitment to using participatory, non-adversarial means to chose project priorities, resolve their differences and decide on a plan of action to implement reform. However, they may not be very familiar with the full range of concepts or with some specific skills that could help them design a process that will work and overcome impasses. Training can help the parties gain confidence, knowledge and stronger skills that will make them all the more willing and able to work together well.