Mediation Space: Addressing Obstacles Stemming from Worldview Differences to Regain Negotiation Flexibility
In numerous intra-state conflicts, societies are polarized along worldview divides and conflicting parties disagree over what kind of society and state they want to build. Such questions can deeply divide societies and block political processes and mediation efforts. This CSS Mediation Resources suggests a method for addressing such blockages by analyzing the principal challenges that can arise from worldview differences in conflicts and conflict transformation.
Mediation space is defined as a process of exchange convened by a mediation team who bring together people across different worldviews in order to coordinate their actions and to agree on ways for practically addressing specific aspects of an ongoing conflict. The idea is to create a space where leaders of communities, specifically the guardians and interpreters of a community’s worldviews and value systems, can come together across divides to address conflict issues. The aim is to acknowledge worldviews while avoiding their discussion head on. Exchanges instead explore practical actions that can be justified by political leaders whose communities are embedded in different worldviews. The approach does this through the creation of forums, which can be complementary to or independent from track one peace processes involving top-level political and military actors.