28-08-2010, 09:08 AM
Interactive conflict resolution (ICR) "involves problem-solving discussions between unofficial representatives of groups or states in violent protracted conflict." (1) Within a capitalist world, whose very foundations are premised on exploitation, the development of such initiatives plays a critical role in defusing (often violent) disputes that stem from revolutionary resistance to institutional injustice. According to a leading proponent of ICR, professor of international relations at American University Ronald Fisher: since around 1965 "impartial team[s] of scholar-practitioners" -- aided in more recent times by various nongovernmental organizations -- have "sought to increase mutual understanding" of individuals involved in protracted conflicts (e.g., complex ethnopolitical disputes). The emphasis here is on resolving, not solving issues: whereby the former isolates problems from their complex political and economic roots to provide superficial solutions to redirect anger into harmless channels. Resolution provides a stark contrast to solving problems, which necessarily entails actually trying to go to the root cause of a problem so that the causes of conflict can be effectively addressed.
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