Perspectives in Waging Conflicts Constructively

Cases, Concepts, and Practice

Edited by Bruce W. Dayton Director of the CONTACT Peacebuilding Program and Associate Professor of Di, Louis Kriesberg Syracuse University

Publication date:

12 January 2017

Length of book:

234 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Dimensions:

237x160mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781442265509

Perspectives in Waging Conflicts Constructively offers diverse perspectives on how large-scale conflicts can be conducted with more positive benefits, minimizing their destructiveness. Distinguished analysts and practitioners review the core ideas of the innovative “constructive conflict approach” and examine cases where conflicts have been waged with fewer destructive consequences.

An introduction presents key concepts in constructive conflict resolution, and chapters offer cases of these theories in action. Cases feature both global and regional examples ranging from Israel to North Korea. The book also contains recommendations for policy makers, non-governmental organizations, and citizens about how stakeholders at all levels might help avoid destructive patterns that are common in large-scale conflict while working for positive change.

Contributors include Patrick G. Coy, Esra Cuhadar, Bruce W. Dayton, Martina Fischer, Galia Golan, Louis Kriesberg, Christopher Mitchell, Robert Murrett, Thania Paffenholz, Lee Smithey, and Steven Zunes.
At its heart, this book is about choices—choices about the outcomes we want from conflicts, and the strategies and tactics we employ to achieve them. The book offers a hopeful message about our ability to wage conflicts more constructively, while not shying away from hard questions about power, coercion, and injustice. One of the book's great strengths is the breadth of issues it addresses, including the recognition, in the conclusion, of the complex relationship between global climate change and conflict.