Dealing with Differences Dramas of Mediating Public Disputes

by Forester, John

• ISBN13: 9780195385892
• ISBN10: 0195385896
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-08-06
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Conflict and dispute pervade political and policy discussions. Moreover, unequal power relations tend to heighten levels of conflict. In this context of contention, figuring out ways to accommodate others and reach solutions that are agreeable to all is a perennial challenge for activists, politicians, planners, and policymakers. John Forester is one of America's eminent scholars of progressive planning and dispute resolution in the policy arena, and in Dealing with Differences he focuses on a series of 'hard cases'--conflicts that appeared to be insoluble yet which were resolved in the end. Forester ranges across the country--from Hawaii to Maryland to Washington State--and across issues--the environment, ethnic conflict, and HIV. Throughout, he focuses on how innovative mediators settled seemingly intractable disputes. Between pessimism masquerading as 'realism' and the unrealistic idealism that 'we can all get along,' Forester identifies the middle terrain where disputes do actually get resolved in ways that offer something for all sides. Dealing with Differences serves as an authoritative and fundamentally pragmatic pathway for anyone who has to engage in the highly contentious worlds of planning and policymaking.

Author Biography

John Forester is Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Cornell University.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: Discovery, Creativity and Change in the Face of Conflict

When Parties Conflict, Expect That More's Possible Than Anyone Says

Beyond Promises: Making Public Participation and Democratic Deliberation Work

Cultivating Surprise and the Art of the Possible: Dramas of Mediating Differences

Respecting Value Differences and Acting Practically Together Too

Exploring Values-based Disputes

Dealing with Deep Value Differences in Participatory Processes

From Venting and Posturing to Learning and Proposing

In the Face of Deep Value Differenes: Negotiating HIV/AIDS Priority-Setting

Planning, Mediation, Participation and Posturing: What's a Facilitative Leader Do?

From Arguing to Inventing, From Presuming to Enabling Action

Making Public Participation in Governance Work: Distinguishing and Integrating Dialogue, Debate, and Negotiation

Envisioning Possibilities: How Humor and Irony Enact Recognition, Build Power

Conclusion: Transforming Participatory Processes: Integrating and Transcending Dialogue, Debate, and Negotiation

Appendices

Endnotes

Bibliography

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