Conflict Resolution: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (Contributions in Ethnic Studies) - Tapa dura

?Whether we speak of the "science" or "art" of the "resolution" or "management" of conflict, it is increasingly clear that differences among persons and groups cannot and should not always be left to be acted out by the dissenting parties or subjected to judicial litigation. In fact, the very ideas that individuals are autonomous in crucial ways, and that a judge or jury is important to assure rational decisionmaking, are culturally imbedded attitudes and values rather than objective parameters of universal social relationships. Most of this book contains case studies of how various "non-Western nonindustrial societies resolve or fail to resolve their own internal conflicts" (p.ix). The history of "alternative dispute resolution" and its recent emergence in the US are traced; "harmony" and "confrontational" models of law are contrasted cross-culturally; and case studies cover British academia, Lebanese managers, the Dou Donggo of Indonesia, Tobi, Micronesia, urban Costa Rica, Solomon Islands, and Hawaii. Emphasis on the cultural construction of personhood, the "moral economy" (p.10) of a community, and the views of the participants, in this culturally relative approach are valuable in affording genuine insight into a variety of modes of conflict resolution, many of which appear to be socially and psychologically less stressful and more rewarding than the dominant adversarial model. Community-college level and up.?-Choice

This unique collection of comparable case studies addresses the need to assess modes of conflict resolution in a larger sociocultural context with attention to varying approaches and cultural perspectives. Editors Avruch, Black, and Scimecca, together with other anthropologists and sociologists, propose and test different propositions, while looking toward a general theory of conflict and conflict resolution. Their joint effort should be of real interest to sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, indeed to all those concerned with ethnic studies and ethnoconflict today. The contributors examine different theoretical concepts and approaches to conflict resolution in five different cultures, American, Arab, Asian, Latin American, and Pacific societies. The interdisciplinary study offers a broad range of vantage points for considering interpersonal, community, institutional, and national problems. The authors analyze concepts of personhood, the role of power and authority, ethical values, and methods for negotiating differences, and conflict resolution as an emerging discipline.