Introduction to Conflict Resolution

Some of the dominant discourses of conflict resolution we see referenced in this book have had devastating impacts on the populations we were meant to serve, from the invasion of Iraq in 2003 to the Oxfam and Save the Children scandals in 2018. This book tells the story of how conflict resolution has become reconciled with critical thinking over time. It is not just an anthology of peace of conflict studies since WW2, but the first systematic look at the power matrix of conflict resolution in its theories, practices and research methods. As peace and conflict practitioners, knowing our colonial past means that we can never lose sight of the populations we now assist in their peacebuilding efforts. -- Victoria Fontan, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Social Sciences and Humanities Division Chair, American University of Afghanistan
By comprehensively tracing developments in conflict resolution theory, this book provides readers with the necessary tools to look at conflict through a variety of lenses. By encouraging readers to critically engage with conflict through various perspectives, Introduction to Conflict Resolution will undoubtedly contribute to the next generation of reflective, responsible and well-rounded conflict resolution students, scholars and practitioners. -- Brian A. Kritz, Associate Director of the M.A. Program in Conflict Resolution, Georgetown University
This book is spectacular – and should be required in conflict resolution across the globe! The editors take us on a fascinating intellectual journey through the evolving field of conflict resolution, highlighting major theoretical contributions and contextualizing each within the broader sociopolitical discourse of its time. We come to see these theories as emergent within the fabric of specific historical eras and, as such, we gain new perspective from which to understand, appreciate, and critique them. In fact, the editors infuse each major theorist’s perspective with their own thoughtful– and at times provocative—insights, turning this book into a living, breathing intellectual conversation that may just be the kind of discourse our world needs right now to embolden a greater peace. -- Daniel L. Shapiro, Founder and Director, Harvard International Negotiation Program
Conflict and its successful resolution is the most important, yet least understood, problem of our time, underlying societies’ inability to deal with its many other unsolved problems: e.g., identity clashes, climate change, and infectious disease. Introduction to Conflict Resolution presents a unique and insightful analysis of the theoretical and practical development of the conflict resolution and peacebuilding fields, giving students a powerful understanding of how conflict might be better handled going forward. -- Heidi and Guy Burgess, Co-Directors, Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado