Transcript ppt - UNEECC

EDUCATION IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION
AS AN ELEMENT OF PARTICIPATORY
DEMOCRACY IN TRANSITION
OF LITHUANIA
Prof. Juozas Lakis
Vilnius, Lithuania
[email protected] +370 606 20 604
The theoretical framework of the paper is
built on the key concepts of well known
scientists:
• Kurt Lewin (1943), Cultural Reconstruction
and The Special Case of Germany
• E.S.Glen(1981), Man and Mankind: Conflict
and Communication between Cultures
• Kamil Kozan(1997) Culture and Conflict
Management: a Theoretical Framework
• Morton Deutsch (1973, 1994,2000),
Constructive Conflict Resolution:
Principles, Training and Research
The possibility to transform political and
civic patterns of activities
•
Kurt Lewin, a world known social psychologist and
experimenter discussed the problems of future
democratization of German society after expected
clash of Nazis regime.
•
He stated, that real changes of cultural patterns are
possible through participation, i.e. involving every
individual in some democratic activities.
•
Elaborating this idea Lewin had written about the
complexity of democratization process. When
someone is going to transform one cultural aspect,
he has to be conscious that there is a thousand and
one other aspects of the same system, and all of them
will be resistant to any changes.
Glen,s (1981) and Kozan,s (1997)
models of conflict management
Confrontational model: conflicts are
governed by norms of fair play, mutual
concessions and compromise
Regulative model: beurocratic means are
used extensively to minimize conflicts
or to aid avoidance; direct
confrontation and personal use of
authority is minimized through
extensive use of rules
On the way of transition the regulative
model of problem solving is
substituting by the confrontational
model
• M.Deutsch (1973,1994,2000)
was developing theory of
cooperation and competition,
which “provides insight into the
conditions that give rise to
cooperative and competitive
processes”
Assumption
• Education in conflict resolution,
and particularly with the respect
to consensus-building techniques
and collaborative interest-based
approaches to conflict resolution,
can play an important role in
strengthening the culture of
cooperation in public life
Conflict management priorities
Conflict management
and resolution
Developing positive judicial and
organizational environment
for managing and solving conflicts
Enhancing functionality, innovative
and cultural potential of government
and public organizations engaged in
conflict solving
Educating social players on problem
solving, conflict resolution, and
cooperation
• Recalling K.Lewin it is unlikely to
built democracy by lecturing every
particular individual about
democracy. The progress is
possible by involvement social
actors into democratic
movements
• Education in CR brings to people
knowledge and skills how to deal
with interest-based and identitybased differences and by
experiencing solidarity, trust and
mutuality
• Several post-war generations of
Lithuanian society rose in the spirit of
ideological cliché “the united Soviet
people”
• Any public manifestation of conflict was
impossible, those who tried to do so
were at risk to be called as enemies of
socialistic values
• These generations now appeared far
behind the orientations towards human
commonality, trust, and cooperation
with the others.
• Lithuanian people used to address their
disagreements and disputes to
bureaucratic institutions, to courts or
even to criminal gangs
• They never have been trained
how to express themselves in
an unrestricted manner, how
to compete in a civil way, and
how to deal with conflicts
Educational field I
• This brings on the list of the
priorities the need to nurture a
new approach to conflict
resolution
II. Adopting alternative dispute
resolution (ADR)
• ADR is described as “non
coercive processes which are
alternatives to the formal legal
or court system” (J.Scimecca,
1993)
• There are known some
formats of these processes:
arbitration, conciliation,
facilitation, fact-finding,
negotiation, and mediation
Educational field III
• Graduate Classes,
postgraduate Seminars and
Clinics aimed to develop
competence in the field of CR
• Qualifying professional
mediators
The first projects introducing
modern strategies of conflict
resolution were implemented
in Lithuania 15 years ago.
Later some other projects
were accomplished
They have not brought an
expected progress
• Some experimental projects
have been conducted lately to
probe mediation as a way of
conciliation in the courts
• The code of judicial mediation
was approved by the Council
of Courts.
• What is required at present,
that is conflict resolution
didactics as an integral part of
education of all levels and
forms
• Actual conflict resolution may
be found in some university
programs and postgraduate
studies
• The next stage will ensure
developing
classes
and
programs
in
law,
social
psychology, political science,
public
administration,
and
sociology
• Some amendments with elements
of dispute resolution and peace
education
may be incorporated
into the curricula of primary and
secondary schools
• Also certificate programs have to
be designed for professionals to
meet their specific needs in
conflict resolution skills
In Conclusion
• Today two institutes are active in
the field of CR:
• The Universities and some NGO’s
• But neither political parties nor
business
• We do not have CR services on
the agenda of many public
institutions, and on the service
market