While conflict resolution is believed to cause temporary settlements and brief periods of peace in volatile situations, conventional conflict resolution techniques are not capable of building longterm stability. Instead, this book contends, practitioners of conflict resolution need to focus more on reconciliation (the restoration of confidence, friendship, and harmony between rivals) than on mere conflict resolution. Whereas traditional conflict resolution has focused primarily on halting quarrels with agreements between leaders on each side of a conflict, reconciliation techniques shift the f ... More

While conflict resolution is believed to cause temporary settlements and brief periods of peace in volatile situations, conventional conflict resolution techniques are not capable of building longterm stability. Instead, this book contends, practitioners of conflict resolution need to focus more on reconciliation (the restoration of confidence, friendship, and harmony between rivals) than on mere conflict resolution. Whereas traditional conflict resolution has focused primarily on halting quarrels with agreements between leaders on each side of a conflict, reconciliation techniques shift the focus in two ways. First, they take more of a grassroots approach, building agreement among the members of rival communities, not only between leaders. Second, reconciliation takes a longterm view of dispute resolution. While the book acknowledges that the role of traditional conflict resolution is important in stopping violence and tension, it argues that negotiators and practitioners of conflict resolution must focus on what is to be done after an agreement is reached.