ABSTRACT
The preceding chapters have sought to expand and deepen the understanding of creativity for conflict resolution. The present chapter will provide an opportunity to pose, reflect back, and look ahead. To this end, three steps will be taken. First, it will offer a 360-degree review of the essential findings presented so far, asking: What lessons have been learned from this inquiry in broad outline? The reflective summary to be offered will be necessarily detailed, with the view toward identifying and crystallizing promising areas of future inquiry. Second, an attempt will be made to demonstrate at least one concrete way of integrating and applying some of the study’s essential findings to the context of conflict resolution dialogue and training. For this purpose, a working method of conflict work termed a “cross-contextual case study” will be outlined, with concrete examples illustrating how it applies to practice. This method, as well as the suggested steps to make it learnable and communicable through continuous refinement and needs-based adaptation, will help explore what kinds of additional research may be necessary and useful to complement both practical conflict work and pedagogic application. Third, apart from the proposed “cross-contextual case study” method, there are numerous other ways to build on this study’s findings in search of new directions in conflict and peace research, practice, and pedagogic application. Several of such future possibilities will be summarized in the form of research questions, for they appear particularly promising and theoretically evocative.
