ABSTRACT

When theorists and practitioners think of conflict resolution (CR), they often envision the parties in conflict being brought together to engage in some type of dialogue. When people are willing and ready to meet and discuss their differences, bringing them together makes sense. Often, however, people embroiled in conflict do not want to meet. They may feel too angry, scared, distrusting, or depressed to engage in any form of collaborative conflict resolution (Wilmot and Hocker 2007). They may also lack the resources to engage effectively, even if they are motivated to meet. The purpose of this chapter is to explain the capacity-building approach to CR, an approach designed specifically to prepare parties, enhancing their motivation, skills, and resources so they can interact in CR processes more constructively (Barsky 2007). A capacity-building approach can be used as a prelude to a full range of collaborative CR processes, including negotiation, mediation, family group conferencing, healing circles, and public discussions. It may be used with one, some, or all of the parties involved in the conflict. In some cases, the process of building capacity in just one party leads to successful resolution of the conflict, with little or no need for further professional intervention.