ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the techniques and sources of power employed by mediators in different settings in urban America. It presents a way of conceptualizing the differences observed between mediators by means of a typology of mediation styles which offers conceptual categories for thinking about the mediation process. Mediation sessions are held in local churches and generally last two-to-three hours. Mediators use a rather structured process in which the organization of the sessions, timing, roles and interactions follow a regular pattern from one case to the next with an emphasis upon caucusing and private discussions with the individual disputants. Mediators work towards settlement of cases by controlling interaction and communication in the mediation session. In addition to the flow of communication, mediators manage the substance of communication by controlling, through direct statements, the construction of an account that both parties will accept.
