Resolving identity-based conflict in nations, organizations, and communities

About this book

Conflict can either destroy or create - depending on whether and how it is guided. This is the simple yet profound insight that underlies Jay Rothman's innovative new framework for understanding and transforming identity-based conflict. Grounded in his grassroots conflict resolution work in the Middle East - work that earned him the honor of witnessing the historic White House handshake between Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO President Yasser Arafat - and brilliantly refined to address a wide range of organizational and community conflicts, Rothman's ARIA model is a versatile and innovative synthesis of the best contemporary ideas in conflict management, resolution, and transformation. Step by step, Resolving Identity-Based Conflict traces the ARIA journey through Antagonism, Resonance, Invention, and Action in a variety of environments. In straightforward, jargon-free language, Rothman conveys solid theoretical insights and practical how-to's that allow researchers and practitioners to recognize the crucial differences between identity- and resource-based conflicts, zero in on the needs and motivations shared by even the bitterest of adversaries, create joint agendas for groups in conflict, and transform intragroup and intergroup conflicts in organizations of every kind.