Transformative Dialogue: Co-Creating Conversations in Communities and Organizations

Dialogue can be an effective response to group and community conflict. Transformative Dialogue: Co-creating Conversations in Communities and Organizations focuses on how these dialogues are organized and facilitated. Erik Cleven and Judith A. Saul bring together an international array of experts on Transformative Dialogue and show its application in a variety of contexts and challenging situations.

Transformative Dialogue is a process where participants make the decisions about the structure and outcomes of dialogue. It is a co-created process, with a facilitator supporting those involved in determining whether dialogue could be useful, what needs to be talked about, who needs to be involved, and how best to have the conversation. These dialogues center the agency and self-determination of those involved and support relational changes in the quality of interaction between participants.

This book articulates core values and premises that guide the practice of a Transformative facilitator and shows how Transformative Dialogue works in a variety of contexts to support peace and justice.

Contributors
Anja Bekink, Erik Cleven, Abiosseh Davis, Angie Gaspar, Arch Grieve, Cherise D. Hairston, Susan Jordan, Meredith Lemons, Vesna Matovic, Josh Nadeau, jared l. ordway, Dusty Rhoades, Vicki Rhoades, Judith A. Saul, Lida M. van den Broek, Thomas Wahlrab

Erik Cleven, Ph.D., is professor of international relations and comparative politics at Saint Anselm College, specializing in the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) efforts to transform political violence and conflict to peace through transformative dialogue. For many years, he worked in high-conflict areas including Yugoslavia, the North Caucasus, and Central and East Africa, using dialogue to transform conflict. His current research focuses on transnational terrorism’s connections to press freedom and press attention. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation (ISCT).

Judith A. Saul is mediator and facilitator of the Community Dispute Resolution Centers Program of the Unified Court System of the State of New York, and a roster member of the United States Institute of Environmental Conflict Resolution. She is a Fellow of and serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation (ISCT). She formerly taught at Hofstra University School of Law, was a founding member of the National Association of Mediation in Education, and through her committee work for the American Bar Association, collaborated with the National Commission on Uniform State Law to develop and draft a Uniform Mediation Act.