Mediation: depolarizing responsibilities to facilitate reconciliation

Abstract

Purpose

Parties' respective share of responsibility in a conflict is a topic that many mediators have difficulty approaching from fear of radicalizing discussions. The present paper aims to propose a strategy to help mediators facilitate parties' acknowledgement of their role in the escalation of a conflict.

Design/methodology/approach

The strategy is tested using a quasi‐experimental design using real case mediation in partnership with Commission des normes du travail du Québec (CNT).

Findings

The results indicate that it has a significant impact on the parties' acknowledgement of their share of responsibility, reconciliation and the settlement rate.

Research limitations/implications

Although the research design has good external validity, the strategy should be tested in other settings such as family mediation.

Practical implications

The results show that the parties' perceptions that they played no role in conflict escalation and that the other is responsible for the whole situation are at the heart of any conflict.

Originality/value

This study empirically tests an interesting and valuable approach to mediation.

Citation

Poitras, J. (2010), "Mediation: depolarizing responsibilities to facilitate reconciliation", International Journal of Conflict Management, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 4-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/10444061011016605