What's Happening [06.25.13]

New Book from Dr. Craig Zelizer, Georgetown University

Integrated Peacebuilding addresses the importance of weaving peacebuilding methods into diverse sectors including development, humanitarian assistance, gender, business, media, health, and the environment—areas where such work is needed the most. Incorporating peacebuilding approaches in these fields is critical for transforming today's protracted conflicts into tomorrow's sustainable peace. Covering both theory and practice, Dr. Zelizer and his team of leading academics and practitioners present original essays discussing the infrastructure of the peacebuilding field—outlining key actors, donors, and underlying motivations—as well as the ethical dilemmas created by modern conflict. Exploring both the challenges and lessons to be found in this emerging field, Integrated Peacebuilding is perfect for courses on peacebuilding, conflict resolution, international development, and related fields.

Kung Fu Mediation: A New Approach to Conflict and Negotiation

Every personal or business interaction has the potential for conflict. To share ideas from a millennium-old conflict resolution system, Jeffrey Fink has launched a new blog on what he calls "Kung Fu Mediation": the parallels between negotiating and physical conflict (www.kungfumediation.com). According to Mr. Fink, anyone who has to negotiate, mediate or bring a disagreement before a judge or arbitrator could make use of the insights of Shaolin monks and those who learned from their lineage.

"Since our bodies are hardwired to fight, we engage some of the same mental and even physical systems in every negotiation as we do in a fistfight," Mr. Fink said. "Kung fu, taiji and other martial arts can teach us about more than violence. They can provide tremendous insight into nonviolent conflict as
well, both in the way people respond to it and in how we can deal with it. We can express the techniques of the martial artist with words as well as with fists."

Read more [HERE]