Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T16:12:24.188Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Interactive Problem Solving: An Approach to Conflict Resolution and Its Application in the Middle East

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Herbert C. Kelman
Herbert C. Kelman*
Affiliation:
Harvard University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

For more than 25 years, my colleagues and I have been developing and applying an unofficial, academically based, third-party approach to the analysis and resolution of international and ethnic conflicts, which I have come to call interactive problem solving. The approach is derived from the seminal work of John Burton (see Burton 1969, 1979, 1984; Kelman 1972). It is anchored in social-psychological principles and follows a scholar/practitioner model. Our practice is informed by theoretical analyses and empirical studies of international conflict, social influence, and group interaction. The experience gained in practice, in turn, contributes to theory building and to the evaluation and refinement of our intervention model. The work thus represents an integration and continuing interaction between practice, research, and theory building.

The fullest—in a sense, the paradigmatic—application of the approach is represented by problem-solving workshops, which bring together politically influential members of conflicting parties in a private, confidential setting for direct, noncommittal communication. Workshops are designed to enable the parties to explore each other's perspective and, through a joint process of creative problem solving, to generate new ideas for mutually satisfactory solutions to their conflict. The ultimate goal is to transfer the insights and ideas gained from these interactions into the political debate and decision-making processes in the two communities.

Problem-solving workshops are not negotiating sessions and they are not intended to simulate and certainly not to substitute for official negotiations.

Type
Research Article
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , June 1998 , pp. 190 - 198
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

This article was presented as the 1997 Grawemeyer Award lecture at the University of Louisville on October 16, 1997. The author received the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order for a series of articles expounding the concept of interactive problem solving. These publications are marked with an asterisk (*) in the References to the present article. The Grawemeyer Award lecture was based on an article that has since been published in Applied Psychology: An International Review (1998, 47: 5–28).

References

Bronfenbrenner, Urie. 1961. “The Mirror Image in Soviet-American Relations: A Social Psychologist's Report.” Journal of Social Issues 17(3): 45–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burton, John W. 1969. Conflict and Communication: The Use of Controlled Communication in International Relations. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Burton, John W. 1979. Deviance, Terrorism and War: The Process of Solving Unsolved Social and Political Problems. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Burton, John W. 1984. Global Conflict: The Domestic Sources of International Crisis. Brighton, Sussex: Wheatsheaf.Google Scholar
Burton, John W., ed. 1990. Conflict: Human Needs Theory. New York: St. Martin's Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, Stephen P., Kelman, Herbert C., Miller, Frederick D., and Smith, Bruce L. 1977. “Evolving Intergroup Techniques for Conflict Resolution: An Israeli-Palestinian Pilot Workshop.” Journal of Social Issues 33(1): 165–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, Ronald J. 1989. “Prenegotiation Problem-Solving Discussions: Enhancing the Potential for Successsful Negotiations.” In Getting to the Table: The Processes of International Prenegotiation, ed. Stein, Janice Gross. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Fisher, Ronald J. 1997. Interactive Conflict Resolution. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.Google Scholar
Kelman, Herbert C. 1972. “The Problem-Solving Workshop in Conflict Resolution.” In Communication in International Politics, ed. Merritt, Richard L. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Kelman, Herbert C. 1978. “Israelis and Palestinians: Psychological Prerequisites for Mutual Acceptance.” International Security 3(1): 162–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelman, Herbert C. 1979. “An Interactional Approach to Conflict Resolution and Its Application to Israeli-Palestinian Relations.” International Interactions 6(2): 99–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelman, Herbert C. 1986. “Interactive Problem Solving: A Social-Psychological Approach to Conflict Resolution.” In Dialogue Toward Interfaith Understanding, ed. Klassen, William. Tantur/Jerusalem: Ecumencial Institute for Theological Research.Google Scholar
Kelman, Herbert C. 1987. “The Political Psychology of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: How Can We Overcome the Barriers to a Negotiated Solution?” Political Psychology 8(3): 347–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelman, Herbert C. 1990. “Applying a Human Needs Perspective to the Practice of Conflict Resolution.” In Conflict: Human Needs Theory, ed. Burton, John W. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
* Kelman, Herbert C. 1992a. “Informal Mediation by the Scholar/Practitioner.” In Mediation in International Relations: Multiple Approaches to Conflict Management, ed. Bercovitch, Jacob and Rubin, Jeffrey Z. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
* Kelman, Herbert C. 1992b. “Acknowledging the Other's Nationhood: How to Create a Momentum for the Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations.” Journal of Palestine Studies 22(1): 18–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
* Kelman, Herbert C. 1993. “Coalitions Across Conflict Lines: The Interplay of Conflicts Within and Between the Israeli and Palestinian Communities.” In Conflict Between People and Groups, ed. Worchel, Stephen and Simpson, Jeffrey A. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.Google Scholar
* Kelman, Herbert C. 1995. “Contributions of an Unofficial Conflict Resolution Effort to the IsraeliPalestinian Breakthrough.” Negotiation Journal 11:19–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
* Kelman, Herbert C. 1996a. “Negotiation as Interactive Problem Solving.” International Negotiation: A Journal of Theory and Practice 1(1): 99–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
* Kelman, Herbert C. 1996b. “The Interactive Problem Solving Approach.” In Managing Global Chaos, ed. Crocker, Chester A. and Hampson, Fen Osier with Aall, Pamela. Washington: U.S. Institute of Peace.Google Scholar
* Kelman, Herbert C. 1997a. “Group Processes in the Resolution of International Conflicts: Experiences from the Israeli-Palestinian Case.” American Psychologist 52:212–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
* Kelman, Herbert C. 1997b. “Social-Psychological Dimensions of International Conflict.” In Peacemaking in International Conflict: Methods and Techniques, ed. Zartman, I. William and Rasmussen, J. Lewis. Washington: U.S. Institute of Peace.Google Scholar
Kelman, Herbert C., and Cohen, Stephen P. 1986. “Resolution of International Conflict: An Interactional Approach.” In Psychology of Intergroup Relations, 2nd ed., ed. Worchel, Stephen and Austin, William G. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.Google Scholar
Rouhana, Nadim N., and Kelman, Herbert C. 1994. “Promoting Joint Thinking in International Conflicts: An Israeli-Palestinian Continuing Workshop.” Journal of Social Issues 50(1): 157–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, Harold H. 1988. “The Arab-Israeli Conflict in a Global Perspective.” In Restructuring American Foreign Policy, ed. Steinbruner, John D. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
White, Ralph K. 1965. “Images in the Context of International Conflict: Soviet Perceptions of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.” In International Behavior: A Social-Psychological Analysis, ed. Kelman, Herbert C. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar