Merging Ethiopian Wise-Counsel Mediation and Facilitative ...

Stage 4: Images, CoalitionsWhat do the parties do next if the conflict goes on? They try to gain strength by seeking supporters; more and more people will beginto get involved. They involve the media, write open letters, post on the Web, etc. They think in categories of friend or foe ("The friendof my enemy is my enemy, too. The enemy of my enemy is my friend"). The parties are eager to create strong coalitions, which turn outto be very rigid and have strong group-cohesion;—no critics are allowed in their own group. Critics are quickly perceived as enemies andtraitors ("Either you are with us, or you are against us!"). There is little room for constructive discussion even within the group.Fixed images and stereotypes form. The problem is no longer perceived as a disagreement about specific issues, but the other party ingeneral is seen as the problem: they are old-fashioned, egoistic, incapable, etc.Covert provocations take place which do not only follow the motto "I take what I need" (like in stage three, actions, not words) they areaimed at obstructing the other side even if the acting party doesn't directly benefit from it. That is, lose-lose-thinking prevails. Still,the parties deny that these provocations are deliberate actions. At this point, it doesn't matter whether such a provocation is in factdeliberate or not. If the other party perceived it as deliberate, escalation will continue.Sample case: OC to members of his own group: "I have heard rumours that on Wednesday a representative of the donor will come and have a celebrationat the place they want for the school. They will have to come our way and use our bridge. We can organise a traffic jam to preventthem from celebrating, and the next day we can file a report saying the meeting didn't take place because they were not well organised.And if they ask, we would pretend it was simply by accident."GC after this happens, to his people: "Of course this was not by accident but a pure provocation! We know that we are really experiencedin planning and building houses. They are not so experienced. They are old-fashioned and unskilled. So all we have to do is go tothe government and other people we know and show them proof that, yes, they might be simple people, but they don’t even know howto build a house."’OC: “"What I will do is, I will inform my community thatthe donor of the GC is from abroad and we don't wantto have foreign governments meddling in our affairs.We'll issue a press release with the headline: 'GC wantsto sell our children's future to foreign investors!'” Wewill organise a demonstration and perhaps some of ourheroic, wild, youngsters will go to the GC's chosen school?place and destroy something. Not that I would orderthem to do this, but it might just happen because of thetense atmosphere and the vicious people from the GC."?$ !?Mediation Training Toolbox81