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The Place of Mediation in Civil Societies
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Dr Dale Bagshaw
Associate Professor, Director, Conflict Management Research & Postgraduate Studies,
School of Social Work & Social Policy
University of South Australia
Abstract
This paper addresses some of the dominant political, cultural and economic discourses that
influence the management of conflicts in our postmodernist world and implications for mediators.
Conflict and violence are both a product and a constitutive part of the relationship between
individuals and broader societal structures, and attempts to resolve conflict and eliminate
violence in today’s complex world are fraught with difficulties. Postmodernist conflict
management theory indicates that representations of conflict through language, media and text
can influence the possibilities for constructive outcomes. Governments and the media, aided by
advances in information technology, exacerbate conflict by reinforcing enemy images and
stereotypes, polarizing parties and stirring up fear and anger. Militarism and patriarchy also
reinforce constructions of masculinity that are associated with violence in our homes,
workplaces and the world. Global, rational economics and managerialism promote particular
masculine styles of leadership that place a higher value on productivity than human
relationships. These dominant, competitive discourses are to be challenged by mediators,
individually and collectively, if we are to develop discourses of cooperation and peace, globally
and in the microcosms of our homes, schools, communities and workplaces.
Introduction
Conflict is a universal phenomenon and has been described as an inevitable and natural
product of all human relationships. Some suggest that without conflict, learning, creativity,
change and intimacy would not be possible. Many poor decisions have been made by groups
who have too readily agreed with each other (known as ‘groupthink’) such as the decisions
that led to the Bay of Pigs disaster and maybe even the decision to invade Iraq. Time will tell.
Conflict itself is not what I will be addressing in this paper. The way we talk about or
represent conflict, our different perspectives of conflict and our ways of handling it, however,
can lead to destructive outcomes for individuals, families, workplaces, community groups,
nations and the world. Conflicts and disputes are social and cultural constructs and can arise
from differences in power, differences in opinion, values, interests, needs, communication
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