The Promise of Mediation:
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Writen byRobert A. Baruch Bush, Joseph P. Folger - PublisherJossey-Bass
- Year2005 (Revised Editio
The Promise of Mediation presents a landmark and award-winning theory and practice of the transformative model of mediation. The authors articulate a humanizing approach that shifts the focus from simply resolving disputes to transforming the relationships and interactions between conflicting parties. The book offers both theoretical foundations and practical examples of how mediation can empower parties, encourage mutual recognition, and improve communication. It highlights the use of mediation in diverse settings, including workplace, community, family, organizational, and public policy conflicts. The revised edition incorporates a decade of new insights, clarifications, and research, strengthening the model's application and dispelling common misconceptions. This book is highly relevant today as conflicts—whether interpersonal, organizational, or societal—are complex and often deeply rooted in identity and relationship issues. The transformative approach offers tools for engaging communities to build understanding, empathy, and cooperation, which align perfectly with GRACE Repository’s mission of promoting peace, moderation, and tolerance. It supports community engagement by: • Providing a framework for dialogue and empowerment that can help counter extremism and fanaticism through relational healing. • Offering practical mediation techniques adaptable in educational, social, and political contexts. • Encouraging a human-centered, non-coercive approach to conflict transformation which enhances social cohesion. A foundational text for practitioners and scholars alike, this book is essential for any repository focused on rehabilitation, peacebuilding, and community engagement. It combines theory and practice in a way that advances understanding of conflict mediation beyond mere problem-solving towards genuine transformation of social relationships.

