The previous chapter focused on negotiation as a process for constructively resolving conflict. Unlike negotiation, which attempts to reach an agreement between parties with different interests, or debate, which is usually aimed at convincing an audience, dialogue attempts to build better communication, relationships, and understanding between persons or groups who are stuck in a repetitive conflict system. In such cases, the practice of deliberate dialogue may be used to establish a foundation for negotiated agreements or to develop respectful communication and possibilities for socially constructive coexistence despite passionate differences.
Deliberate dialogue may be called for when the communication that people are engaging in holds them back from their best and most important purposes. These could be contexts in which the “stuck” and unproductive communication is overt and loud or environments in which there are significant silences between groups. Dialogue is also potentially effective in situations of grave conflict or post-conflict, where years of violent conflict have generated what we might call a “culture of war” that rationalizes sharp survival behavior, partisanship, and mistrust.
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Chakraverti, M. (2009). Deliberate Dialogue. In: de Rivera, J. (eds) Handbook on Building Cultures of Peace. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09575-2_18
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