Abstract
This chapter addresses aspects of nonviolence that are relevant to interpersonal relationships. While violence within interpersonal relationships has been predominant in research, nonviolence is an important albeit neglected aspect to consider. The role of cooperation (Deutsch, 2000; Johnson & Johnson, 2003), negotiation (Fisher & Shapiro, 2005; Fisher, Ury, & Patton, 1991), and other nonviolent conflict resolution strategies are examined as they pertain to intimate relationships, friendships, and small group interactions. Mediation (Leviton & Greenstone, 1997), conflict resolution (Bunker & Rubin, 1995; Deutsch & Coleman, 2000; Jones, 2004; Sanson & Bretherton, 2001), violence prevention (Gottfredson & Gottfredson, 2002), nonviolence education (1999a, 1999b), and peace education programs (Forcey & Harris, 1999; Harris, Harris, 1988, 2002a; Harris & Morrison, 2003; Nelson & Christie, 1995; Reardon, 1988a) designed for participants across the life span are reviewed with recommendations concerning usage by peace researchers and peace practitioners.
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Recommended Readings
Deutsch, M., & Coleman, P. T. (Eds.) (2000). The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Deutsch and Coleman have compiled the best handbook of the theory and practice of conflict resolution to date. This book has a strong research focus yet is balanced nicely by issues relevant to practitioners using many methods of conflict resolution across a wide range of conflict types. Regardless of your current understanding of the field of conflict resolution, there is much to be gained from the 27 chapters in this handbook. Topics covered include cooperation-competition, negotiation, mediation, social justice, trust, culture, biases, and many more areas relevant to conflict resolution.
Fisher, R., & Ury, W. with Patton, B. (1991). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. (2nd Ed.) New York: Penguin Books.
This is the classic book on negotiation that presents a clear method of negotiation that has been shown to be successful in a wide variety of conflicts. This national bestseller is an easy read and is full of concrete examples to help the reader fully understand the processes of principled negotiation. This is a must read by anyone wishing to understand and become a skilled negotiator.
Jones, T. S. (2004). Conflict resolution education: The field, the findings, and the future. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 22 (1–2), 233&267.
Jones presents an excellent overview of the field of conflict resolution education and outlines the major components addressed by this approach. After delineating the relationship between conflict resolution education and related fields, Jones thoroughly reviews the research and meta-analyses on conflict resolution education, peer mediation, social and emotional learning, bullying prevention and other related methods over the past few decades.
Picard, C. A. (2002). Mediating interpersonal and small group conflict. Ottawa, ON: The Golden Dog Press.
Picard outlines a useful conflict resolution continuum that helps understand the relationships between many types of conflict resolution methods used in reducing interpersonal and small group conflicts. A theory of mediation is developed and considerable attention is given to elucidating the practice of mediation. This book outlines and explains many of the skills and strategies used in mediation and conflict management.
Pruitt, D. G., & Carnevale, P. J. (1993). Negotiation in social conflict. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Pruitt and Carnevale provide a strong overview of the dynamics of the process of negotiation. This research-based book carefully analyzes negotiation from a psychological perspective. The social norms, group processes, relationships among negotiating parties, and cognitive process are addressed in their discussion of negotiation and mediation in a variety of settings.
Rosenberg, M. B. (2003). Nonviolent communication; A language of life. Encinitas, CA: Puddle Dancer Press
Rosenberg describes a process of nonviolent communication that he teaches in workshops around the world. This excellent book effectively uses many examples to make this approach come alive and to make it easily accessible to the reader. Nonviolent communication can be helpful in improving many types of relationships by building mutual respect, compassion, and cooperation.
Salomon, G., & Nevo, B. (Eds.) (2002). Peace education: The concept, principles, and practices around the world. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
This edited volume includes entries by major researchers and practitioners within the field of peace education. In addition to fully addressing the components, principles, and theory of peace education this book includes articles on the practice of peace education in a wide variety of countries and types of conflicts. Examples included span Israel, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Croatia, Cyprus, Belgium, and South Africa.
Recommended Websites
Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), http://www.acrnet.org/
The ACR is a professional organization that encourages the use of conflict resolutions skills in many contexts. Its membership is international and it includes mediators, arbitrators, educators, and other professionals engaged in conflict resolutions activities. The organization has conflict resolution internships in Washington, DC available to graduate students and advanced undergraduate students. Internships receive a “modest stipend.” There are also volunteer activities possible through ACR. The ACR online bookstore has many reports, books and videos on conflict resolution for sale.
Center for the Prevention of School Violence (CPSV), http://www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/ , http://www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/toolkit/index.html
The CPSV Web site provides a wealth of information on School Violence Prevention. Clicking on the toolkit option brings up a seven phase plan schools can use to help them in implementing a programs designed to find alternatives to suspending or expelling children who have committed acts in school considered to be violent, as well as various other infractions. The idea behind this program is that suspending or expelling children who commit minor acts of violence from school may not be the best discipline to undertake, and also that schools are in the best position to educate children about school violence.
Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV), http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/safeschools/programs/overview.html
The CSPV has evaluated the efficacy of various violence prevention programs. Their top tier, Blueprints Model Programs, have passed their difficult tests for program effectiveness. The lower tier, Blueprint Promising Programs, have met some of the criteria for the model programs. Clicking on the Model Programs link brings the reader to a list of links for programs designed to reduce violence as well as substance abuse. Some of the violence prevention programs included in this tier Life Skill Training (LST), Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS), Functional Family Therapy (FFT), and Multisystemic Therapy (MST). Likewise, clicking on the Promising Programs Link brings up a list of links to programs that have shown promise the search for effective violence prevention programs.
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), http://www.casel.org/home.php
The mission of CASEL is to establish social and emotional learning (SEL) as an integral part of public education. The Web site of this nonprofit organization allows you to access their newsletters, reports, articles, and publications about SEL and recent research, powerpoint presentations and general FAQs about SEL. Anyone interested in learning more about SEL and applying SEL into a classroom would find this organization and this Web site very valuable.
Conflict Resolution Education Connection. Retrieved September 13, 2007 from http://www.creducation.org/cre/home .
Conflict Resolution Education Connection (CRE) addresses conflict resolution for the following areas: researchers, policymakers, administrators, and global connections. This organization is mainly concerned with reaching global expectations for conflict resolution techniques. CRE addresses bullying, current research, peer mediation, cultural aspects and international successes.
Conflict Resolution Network. Retrieved September 13, 2007 from http://crnhq.org/index.html .
This Web site provides numerous resources dealing with conflict resolution. CRN encourages the use of their materials through their free training downloads. These consist of games, skills summaries, manuals, etc. In addition, this Web site includes resources that deal with ideas of conflict resolution and inspirations of conflict resolution. I felt this Web site was useful because it is less focused on the educational purposes of conflict resolution. Rather this Web site portrays conflict resolution from a government or society based perspective.
Educators for Social Responsibility. Retrieved September 13, 2007 from http://www.esrnational.org .
This Web site provides information for all K-12 educators. It is a great site to obtain knowledge on providing the skills to produce a learning environment that fosters peace. This Web site offers an online store and also an online teacher center where one can purchase classroom materials relevant to peer mediation, conflict resolution, and other aspects of peace education.
Harvard Negotiation Project, Retrieved November 12, 2007 from http://www.pon.harvard.edu/hnp .
Since1979, the Harvard Negotiation Project’s (HNP) has worked to improve the theory, teaching, and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution. The intention is to assist people in their ability to deal more constructively with interpersonal up to international conflicts. This website provides links to research and theory papers, summary guides for researchers, educators, and practitioners in the field negotiation, radio and television interviews with HNP staff, as well as, overviews and updates on conflicts around the world.
National Youth Violence Prevention Center, http://www.safeyouth.org
The Safe Youth Web site offers a cornucopia of information related to youth violence in general, as well as more specific topics such as bullying and other violence in schools. Clicking on the school violence topic link takes the reader to a page filled with articles about anything from elements of successful school based violence prevention plans to advice on how a teacher should handle a violent student and how parents can help to reduce school violence. While in the school violence topic, the reader can click on the Federal Activities Addressing Violence in School subtopic and be taken to a page filled with links to studies and research evaluating a variety of school based violence intervention programs.
Peaceful Solution Character Education, Inc. Retrieved September 13, 2007 from http://www.peacefulsolution.org/index.html .
The Peaceful Solution Character Education Incorporated (PSCEI) is a nonprofit organization that reaches out to educational facilities including public and private schools, home schooling, and the parenting process plus prison systems. The PSCEI type of approach is different because it provides an opportunity to take peace education in all facets of life. The programs PSCEI offer are currently being used in foreign countries such as Canada, Israel, Mexico to name a few. Lastly, this Web site offers many links to workshops, trainings, and conferences available in your area.
Southern Poverty Law Center, http://www.splcenter.org/index.jsp
The Southern Poverty Law Center has grown from a small law office supporting civil rights to a multifaceted organization that addresses human rights and building tolerance throughout society. Founded by Morris Dees and Joel Leven, two lawyers committed to racial equality, in Montgomery AL, this organization has pursued law suits to break up and limit the reach of hate groups like the Aryan Nations, KKK, etc., monitors hate crimes around the country and publishes them in their Intelligence Report (http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/intrep.jsp ), and has embarked on a K-12 educational program Teaching Tolerance (http://www.tolerance.org/teach/index.jsp ). Their Hate Groups Map (http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp ) is very informative as well.
Violence Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/dvp.htm
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a specific center dealing with violence prevention in the United States. The Violence Prevention Division of CDC is committed to stopping violence before it happens. Violence prevention is specifically directed at child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, school shooting, suicide, and youth violence.
Virginia Best Practices in School-Based Violence Prevention, http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/VaBP/ , http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/VaBP/best_practice_listsGo.asp?eid=4 , Retrieved November 12, 2007.
This Web site offers a variety of school-based violence prevention programs. The programs are scored as either effective, model, promising, or noteworthy and brief information about the programs is provided. Hundreds of school-based violence prevention programs are reviewed in this manner.
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Mayton, D.M. (2009). Interpersonal Perspectives of Nonviolence. In: Nonviolence and Peace Psychology. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89348-8_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89348-8_5
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