The effect of empathic mediation in conflict resolution

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of empathy in the processes of conflict resolution through mediation. In this context, empathy displayed by the third party can be discursively produced either in a transactional or in an interpersonal fashion. When the expression of empathy carries a transactional value, empathy is employed exclusively to help opponents to reach an agreement within a problem-solving framework (Della Noce, Negotiation Journal 15: 229–244, 1999). When, instead, it is framed in relational terms, empathy moves by mediators seek to advance interpersonal understanding between the discussants. The goal is to foster a collaborative transformation of the conflict (Della Noce, Negotiation Journal 15: 229–244, 1999). In our analysis, we review some of the strategies displayed by mediators to explore and to bring about relational empathy, that is, reciprocal empathic understanding between the parties. In this approach, the final purpose is not just the outcome of an agreement, but the transformation of the conflict into something with new significances for the people involved. Mediation thus becomes the arena for renegotiation of roles and reparation.