NCJ Number
195650
Journal
Negotiation Journal Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2002 Pages: 51-74
Date Published
2002
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This article examines the long-term impact of community-based conflict resolution through a case study of an Oregon dispute involving a conflict over business interests versus environmental interests.
Abstract
The authors’ main research question centers on the enduring effects of community-based conflict resolution. In order to answer this question, the researchers examined a case that occurred in Oregon in 1997 through 1998. The case involved the New Community Meeting and the issue at hand was a conflict over business concerns versus environmental issues. The researchers conducted a content analysis of community organization newsletters to assess the impact of the resolution process. Their findings suggest that conflict resolution can have an important impact. Participants in the conflict resolution disseminated the lessons they learned through the resolution process to their community in the form of written comments in their newsletters. The content analysis also demonstrated an increasing number of positive references and a decreasing number of negative references toward former adversaries involved in the conflict. Furthermore, the newsletters revealed an advocacy for collaboration between the groups that did not exist before the conflict resolution process. In conclusion, the authors analyze this process from the perspective of social exchange theory and comment on the usefulness of this perspective to the conflict resolution and consensus-building processes. Tables, figures, notes, and references