August 11, 2005

OJPCR 6.1: Beyond Neutrality: A Review Essay

Bernard Mayer, Beyond Neutrality: Confronting the Crisis in Conflict Resolution. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004. pp. 312+xvii.

reviewed by Chip Hauss

Events are forcing those of us who have been in the conflict resolution field a long time to reconsider what we do and why we do it. Some of those events are global in scope—the two wars the United States has initiated in the last three years, the continuing violence between Israel and the Palestinians, the ongoing carnage in Chechnya, and more. Some of the events are specific to us, most notably the Hewlett Foundation’s decision to end their funding of our work.

So, Bernard Mayer’s Beyond Neutrality could not have been published at a more opportune time. Mayer calls the book a loving critique of our work. Loving because he has been a practitioner for more than a quarter century. Critique because he thinks the field is at a crossroads at which we could either stagnate or make a huge leap forward in the quantity and quality of what we do.

Read More/Download (PDF)

Posted by Editor at 12:51 PM