The Missing Link in Conflict resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Missing Link in Conflict resolution - Essay Example IGD also aims to identify differences across the groups brought together and to improve the capabilities of both individuals and groups to achieve social justice (Nagada and Gurin 2007, 35). This paper compares and contrast the conflict processes operative for Northern Ireland, South Africa and the Israeli/Palestinian conflicts. The object is to identify what if any of the IGD theories are reflecting in these three conflict resolution process. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is characterized as among the country’s â€Å"most effective† conflict resolution processes to date (Gibson 2006, 409). The TRC has contributed significantly to South Africa’s democratic reforms by influencing a â€Å"more reconciled society† (Gibson 2006, 409). The conflict resolution process in Northern Ireland takes a similar holistic approach in that the conflict resolution process is centered around policies and initiatives designed to foster equality and to â€Å"improve community relations† (Cairsn and Darby 1998, 754). The School of Peace approach to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict resolution is slightly different in that the process aims to heighten individual awareness of the conflict, their part in it and the facilitation of identities via intergroup interactions (Halabi and Sonnenschein 2004, 49). IGDs are built around bringing together between 12 and 16 students once a week for between ten and fourteen weeks. These students convene under the leadership of a â€Å"trained peer† who instructs from a plan that merges several learning initiatives which include â€Å"intellectual and effective engagement†; â€Å"individual reflection and group dialogue†; â€Å"individual intergroup and institutional analyses†; â€Å"affinity-based and heterogeneous groupings;† and â€Å"individual and collective action† (Nagada and Durin 2007, 35). IGD takes the position that the social justice education typically fails to implement tools of intergroup interactions