Mediating Dangerously: The Frontiers of Conflict Resolution (Hardcover)

~ Kenneth Cloke (Author) "The words mediating and dangerously do not often appear together in the same sentence..." (more)
Key Phrases: dangerous mediation, mediating dangerously, resolution systems design, World War, Mahatma Gandhi, Erich Fromm (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mediating Dangerously is, as all of Cloke's books, a book to buy." (The Texas Mediator, January 2002)

"Cloke writes with passion...." (Dispute Resolution Journal, October 2002)

"Mediating Dangerously is, as all of Cloke's books, a book to buy." -- The Texas Mediator, 1/02

Review

"If you want to stretch your thinking about the art of mediation, Ken Cloke's new book is for you. Mediating Dangerously is packed with enough thought-provoking ideas for ten books." —William Ury, author, The Third Side: Why We Fight and How We Can Stop

"Cloke has tremendous insight into the psychology of the mediation process and its potential for profound impact on the mediator as well as the disputing parties. One of the most provocative and useful new books in the field." —Christopher Moore, managing partner, CDR Associates, and author of The Mediation Process: Practical Strategies for Resolving Conflict

Mediating Dangerously presents an invaluable mediating model and process for systemic change and conflict resolution. Kenneth Cloke's ideas can be applied to developing new justice models and addressing racism, xenophobia, ethnic and national minority conflict, and international conflict. His approach is inspiring and innovative." —Ray Schonholtz, president, Partners for Democratic Change

"Shows how a trained ear, an open mind, a respectful and intuitive stance, and humane values can lay the foundation for a broad and flexible repertoire of effective third-party practices." —Laura Chasin, director, Public Conversations Project, Watertown, Massachusetts

"Gather a few friends and colleagues around the fireplace, break open a bottle of sherry, pick a chapter of Ken Cloke's Mediating Dangerously and prepare for an evening of mind-sparking conversation." —Albie Davis

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (March 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787953563
• ISBN-13: 978-0787953560
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #95,848 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a wonderful book, June 18, 2001

By	shekhar (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This book connects conflict mediation with spiritual growth. I found it extremely insightful. Not always easy reading, it takes a bit of time to digest, but this man has a very deep knowledge of both conflicts and human consciousness. This book is a guideline to changing the way you behave when you have conflicts, or to help others that have conflicts. One of the best books I read in the past few years.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable book with some flaws, January 25, 2008

By	Bob Epstein "bepstein9" (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a passionate, in-your-face plea for exploring the difficult process of transformational mediation, truly digging into the roots, the skin, the pores of people's, group's and organization's conflicts (although Cloke denies being a wholehearted transformational mediation believer).

Cloke is the highly respected author of numerous books on conflict resolution and the director of the Center for Dispute Resolution in Santa Monica, Calif. He has a very fine sense of the nature of conflict, in all its rough-and-tumble, down-and-dirty depth and breadth. Cloke deftly and deeply explores the psychological, emotional and spiritual nature of conflict within each of us - an important facet of mediation.

But sometimes, in his very exploration of these matters, he overreaches in his hopes of what mediation can accomplish. Certainly, in the confines of community mediation, even generally with only few participants involved, there is just so much of transformational mediation, of this deep personal examination that one can accomplish in basically a two-hour time period, the general length of most community mediations, at least in most of the United States, I believe.

I find Cloke veering toward encouraging counseling and psychotherapy as part of meditation. Mediators are rarely trained in these and other similar fields and should tread lightly when going beyond their skill level and the parameters of mediation itself. In other forms of more in-depth and complex mediation, these possibilities might be explored, but in community mediation, it hardly seems likely or even possible.

Cloke does come up with some astute observations. He says to not be afraid of conflict, which obviously can become tense and heated. This is very important, especially in Minnesota (where I've been a community mediator for 19 years), where people are frequently afraid of confrontation, of raising of the voice, where, from my understanding, the introductory comments of Minneapolis Mediation Program mediators are suppose to include saying basically that the participants should not raise their voice and not get confrontational, something I have never been comfortable saying, and something I as a mediator rarely do indeed mention.

He gives an outstanding list of questions mediators can use in exploring conflicts (pages 37-38), citing a specific case of bullying. Mediation absolutely benefits from deep and clear thinking, and this series of questions is an excellent example of how a mediator can explore participants' conflicts in a very thoughtful and crucial way. This is a very valuable exploration.

Cloke does a very good job of telling and showing how to become a better, more insightful mediator, a more self-examined mediator and person.

Sometimes, however, Cloke can have his head in the clouds in his hopes and dreams of what mediation can be. On page 47 he mentions "...moving conflicts beyond settlement and resolution, beyond resolution to personal and organizational transformation, and beyond transformation to transcendence" (page 47). Whew! Made me feel like I was at an EST seminar and what exactly was he smoking? But better to have a grand vision and greater reach than to have a small and puny mind. No one could accuse Ken Cloke of that.

He spends pages trying to define "spirit" and gets nowhere. He is just too New Agey in this and some other regards.

Still, there is much valuable and thought-provoking material in this first half of the book, entitled "The Inner Frontiers."

The book's second half, "The Outer Frontiers," is less successful, discussing the larger issues of overcoming fascism and racism, building community, the limits of law, transforming institutional systems, etc. His plea for an issues-based thought process is delightful, and when we can convince dictators and warring tribes about this the world will be a better place. But hey, put out the ideas. Dream. Here some readers will find Cloke a visionary, others a dreamer. I lean toward the latter but admire his reach. I feel Cloke has little here that can be of use to a mediator. But if schools, businesses, government bodies and so on can use this kind of thinking and make some inroads on change and growth, wonderful.

He does make a bold plea for the value of mediating domestic abuse, something mediation, in my opinion, correctly has avoided. With all his arguments, he fails to make the most important one: the imbalance of power between the parties. An obvious omission.

"Mediating Dangerously" can be of significant benefit to both the beginner and experienced mediator, although the complexities Cloke often delves into are much more likely to be of value to an experienced mediator who can more relate to these situations from the very fact of having gone through them. Still, they can be a valuable learning experience for the new mediator.

In spite of some flaws, "Mediating Dangerously" is a valuable resource.