Dealing with differences : dramas of mediating public disputes / John Forester.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Forester, John, 1948-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political planning--Citizen participation.

Political planning.

Policy sciences.

Mediation.

Physical Description:

ix, 228 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009.

Summary:

Politics and public policy are naturally contentious. But while some disputes are easily settled, many are not, and figuring out ways to reach solutions that are agreeable to all is a perennial issue for activists, politicians, planners, and policymakers. In Dealing with Differences, eminent planning scholar John Forester focuses on "hard cases"-conflicts that appear on the surface to be insoluble. Looking at policy disputes over the environment, ethnic conflict, and HIV, he shows how innovative mediators were able to bridge seemingly intractable differences. Dealing with Differences serves as an authoritative and fundamentally pragmatic pathway for anyone who has to engage in the inherently contentious worlds of planning and policymaking.

Contents:

Part 1 When Parties Conflict, Expect that More Is Possible than Anyone Says

1 Beyond Promises: Making Public Participation and Democratic Deliberation Work 19

2 Cultivating Surprise and the Art of the Possible: The Drama of Mediating Differences 37

Part 2 Respecting Value Differences and Acting Practically Together Too

3 Exploring Values-Based Disputes 59

4 Dealing with Deep Value Differences in Participatory Processes 77

Part 3 From Venting and Posturing to Learning and Proposing

5 Practical Consensus Building in the Face of Deep Value Differences: Negotiating HIV/AIDS Prevention 95

6 Planning and Mediation, Participation and Posturing: What's a Facilitative Leader to Do? 111

Part 4 From Arguing to Inventing, from Presuming to Enabling Action

7 Making Public Participation in Governance Work: Distinguishing and Integrating Dialogue, Debate, and Negotiation 133

8 Envisioning Possibilities: How Humor and Irony Recognize Dignity and Build Power 155

9 Conclusion: Transforming Participatory Processes Integrating and Transcending Dialogue, Debate, and Negotiation 175.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780195385892

0195385896

9780195385908

019538590X

OCLC:

294886681