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Welcome to the Web site for the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (CNCR). The Center is part of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, located at Civic Square, New Brunswick, New Jersey. CNCR is at the forefront of a movement that believes disputes can be settled by constructive negotiation and consensus-building and problem-solving approaches instead of by force or adversarial argument.
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Speaking of the use--and abuse--of flags and the impact they can have, consider this sad tale that reflects the undercutting of Northern Ireland's commitment to construct an integrated future for Catholics and Protestants in Belfast and throughout Northern Ireland.
A New Street Was Meant to Bridge Belfast’s Sectarian Divide. Then the Doorbell Rang.
nytimes.com
On a Belfast street built to overcome sectarian divisions, at least three Catholic families have fled following a threat.
A man, a one-term prime minister, who demonstrated, over and over, his conviction that peaceful cooperation was the only way to achieve a genuine union between the peoples of Ireland. He negotiated the agreement that laid the framework for the Good Friday agreement that established power-sharing to end years of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. He was consistent in his beliefs and a powerful defender of them. Addressing a joint session of Congress, on St. Patrick's Day, Prime Minister Cosgrove characterized Americans who financed terrorism in British-ruled Northern Ireland as "people who support violence at a distance and can sleep easy on the wounds of others."
Liam Cosgrave, Irish Premier Who Helped End Violence, Dies at 97
nytimes.com
Mr. Cosgrave, who helped break his country’s cycle of violence, had a devotion to political stability steeped in his family’s protracted revolt against British domination.
What a remarkable display of power, by women, who are determined that their nation, Liberia, soon to be led by a man after its current president, Mrs. Sirleaf, steps down to comply with a constitutionally required limit on service (twelve years). Her leadership helped to restore stability, establishing peace after years of violent strife, and put the nation on a sustainable path to growth and functioning democracy. Women fear the loss of this recovering nation and are demanding the candidates for president heed their calls, for peaceful elections, for accepting the results, for maintaining the rule of law, for respecting the efforts that have made in the last twelve years, to respect the rights of women and to commit to advancing growth and prosperity while protecting the institutions of democratic governance.
Liberia’s Women Warn Male Presidential Candidates: Keep the Peace
nytimes.com
A man will almost certainly become the country’s next leader, and women are worried that their newfound gains will be lost.
We’ve been following the negotiations between Colombia’s government and the FARC rebel group—and it’s culmination in an agreement to end 50 years of violent conflict—but there is another force, the ELN, the National Liberation Army, whose members have been fighting government forces for just as long. Representatives of that group, some 2,000 strong, have signed its first cease-fire, pledging to halt all kidnappings, attacks on oil pipelines and clashes with government forces. The government has promised a pause in hostilities and to improve prison conditions for jailed ELN fighters.
Peace begets peace. But, implementation of agreements requires patience, endurance, commitment and political will. After 50 years, the people of Colombia certainly deserve peace and, before long, prosperity too, and balanced and fair governance.
Calls for dialogue and unity--and, loudly, for negotiation--are filling the air in Spain and the rebellious Catalonia. Fears of consequences for separating Catalonia from Spain, and thus from the European Union and its lucrative common market on the one hand, and for dealing with legitimate grievances and desire for 'standing' that drove significant numbers to vote affirmatively for independence, are driving the demand for negotiation. Let's hope the attention generated by the vote will prompt constructive negotiations that secure the nation.
Thousands demand that Spanish, Catalan leaders negotiate
abcnews.go.com
Thousands rallied in Madrid and Barcelona on Saturday in a last-ditch call for Spanish and Catalan leaders to stave off a national crisis amid Catalonia's threat to secede. The rallies in the Spanish capital and the Catalan city were held with the slogan "Shall We Talk?" in an effort to...