Between war and peace, can the culture of mediation contribute to develop our democracies?

Between tigers who believe in the benefits of aggressiveness and sceptics who
withdraw into their shell, the space for peacemakers is being reduced.
As observers of our societies, we can see that we are out of balance. This is not new,
but we are more aware of it than in the past. These imbalances are not just some kind
of crises, economic, social, financial, ecological, energy, climatic, ... they are also
about our capacity to make society; as if we were touching some limits of our models.
Numerous studies show dissatisfaction, fear and a loss of confidence in politics,
science, the media and the police. Trust is necessary for social life, but the places
where we can effectively and creatively imagine developments that would suit
everyone are becoming very difficult to find.
In this context, where camps sometimes clash more and more fiercely, it may seem
logical to believe that, for certain subjects or with certain people, there is no place for
dialogue. Either because the importance of these issues would not tolerate any
compromise, or because people you disagree with would not be trustworthy.

More or less democratic models
Where we live, we have inherited a political system based on a complex history.
Today, because of a growing dissatisfaction, some people call for more concentrated
power in the hands of a single providential leader, while others want to be better involved
in the decision-making process. As far as citizen participation is concerned, local
experiments (referendums and popular consultations, participatory budgets, etc.) are
already being conducted. But there is still no convincing and mutually acceptable new
model that would serve as a widely shared benchmark.

Placing mediation at the heart of the democratic institution
The time has come to ask ourselves how we can get along better and give a fair and
constructive place to sometimes radical oppositions. To ensure that everyone, with
their own opinions and feelings, finds a place that suits them, and feels heard and
respected, in the same way as others, in a more democratic and sustainable society. It
is therefore not only a question of being confronted but also to get together involved.
Making the courageous choice of mediation and placing at the heart of our institutions,
beyond the representation of different points of view and complementary
competences, a real force of neutral, independent and professional active listening, in
order to both open and structure dialogue, would make these institutions more creative
and fruitful.
In mediation, people are invited to listen to each other and to distance themselves from
their positions in order to formulate proposals that integrate the needs and aspirations
of others as well as their own. The role of the mediators, who guarantee this process
in a professional manner based on solid training, is on the one hand to propose a
structured working method and on the other hand to manage the communication
between the people to help them develop tailor-made solutions. This process is
facilitated by the active listening and the humble and neutral position of the mediators
who focus their efforts on understanding the needs of each person and on
reformulating these needs in a way that is audible to all. It is a "ethical communication
process based on the responsibility and autonomy of the participants"*.

The culture of mediation to open the way
When we ourselves encounter disagreements, our attitude is often reduced to
expressing our point of view in a crude manner without really trying to understand that
of the other, especially when that other is very different from us.
So, why not experiment with this position of mediator, when we meet with friends,
family or neighbours for example? For a moment, forget about our own position and
facilitate dialogue by active and benevolent listening. This mediation process often
allows one or more new issues to emerge, which are co-constructed by taking into
account, even in a marginal but still satisfactory way, the point of view of each person.
Therefore, if one or the other is ready to make this effort at its level, to spread this
culture of mediation and to be an agent of peace in its environment by developing
these qualities, our lives could be improved.
The challenge is to humanise our democracies by starting to give everyone the
opportunity to find their place within.

*Michèle Guillaume-Hofnung definition developed in 2011 for the the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations of the Council of Europe

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