What Is Transformative Dialogue and How Does It Bring About Transformation? A Commentary to Florian Bekkers' Article “Is Transformative Dialogue a Possible and Justifiable Intervention for Resolving Intractable Conflicts?”

Abstract

In his article “Is Transformative Dialogue a possible and justifiable intervention for resolving intractable conflicts?” Florian Bekkers discusses three processes that have all been referred to as Transformative Dialogue. In this commentary the author claims that these processes are in fact fundamentally different and that one of the ways they differ is in how they use theory and what guides the action of interveners in each approach. Most conflict theories are meant to explain conflict behavior rather than guide the decisions of interveners, which are instead based on implicit and unspoken assumptions. Clarifying the assumptions of interveners would do much to both highlight salient differences between approaches and to address critical questions of ethics which Bekkers raises in his article. Transformative Dialogue building on the premises of Transformative Mediation is nondirective and the transformation achieved is based on the fact that participants make key decisions about dialogue and how to relate to others themselves.