Peacemaking in Your Neighbourhood
Reflections on an Experiment in Community Mediation

Beer, Jennifer E.

Publisher:  Friends Suburban Project, New Society Press
Year Published:  1986   First Published:  1986
Pages:  245pp   Price:  $18.99 (pb)   ISBN:  0-86571-071-6 (pb), 0-86571-072-4 (hc)
Resource Type:  Book
Cx Number:  CX3933



Abstract:  This book sets out to answer the question, "If we can't peacefully resolve conflicts with our neighbours, how can we expect to resolve conflicts between nations?" Peacemaking in Your Neighbourhood describes ten years of work of the Community Dispute Settlement Program, an innovative program in a suburban area near Philadelphia, founded by the Society of Friends (Quakers). The program set out to try to help solve community disputes using the guidelines of nonviolence, alternatives, and empowerment. The idea was that community dispute settlement would be an experimental alternative to suing family members or neighbours in court. Early intervention in community conflicts would decrease the potential for violence and provide a model for handling future troubles. Disputants would construct their own agreements, so that mediation would empower people to take control over their own problems.
Peacemaking in Your Neighbourhood is an excellent introduction to the idea of community dispute settlement, but the real strength of the book lies in the actual descriptions of actual disputes and how the process of trying to solve them went, and the only regret about this book is that there weren't more such descriptions included.

Subject Headings

• Neighbourhoods
• Peace