John Paul Lederach - A Peacebuilder Bibliography

25/04/2019 John Paul Lederach: A Peacebuilder Bibliography
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by Walter A. Wright
Log In September 2004 Featured
Forget your Statewide (-1)
password? I. Introduction.
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Newsletter
John Paul Lederach (Lederach?E is an
important author and practitioner in the
Subscribe to the
Mediate.com elds of con ict transformation and
Newsletter peacebuilding. The purpose of this article is
Sign Up Now to familiarize readers with Lederach’s
writings in his elds of interest. The article
Also from highlights Lederach’s four English-language books that
Resourceful focus on con ict transformation and peacemaking:
https://www.mediate.com/articles/wrightw2.cfm 1/22
Internet Preparing for Peace: Con ict Transformation across
Solutions, Inc.
Cultures (1995), Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation
Arbitrators in Divided Societies (1997), The Journey toward
Online
Reconciliation (1999), and The Little Book of Con ict
Mediators
Online
Transformation (2003). In addition, it examines two English-
Arbitrators language books that Lederach co-edited: From the Ground
Mediating Up: Mennonite Contributions to International
Lawyers Peacebuilding (2000, edited with Cynthia Sampson) and A
Facilitators
Handbook of International Peacebuilding: Into the Eye of
Parenting
Coordinators the Storm (2002, edited with Janice Moomaw Jenner). Change Area Code:
Finally, it brie y identi es some of Lederach’s Spanish- Go
Collaborative language writings.
Professionals
II. Lederach’s Background. Mediation in
Online Today's News
Dispute
Lederach was born in Indiana and grew up as a Mennonite
Resolution Mediation a 'no go'
PK (“preacher’s kid?E in Oregon and Kansas. He received a
for 'Black Farmers'
B.A. in History and Peace Studies from Bethel College in and Stine Seed Co.
Mediators by
Practice Area:
1980 and a Ph.D. in Sociology (with a concentration in the
Adult Family Social Con ict Program) from the University of Colorado in
Business
Commercial
1988. From 1975 to 1996, he held various posts at the
Civil Mennonite Central Committee, including Director of the
Construction
Mennonite Conciliation Service (U.S.) and Director of the
Divorce (all
issues) International Conciliation Service. From 1990 to 2001, he The Memphis-based
Divorce was a Professor of Con ict Studies and Sociology at Black Farmers and
(parenting) Agriculturalists
Elder Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Association (BFAA)
Employment where he founded the Con ict Transformation Program and the Stine Seed
Family Company are in
Marital and the Institute for Peacebuilding. Since 2001, Lederach
wait-and-see m
Prenuptial has been a Professor of International Peacebuilding at the ...more
Real Estate
Workplace Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at
Notre Dame University and a Distinguished Scholar for the Explained:
Mediation as a
Mediators by Con ict Transformation Program at Eastern Mennonite way out in
State:
Alabama
University. He has authored, co-authored, and co-edited at Ayodhya – a short
history
Mediators least twelve books, plus numerous articles, monographs,
Alaska Mediators
Arizona
and scholarly papers. Much of his writing relates to his
Mediators experiences as a trainer and supporter of peacemaking
Arkansas
Mediators
e orts around the world. Subscribe to This Week
in Mediation
California
Mediators III. First Book: Preparing for Peace. Weekly email newsletter
Colorado
Mediators
Connecticut
Lederach de nitively establishes his authority on cultural
Mediators issues in con ict transformation and training in Preparing Follow
Delaware
for Peace: Con ict Transformation across Cultures Mediate.com
Mediators
Florida Mediators (hereinafter Preparing for Peace). [1]Drawing on his on Twitter
Georgia
Mediators
experiences conducting mediation training workshops in
Hawaii Mediators other countries, particularly in Central America, he argues
Idaho Mediators
Illinois Mediators
that North American cultural assumptions about con ict
Featured Blogs
Indiana and how to resolve it are embedded in mediation models
Mediators
Iowa Mediators emanating from the United States. [2]He also argues that Are You and Your Ex
Kansas Mediators trainers engage in a “residue of imperialism?Ewhen they “High Con ict
Kentucky Parents”? 5 Red Flags
Mediators
attempt to transfer their mediation models to other
and What You Can
Louisiana cultures as “the right way?Eto resolve con ict. [3]This Do
Mediators
Maine Mediators book’s thesis is that trainers should explore “both the Ann Cerney
Maryland content and the approach to con ict resolution training Save Your
Mediators Professional
Massachusetts and its relationship to culture.?E [4] Relationships: The
Mediators
Michigan Doctor’s Guide to
Mediators
Lederach compares and contrasts two approaches to Con ict Resolution
Minnesota cross-cultural training: prescriptive and elicitive. [5] The Jonathan Ford Hughes
Mediators
Mississippi prescriptive approach, he argues, views training as a Name Your Anger
Mediators transfer of information and the trainer as an expert, Maria Simpson
Missouri
Mediators
model, and facilitator. The primary resources in You Say You Want a
Montana prescriptive training are the mediation model and the Resolution?
Mediators
Nebraska
knowledge of the trainer. Prescriptive training is content- Arthur Pressman
Mediators oriented, and the participants?Ejob is to master the read all
Nevada
Mediators
prescribed mediation model and the trainer’s technique.
New Hampshire The trainer empowers the participants by teaching them
Mediators Select Section
new strategies for facing con ict. In prescriptive training,
New Jersey
Mediators culture is treated as an “additional level of sophistication
New Mexico and expertise added to the repertoire of the already Testimonials
Mediators
New York trained.?E [6] The elicitive approach, on the other hand,
Mediators "Mediate.com has been
North Carolina
views training as the discovery and creation of con ict- the driving force behind
Mediators resolution models. The elicitive trainer, a catalyst and bringing the dispute
North Dakota
facilitator of the process of discovery and creation, resolution eld online for
Mediators
empowers the participants by guiding them in the creation nearly two decades. It
Ohio Mediators
has provided an
Oklahoma of their own con ict-resolution models. The participants? important public face for
Mediators
Oregon Eculture is the foundation of the models they create. our work, and it has
Mediators Lederach concludes that “most trainings provided in done so with integrity
Pennsylvania
diverse cultural settings would bene t from a combination and respect for every
Mediators
practitioner, no matter
Rhode Island
of the two approaches.?E [7] how many cases they've
Mediators
South Carolina handled."
Mediators Reasoning that most readers of his book will be more Colin Rule
South Dakota
familiar with the prescriptive approach than the elicitive
Mediators
Tennessee approach to training, Lederach completes the book by More Testimonials
Mediators suggesting speci c elicitive techniques. His suggestions
Texas Mediators
Utah Mediators include (1) analyzing the participants?Euse of language and
Most Popular
Vermont metaphors to describe con ict situations, (2) using
Mediators Articles
Virginia storyboards of local con icts as a method for developing
Mediators con ict-resolution models, and (3) asking the participants Seven Steps for
Washington E ective Problem
Mediators to develop their own role plays based on situations arising
Solving in the
West Virginia in their local settings. [8] Workplace
Mediators
Wisconsin Tim Hicks
Mediators IV. Second Book: Building Peace.
Wyoming 13 Tools for Resolving
Mediators
The “modest thesis?Eof Building Peace: Sustainable Con ict in the
Workplace, with
Reconciliation in Divided Societies (hereinafter Building
Mediators by Customers and in Life
City: Peace) [9] is that “the nature and characteristics of Lee Jay Berman
Albuquerque
Mediators
contemporary con ict suggest the need for a set of Are You Really Ready
Arlington concepts and approaches that go beyond traditional for Divorce? The 8
Mediators
Atlanta statist diplomacy.?E [10]Lederach’s ambitious response to Questions You Need to
Ask
Mediators the need stated in his thesis is to propose a
Austin Mediators Bruce Derman, Wendy
Baltimore
comprehensive conceptual framework for building peace Gregson
Mediators in divided societies, accompanied by speci c strategies
Boston Styles of Mediation:
that peacemakers can use to implement the concept.
Mediators Facilitative, Evaluative,
Charlotte and Transformative
Mediators In the post-Cold War era, Lederach observes, most armed Mediation
con icts are located in poor, developing parts of the world. Zena Zumeta
Chicago [11] Many of thecon icts are “internal and We Have to Talk: A
Mediators
Cleveland internationalized,?Emeaning they are fought between
Mediators
groups located within the boundaries of one state, but
CO Springs
Mediators other states are a ected by opposition movements
Columbus
located within their states, refugees eeing to their states,
Mediators
Dallas Mediators or weapons and other resources owing from their states
to the state where the con ict is located. [12] The con icts
Denver
Mediators
Detroit Mediators often are “characterized by deep-rooted and long-standing
El Paso
Mediators
animosities that are reinforced by high levels of violence
Fort Worth and direct experiences of atrocities.?E [13] The
Mediators
Fresno Mediators
peacemaker’s challenge is to devise strategies for ending
Houston violence and sustaining reconciliation in these divided
Mediators
Indianapolis
societies.
Mediators
Jacksonville Lederach begins constructing his conceptual framework
Mediators
Kansas City
for building peace by asserting that genuine peacebuilding
Mediators is more than the post-con ict support of a peace
Las Vegas
Mediators
agreement. Rather, it “involves a wide range of activities
Long Beach and functions that both precede and follow formal peace
Mediators
Louisville
accords,?E [14]including “processes, approaches, and
Mediators stages needed to transform con ict toward more
Los Angeles
Mediators sustainable, peaceful relationships.?E [15]
Memphis
Mediators Relationships, Lederach asserts, are built through
Mesa Mediators
Miami Mediators reconciliation, which balances four concepts: truth, mercy,
Milwaukee justice, and peace. Truth represents “the longing for
Mediators
Minneapolis acknowledgement of wrong and the validation of painful
Mediators loss and experiences.?E [16] Mercy “articulates the need for
Nashville
Mediators acceptance, letting go, and a new beginning.?E [17] Justice
New York City
Mediators
seeks vindication of individual and group rights while
Oakland advocating for restitution and social restructuring.
Mediators [18]Peace
Oklahoma City
“underscores the need for interdependence, well-
Mediators being, and security.?E [19]Reconciliation, in Lederach’s view,
Omaha
Mediators is both the process of balancing the four concepts and the
Philadelphia social space where parties encounter each other and
Mediators
Phoenix engage in the process. [20]
Mediators
Portland
To provide a structure for reconciliation, Lederach
Mediators
Raleigh recommends coordinating the peacemaking e orts of a
Mediators society’s top-level, middle-range, and grassroots leaders.
Sacramento
Mediators
[21] Thetop-level political and military leaders generally
San Antonio
Mediators
negotiate cease- res and peace accords. Middle-range
San Diego leaders (e.g., leaders of academic, religious, business,
Mediators
professional, agricultural, and nongovernmental
San Francisco
Mediators organizations who have ties to upper-level and grassroots
San Jose leaders) conduct problem-solving workshops, train people
Mediators
Seattle Mediators in con ict-resolution skills, and lead peace commissions.
Tucson Grassroots leaders (e.g., community and refugee-camp
Mediators
Tulsa Mediators leaders, health o cials, and members of indigenous
Virginia Beach nongovernmental organizations) achieve agreements to
Mediators
Washington D.C. end ghting, implement policies made at higher levels, and
Mediators set the stage for a movement toward peace.
Wichita As an additional approach to providing structure for
Mediators
...more reconciliation, Lederach adopts the “nested paradigm?
Econcept, proposed by peace worker and theorist Maire
International Dugan, which views a speci c incident of con ict as part of
Mediators:
Australia a relationship between the parties. Their relationship, in
Mediators turn, is part of a subsystem to which the parties belong,
Canada
Mediators which in turn is part of a larger social system. [22]Dugan
India Mediators and Lederach recommend using middle-range leaders,
Germany
Mediators acting at the relationship and subsystem levels, to connect
New Zealand short-term “issue?Econcerns with long-term “systemic?
Mediators
Singapore Econcerns. As an example, Lederach describes a situation
Mediators in which armed gangs of young men in Mogadishu, Somalia
UK Mediators
Turkey Mediators carried guns for a variety of reasons, including supporting
Nigeria Mediators themselves nancially. The challenge was to connect the
“issue?Eof gun-carrying youths with the “system?Ethat
provided jobs and accompanying social status to those
gun-carrying youths. The proposed solution was to create
a trade-school “subsystem?Ethat would provide the youth
with marketable job skills and tools for entering their new
trades. The proposed solution included opportunities for
the youth to interact with their counterparts from other
clans, thereby improving their relationships with those
other clan members. [23]
In describing con ict as a process, Lederach adopts

Quaker conciliator Adam Curle’s concept that “con ict
moves along a continuum from unpeaceful to peaceful
relationships.?E [24]At the beginning of the continuum,
con ict arises when people believe some type of injustice
a ects their lives and they decide to confront the injustice.
In a peacebuilder’s ideal world, the confrontation leads to
negotiations, which in turn lead to social change and
sustainable peace. Peacebuilding, Lederach asserts, is a
process made up of interdependent roles, functions, and
activities that accompany the con ict continuum on the
road to social change and sustainable peace. [25]
Building sustainable peace is a dynamic process that often

requires decades, and Lederach adopts another nested
paradigm to explain the types of activities required at each
stage of the process. [26]The rst stage, crisis intervention,
usually takes two to six months. The second stage,
preparation and training, involves short-range planning
that takes one to two years. The third stage, design of
social change, is akin to dispute-resolution system design
and takes ve to ten years. The fourth stage, desired
future, involves articulating and planning for social change
over decades.
Having explained his two nested paradigms—one for

locations and levels of con ict intervention and the other
for time frames for peacebuilding activities—Lederach links
the two in a matrix that creates an integrated framework

for peacebuilding. [27]At one intersection of the two
paradigms is a place for peacemakers to consider the past
and determine the root causes of the con ict. At a second
intersection, peacemakers resolve immediate issues
through crisis management. At a third intersection,
peacemakers absorb the lessons of the con ict and devise
short-term strategies to prevent the con ict’s recurrence.
At a fourth intersection, peacemakers envision the distant
future and the social changes necessary to build peaceful
relationships between the con icting parties. At the fth
intersection, peacemakers design the strategies necessary
to transform the existing con ict to the desired future.
Peacebuilding, Lederach asserts, requires two types of

resources: socioeconomic and sociocultural. [28] As to
Lederach’s concept of socioeconomic resources, he
recommends that peacemakers encourage funding
agencies to develop categories of funding related to
peacebuilding, lobby governments and other agencies to
raise and allocate funds for defraying the social and
material costs of weapons use, and encourage
administrators of peacebuilding funds to allocate those
funds to the types of activities that are most cost-e ective.
As to sociocultural resources, Lederach deems it essential
to build a “peace constituency?Ewithin the con ict setting
by using the cultural resources available in the setting.
Resources are most e ective when they are coordinated.

[29]Toachieve coordination, Lederach recommends that
peacebuilders develop a “peace inventory?E(i.e., a list of
the people and organizations performing various types of
peacemaking activities), improve communications between
top-level and mid-level leaders, engage in conferences
among donors of peacebuilding resources, create broad-
based resource groups that participate in the design of the
peace process, and coordinate the work of “internal?
Epeacemakers (i.e., those working within the con ict area)
with the work of “external?Epeacemakers (i.e., those
working outside the con ict area).
Because the integrated peacebuilding framework requires

numerous and speci c capacities (e.g., violence prediction,
dispute system design, cultural resource analysis, and
strategic social futures design), Lederach foresees that
many people will require training to acquire those
capacities. [30]As to training, Lederach reiterates the
theories he espouses in Preparing for Peace, including the
idea that training should include a combination of
prescriptive and elicitive approaches.
In the nal chapter of Building Peace, Lederach examines

how to evaluate peacebuilding success or failure. [31]He
suggests that peacebuilding can be evaluated with

methods that are both strategic and responsive, but
because peacebuilding is a unique enterprise, it requires
unique evaluation tools. He concludes with suggestions
about how those tools can be designed.
V. Third Book: The Journey toward Reconciliation.
Lederach’s purpose in The Journey toward Reconciliation

[32] is
“to explore the spiritual foundations that undergird
[Lederach’s] work as a peacebuilding professional and
academic.?E [33]Although he addresses the book primarily
to his own Anabaptist/Mennonite community, and though
lengthy passages of the book address that community’s
speci c concerns, Lederach explicitly connects his
spirituality to his work.
Peacebuilding work, Lederach relates, sometimes

generates hostility in and against the presumed
peacebuilder. While acting as an intermediary in a con ict
in Central America in the 1980s, Lederach su ered a
kidnapping threat against his daughter, an experience that
caused him, for the rst time, to feel hatred for an enemy.
In addition to the threat against his daughter, within a
single year, he was accused of being a Communist
Sandinista spy, he received multiple assassination threats,
he was called a dog of the CIA, and he was stoned. He
experienced hatred from his own heart, and he was the
object of such hatred. [34]
As someone who has experienced hatred, Lederach

explores the process of reconciling oneself to one’s
enemies. He analyzes Biblical passages, particularly verse
10 of Psalm 85, [35]to explain and reiterate his belief that
reconciliation is a journey toward a place where truth,
mercy, justice and peace meet. [36] “On this journey?Ehe
declares, “we encounter God, others, and ourselves. Such
a journey, I believe, is the essence of the gospel.?E [37]When
enemies reconcile, they see God in each other’s faces. [38]
Lederach believes that his ministry, and the ministry of his

church, is to walk the path of reconciliation. “God is
working to bring all things together. The purpose is to heal
and to reconcile people with each other and with God.
God’s mission is also ours. We have been given the same
ministry of reconciliation . . . .?E [39]
VI. Fourth Book: Con ict Transformation.
In his most recent book, The Little Book of Con ict

Transformation, [40]Lederach de nes the term “con ict
transformation?Eand distinguishes it from “con ict
resolution.?ELederach begins by acknowledging that his
ideas are in uenced by an Anabaptist/Mennonite religious

framework that “understands peace as embedded in
justice. It emphasizes the importance of building right
relationships and social structures through a radical
respect for human rights and life. It advocates nonviolence
as a way of life and work.?E [41]Because his vocation is
closely tied to his religious beliefs, he seeks language and
perspectives that describe his work more accurately than
the language and perspectives of con ict resolution.
Con ict transformation, according to Lederach, is “to

envision and respond to the ebb and ow of social con ict
as life-giving opportunities for creating constructive
change processes that reduce violence, increase justice in
direct interaction and social structures, and respond to
real-life problems in human relationships.?E [42]The goals
of con ict transformation include personal, relational,
structural, and cultural changes. [43]Transformation
focuses beyond the resolution of an episode of con ict
(i.e., a narrowly de ned problem) and examines the
epicenter of con ict (i.e., the relational patterns from which
episodes emerge). Transformation, which views an episode
of con ict as an opportunity to address its epicenter,
[44]negotiates both solutions to episodes of con ict and
initiatives for social change. [45]
Con ict resolution, in Lederach’s view, focuses on episodes

of con ict, examines the substance and content of the
problems presented, and seeks immediate solutions to
those problems. [46]As de ned, con ict resolution “does
not automatically raise the questions and inquiries
necessary to spark the potential for broader change.?E
[47]Because of con ict resolution’s relatively narrow focus,
the people with whom Lederach works sometimes suspect
it carries with it “a danger of co-optation, an attempt to get
rid of con ict when people [are] raising important and
legitimate issues.?E [48]
While Lederach de nes himself as a con ict transformer,

he recognizes the value of con ict resolution. Disputes that
require rapid, nal solutions to problems, and where pre-
dispute or post-resolution relationships are not involved,
may be appropriate for con ict resolution. On the other
hand, where past and future relationships are involved in
episodes of con ict, Lederach prefers the transformative
approach. [49]
VII. Fifth Book: From the Ground Up.
From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions to

International Peacebuilding [50] places Lederach’s work in
the context of Mennonite history [51] and the recent
international initiatives of his fellow Mennonites. The

sixteen authors of this book describe and evaluate
Mennonite peacebuilding e orts outside the United States
since World War II.
Mennonite peacebuilding overseas is a relatively recent

phenomenon, as Joseph S. Miller points out in this book’s
rst chapter. [52] Throughout most of their history in the
United States, Mennonites generally “practiced a self-
protective withdrawal from the world around them . . . .?E
[53] Quietism, being the “quiet [people] in the land,?E [54]
remained the dominant Mennonite practice at the
beginning of the twentieth century. Because of another
practice known as nonresistance, which re ected a strong
commitment to peace and nonviolence, Mennonites
traditionally renounced violence as a way to protect
themselves and their neighbors. Miller asserts that many
Mennonites?Eviews of their place in the world began to
shift in the mid-twentieth century. During World War II,
Mennonite conscientious objectors provided alternative
service as re ghters, aides in mental health hospitals, and
human subjects in medical research. Their wartime service
inspired them to become more involved in the world, and
they prompted other Mennonites to contribute more
substantially to domestic and international relief e orts.
Over time, Mennonites began to focus on the root causes
of violence, and they looked for ways to become involved in
peacemaking. To many Mennonites, mediation and
conciliation appeared to be activities that were consistent
with Mennonite beliefs. In 1979, the Mennonite Central
Committee (MCC), a Mennonite relief and development
agency, established the Mennonite Conciliation Service
(MCS) to provide con ict-resolution services in the United
States. In 1989, MCC initiated the International Conciliation
Service (ICS) to provide dispute-resolution services
internationally. Lederach became ICS’s rst director, a
position that he held until 1996.
The next chapters of this book detail the peacebuilding

activities of various Mennonite individuals and groups
throughout the world. In two chapters, Lederach describes
his activities in Central America, Somalia, and Somaliland,
and he describes the evolution of his thinking about
con ict transformation and peacebuilding. [55] Other
chapters describe the contributions of Lederach’s
colleagues throughout the world, including the following:
Ron Kraybill, the rst MCS director, left his MCS post
in 1988. Beginning in 1989, he and his family spent
more than six years in South Africa. In a chapter of
this book, he describes his service there as a trainer
in mediation and other con ict-resolution skills. [56]
In another chapter that focuses on South Africa,

Robert Herr and Judy Zimmerman Herr describe their
own and other Mennonites?Eactivities in that country
from the 1970s through the 1990s. The activities
included working with rural economic and
development programs, supporting dependents of
political prisoners, arranging for sabbaticals outside
of South Africa for peace activists, providing con ict-
resolution trainers, and funding specialized
programs.
Since 1980, Joseph Liechty and his family have lived in
Ireland, home to only a small number of Mennonites.
In his chapter, Liechty describes a peacebuilding
approach in Northern Ireland that focuses on
establishing relationships and supporting
peacemaking e orts of other churches and
organizations, rather than building a Mennonite
church and integrating that church into the local
setting. [57]
In a separate chapter about Northern Ireland, Joseph
Campbell, a Presbyterian minister from Belfast,
describes partnering with Mennonites to introduce
mediation to Northern Ireland and to develop
appropriate mediation models for Northern Irish
people. [58]
Mark Chupp describes the Peace Portfolio Project in
Central America, especially that project’s work in
Nicaragua. [59]
Ricardo Esquivia is a native of Colombia and the
director of Justapaz, a peacebuilding initiative of the
Colombian Mennonite Church. With the help of Paul
Stucky, a colleague and native of the United States, he
describes the numerous Justapaz initiatives in
Colombia. Esquivia’s chapter [60] is of particular
interest because Justapaz originated as an idea of
Colombian Mennonites, and the organization has
gained widespread recognition in Colombia as a
leader in peacebuilding e orts.
Bonnie Bergey went to Somalia in 1990 to teach
English for three years with Eastern Mennonite
Missions. Five months after she arrived in Mogadishu,
the government collapsed. Thereafter, for over four
years from a base in Nairobi, Kenya, she periodically
visited Somalia. During that time, she also
represented Eastern Mennonite Missions and MCC in
distributing funds for peacebuilding e orts in
Somalia. Her chapter [61]provides an excellent model
for discovering and supporting indigenous methods
of resolving con icts and making peace.
Barry Hart describes the trauma-healing and
reconciliation workshops he conducted in Liberia
from 1991 to 1993. [62]

Kathleen Kern describes the work of Christian
Peacemaker Teams (CPTs) in Haiti and Hebron.
[63]Rather than identify themselves as intermediaries
in con ict situations, CPTs make conscious decisions
to live in solidarity with people they perceive to be
victims of institutionalized violence. For example, in
Haiti, Kern was part of a CPT that documented human
rights abuses. The CPT that Kern worked with in
Hebron assisted Palestinians in driving a water truck
past Israeli military checkpoints and in opening the
gates of Hebron University that had been closed by
the Israeli military.
The last four chapters of this book, all written by non-
Mennonites, provide useful evaluations of the Mennonites?
Einternational initiatives. Each chapter provides valuable
re ections and insights. The following are highlights of
each chapter:
Sally Engle Merry, an anthropology professor at

Wellesley College, identi es key terms that
Mennonites use in describing their work (i.e.,
peacebuilding, witness, presence, vulnerability,
discernment, and nonviolence), and she explains
what those terms mean in the Mennonite context.
She identi es the key practices used in Mennonite
peacemaking e orts (i.e., not taking charge, being
there for a long time, working with the poor and
vulnerable, confronting social inequality, and entering
con icts through existing relationships), each of
which adds to the distinctive character of those
e orts. Merry identi es Mennonites?Ekey
peacebuilding activities as networking and building
relationships within which signi cant conversations
and change can occur; witnessing or “standing with?
Epeople facing dangerous or threatening situations;
training in con ict resolution and trauma healing;
facilitating meetings; providing funds for numerous
initiatives; and building a theoretical framework
about peace and con ict transformation. Finally, she
identi es four dilemmas that often confront
Mennonite peacebuilders (i.e., standing with the
oppressed versus neutrality; “standing with?Eand the
North American identity; cultural sensitivity and the
peace mission; and outsider/insider relationships)
and how Mennonites have dealt with those dilemmas.
[64]
Christopher Mitchell, a professor of con ict analysis

at George Mason University, compares Mennonite
approaches to peacebuilding with the approaches of
“track two?Epractitioners of nono cial con ict
resolution. He concludes that the two approaches
have signi cant similarities and di erences but

ultimately are complementary rather than rivals. [65]
Marc Gopin, an adjunct assistant professor of
diplomacy at the Fletcher School for Law and
Diplomacy and a practicing rabbi, considers the
religious component of Mennonite peacebuilding and
its global implications. [66] He describes the
ambivalence that many Mennonite peacebuilders
express about the word “mission?Ewhen used in
connection with their work; the ambivalence centers
on the extent to which their work is or should be a
kind of proselytizing. Gopin recommends that
Mennonites accelerate the process of de ning
mission as it relates to peacebuilding so they can
clarify for themselves and others what mission means
to them. He concludes that while Mennonite
peacebuilding methods are the product of their
distinct history and religious values, the methods
have “enormous transformative potential for the
future interactions of the global community.?E [67]
Cynthia Samson, president of Peace Discovery
Initiatives and an associate of the Institute for Justice
and Peacebuilding of Eastern Mennonite University,
co-edited this book with Lederach. In the book’s last
chapter, she provides local assessments of
Mennonite peacebuilding initiatives derived from Irish
and Colombian people who have experienced those
initiatives. She nds that building capacities among
local people, setting a strategic framework for
building peace over the long term, and “being with
others?Ein a quiet, gentle, sincere way are the
characteristics of Mennonites that non-Mennonites
tend to recognize and appreciate. [68]
A reader of From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions

to International Peacebuilding cannot fail to be impressed
with the breadth, depth, and potential of Mennonite peace
work overseas.
VIII. Sixth Book: A Handbook of International

Peacebuilding.
People who are considering accepting an assignment in

international peacebuilding are the target audience of A
Handbook of International Peacebuilding: Into the Eye of
the Storm. [69]The purpose of the book is “to raise a set of
questions and provide advice useful across the board for
those moving internationally into settings of complex,
protracted, and often violent con ict.?E [70]The editors
organize the book into seven parts, and each part contains
chapters whose titles often are questions about a speci c
aspect of overseas peacebuilding work. The authors of
each chapter provide advice on each of the questions;

many times, the advice is to ask more questions.
Part I of the book, entitled “The Invitation: Get a Sense of

the Big Picture,?Eencourages the reader to ask:
Who is requesting that you go to the con ict area,

and how does that person or organization t into the
overall situation? [71]
What is the person or organization asking you to do,
and how will your activities t into the overall
situation? [72]
Who else is working there, and how will your work
relate to the others?Ework? [73]
Will your work t into the larger picture of what is
needed? [74]
Part II, entitled “The Context: The Geography of Protracted

Con ict,?Erecommends that a reader ask:
How much do you need to know about yourself, the

area, and the con ict? [75]
How can you get good information about the area
and the con ict in a short time? [76]
What do you need to know about culture? [77]
What do you need to know about religious in uences
in the con ict area? [78]
Will you be safe if you travel to the con ict area? [79]
In Part III, entitled “So Are You Coming to Help Us? Advice
from the Ground,?Eauthors who have worked in four areas
of protracted con ict—Northern Ireland, [80]the Balkans,
[81]the Middle East, [82]and West Africa [83]—provide
readers with valuable insider perspectives about the
relative e ectiveness of di erent types of outsider
interventions. These authors appear to agree that
outsiders have a greater chance of earning the respect and
cooperation of people in the con ict situation and
achieving a degree of success if they arrive with a clear
understanding of their own values and limitations, a
commitment to long-term involvement, an interest in
building relationships, and a disposition to treat local
people as equals from whom the outsiders can learn. On
the other hand, outsiders are less likely to earn respect
and cooperation—and may even cause harm—if they
arrive in a foreign setting as self-designated experts who
believe they already know how to resolve the con ict but
have only a short amount of time to reveal their truth to
the local people before moving on to the next con ict.
Part IV, entitled “Intervention Matters: From Money to

Ethics,?Efocuses the reader on the necessary questions of
money, accountability, and ethics. The rst chapter in this

part encourages the reader to consider who will fund the
intervener’s work and how decisions about money will be
made. [84]The next two chapters suggest ways to cultivate
relationships with funding sources [85]and to clarify the
extent of the intervener’s accountability to the funding
source, the organization that requests the intervention,
and the people that the intervention a ects. [86]The nal
three chapters of this part provide the reader with a
framework for making ethical decisions, [87]approaches to
avoiding or minimizing any negative impacts of the
intervention, [88]and suggestions for evaluating the results
of an intervention. [89]
Part V, entitled “The Decision,?Efocuses on the intervener’s

ultimate decision to accept or decline the work. Suggested
questions in this part are:
If you go, how will you balance your role as an

“outside expert?Ewith a commitment to respect local
people and resources? [90]
How long will it take? [91]
How will you sustain yourself? [92]
Part VI, entitled “Good Advice from Gray Hair Hard Won,?
Esuggests that an intervener who decides to accept the
work should “embody peace,?E [93] “commit to people, and
commit to time,?E [94]and “practice love and sustain hope.?
E [95]An interview with Quaker peacemaker Adam Curle,
[96]yields advice to “be open, proceed very gradually, and
wait for the development of relationships.?E [97]Curle also
advises interveners to try to understand the con ict
situations in which they become involved.
Part VII, entitled “Conclusions and Summary,?E [98]leaves

prospective peacebuilders with the following advice:
Know yourself.
Be clear about your relationships.
Learn about the context.
Consult, consult, consult.
Be realistic about what you can bring.
Be humble.
Be bold.
After reading this book, a prospective peacebuilder will be

sobered by the complexity of peace work. At the same
time, a reader who decides to proceed with the work
presumably will be much wiser for having read the book.
IX. Lederach’s Spanish-Language Books.
Lederach has written at least six Spanish-language books:

Educar para la Paz, [9]La Regulación del Con icto Social
(with Ron Kraybill and Alice Price), [100]Enredos, Pleitos y
Problemas: Una Guú} Práctica para Resolver Problemas,
[101]Seguir
a Jesús: El Camino de la Etica Cristiana, [102]El
Con icto y la Violencia: En Búsqueda de Alternativas
Creativas (with Mark Chupp), [103]and El ABC de la Paz y los
Con ictos. [104]His book, Building Peace: Sustainable Peace
in Divided Societies, also has been translated to Spanish.
[105]These books, most of which focus on con ict
resolution and con ict transformation, have enhanced
Lederach’s reputation in Spanish-speaking countries as an
authority in those elds.
X. Conclusion.
Lederach is an outstanding representative of a religious

group —the Mennonites—committed to enhancing the
prospects for peace in the world. As his books illustrate,
Lederach, like his Mennonite colleagues, possesses many
of the characteristics necessary for his life’s work: humility,
dedication, patience, generosity, trust in others?
Ecapabilities, appreciation of complexity, willingness to
experiment, and identi cation with the poor and
oppressed. He has dedicated over twenty years of his life
to the judicious exercise of his gifts, and his exemplary
service has generated widespread attention and respect—
not only for himself, but also for his fellow Mennonite
peacebuilders.
While he clearly is grounded in the Mennonite community,

Lederach also has demonstrated an admirable capacity for
reaching out to people from other religions and cultures.
He teaches at a Catholic university, participates actively in
initiatives of the Catholic Church, and works collaboratively
with members of the Jewish and Islamic faiths. He has been
willing to learn and share ideas with people from Latin
America, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
Lederach’s experiences in con ict transformation and

peacebuilding can bene t mediators in several ways. For
example, Lederach is a leading authority on cultural issues
in mediation, and his ideas are backed by years of active
practice in countries around the world. He also is an
experienced mediation trainer who can share valuable
ideas about how to impart information to—and learn from
—others. Mediators who are interested in con ict
transformation can use Lederach’s books and work as
points of reference. And any mediators who wish to make a
more explicit connection between their work and their
spirituality can use Lederach as a role model.
End Notes
1JOHN PAUL LEDERACH, PREPARING FOR PEACE: CONFLICT

TRANSFORMATION ACROSS CULTURES (1995).
2Id. at 37-39.
3Id. at 38.
4Id. at 6.
5Id. at 63-70. Lederach presented the two approaches as

“extreme ends of a spectrum and not exact descriptions of
actual training practice. In real life, any given training
inevitably has some elements of both.?E Id. at 64.
6 Id. at 51.
7Id. at 69-70.
8Id. at 71-107.
9JOHN PAUL LEDERACH, BUILDING PEACE: SUSTAINABLE

RECONCILIATION IN DIVIDED SOCIETIES (1997).
10Id. at xvi.
11Id. at 4-10 (adopting de nitions of types of “armed

con ict?Eproposed in Peter Wallensteen & Karin Axell,
Armed Con ict at the End of the Cold War, 1989-1992, 30 J.
PEACE RES. 331-46 (1993)).
12Id. at 11-12.
13Id. at 18.
14Id. at 20.
15Id.
16Id. at 29.
17Id.
18Id.
19 Id.
20Id. at 24-31.
21Id. at 37-55.
22Id. at 55-58 (citing Maire Dugan, A Nested Theory of

Con ict, 1 WOMEN LEADERSHIP 9-20 (1996)).
23Id. at 58-59.
24Id. at 64 (citing ADAM CURLE, MAKING PEACE (1971)).
25Id. at 66-71.
26Id. at 73-79.
27Id. at 79-84.
28Id. at 87-97.
29Id. at 99-106.
30Id. at 107-27.
31Id. at 129-48.
33Id. at 15.
34Id. at 29-38.
35Lederach uses the Spanish-language version of this

Biblical text, which states (in translation) “Truth and mercy
have met together; justice and peace have kissed.?E Id. at
53.
36Id. at 51-61.
37Id. at 159.
38Id. at 25.
39Id. at 165.
40JOHN PAUL LEDERACH, THE LITTLE BOOK OF CONFLICT

TRANSFORMATION (2003).
41Id. at 4.
42Id. at 14.
43Id. at 23-27.
44Id. at 28-33.
45Id. at 34-39.
46Id. at 30.
47Id. at 68.
48Id. at 3.
49Id. at 69.
50From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions to

International Peacebuilding (Cynthia Sampson & John Paul
Lederach eds., 2000).
51As Joseph S. Miller explains in a useful appendix to this

book, “Who are the Mennonites??E the Mennonites are
descendants of the Reformation radicals known as
Anabaptists, who in 1525 initiated the practice of re-
baptizing adult believers in Jesus Christ. Mennonites
derived their name from Menno Simons, a Dutch Catholic

priest who joined the Anabaptist movement and wrote
proli cally about it. Mennonites rst arrived in North
America in 1683. North American Mennonites began
missionary work overseas in the late nineteenth century.
They initiated the Mennonite Central Committee, an
international relief and development agency, in the 1920s.
Today, the three primary Mennonite denominations in the
United States are the Mennonite Church U.S.A., Mennonite
Brethren, and Old Order Mennonites. Id. at 275-80.
52Id. at 3-29.
53Id. at 4.
54Id. at 10.
55Id. at 45-55, 141-48.
56 Id. at 30-44.
57Id. at 77-96.
58Id. at 97-103.
59Id. at 104-21.
60Id. at 122-40.
61Id. at 149-64.
62Id. at 165-82.
63Id. at 183-200.
64Id. at 203-17.
65Id. at 218-32.
66Id. at 233-55.
67Id. at 255.
69A Handbook of International Peacebuilding: Into the Eye

of the Storm (John Paul Lederach & Janice Moomaw Jenner
eds., 2002).
70Id. at xvi-xvii.
71 Id. at 3-13 (chapter entitled “Who is Calling??Eby Sue K.

Williams, an independent consultant based in Derry,
Northern Ireland).
72Id. at 15-23 (chapter entitled “What Do They Want Me to

Do??Eby Susan Collin Marks and John Marks, who work at
Search for Common Ground in Washington, D.C).
73Id. at 25-35 (chapter entitled “Who Else is Working

There??Eby Louise Diamond, President Emeritus of the
Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy).
74Id. at 37-46 (chapter entitled “Where Do I Fit In??Eby

Lederach).
75Id. at 49-58 (chapter entitled “How Much Do I Need to

Know??Eby Christopher Mitchell, a professor at George
Mason University’s Institute for Con ict Analysis and
Resolution).
76Id. at 59-73 (chapter entitled “How Do I Get Good

Information in a Short Time??Eby Heidi Burgess and Guy
Burgess, co-directors of the Con ict Research Consortium
at the University of Colorado).
77Id. at 75-87 (chapter entitled “What Do I Need to Know

About Culture? A Researcher Says . . .?Eby Kevin Avruch, a
professor of anthropology at George Mason University); id.
at 89-105 (chapter entitled “What Do I Need to Know About
Culture? Practitioners Suggest . . .?Eby Peter Woodrow and
Christopher Moore, both of whom work with CDR
Associates in Boulder, Colorado).
78Id. at 107-13 (chapter entitled “What Do I Need to Know

About Religion and Con ict??Eby Rabbi Marc Gopin, a
professor of con ict resolution at the Fletcher School of
Diplomacy at Tufts University).
79Id. at 115-23 (chapter entitled “Is It Safe? Lessons from

the Humanitarian Aid Community?Eby Larissa A. Fast, a
professor at Conrad Grebel University College who also
works for Project Ploughshares in Waterloo, Ontario,
Canada); id. at 125-30 (chapter entitled “Is It Safe?
Practitioner Advice?Eby Janice Moomaw Jenner, director of
the Institute of Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern
Mennonite University, and Dekha Ibrahim Abdi, a Kenyan
peace worker).
80Id. at 133-42 (chapter entitled “A View from Northern

Ireland?Eby Mari Fitzdu , director of the Initiative on
Con ict Resolution and Ethnicity, a resource center of the
United Nations).
81Id. at 143-49 (chapter entitled “A View from the Balkans?

Eby Katarina Kruhonja, who works with the Centre for
Peace, Nonviolence and Human Rights).
82Id. at 151-58 (chapter entitled “A View from the Middle

East?Eby Zoughbi Elias Zoughbi, director of Wi’am, a center
for con ict resolution in Bethlehem).
83 Id. at 159-70 (chapter entitled “A View from West Africa?

Eby Sam Gbaydee Doe and Emmanuel Habuka Bombande,
who work with the Wet Africa Network for Peacebuilding).

84 Id. at 173-89 (chapter entitled “Who Pays? Money
Matters from a Practitioner’s Perspective?Eby Bernard
Mayer, who works with CDR Associates in Boulder,
Colorado).
85Id. at 191-99 (chapter entitled “Providing Resources for

Peace: Money Matters from a Funder’s Perspective?Eby
John Tirman, program director for Global Security and
Cooperation at the Social Science Research Council).
86Id. at 201-11 (chapter entitled “To Whom Am I

Accountable??Eby Howard Zehr, a professor in the Con ict
Transformation Program at Eastern Mennonite University,
and Clement M. Aapengnuo, coordinator of the Northern
Ghana Peace Project).
87Id. at 213-23 (chapter entitled “Is This the Right Thing to

Do? A Practical Framework for Ethical Decisions?Eby
Wallace War eld, professor at the Institute for Con ict
Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University).
88 Id. at 225-33 (chapter entitled “Can My Good Intentions

Make Things Worse??Eby Mary B. Anderson, president of
Collaborative for Development Action).
89Id. at 235-47 (chapter entitled “How Can I Evaluate My

Work??Eby Harry Mika, a professor at Central Michigan
University).
90Id. at 251-59 (chapter entitled “Do I Go??Eby Ronald S.

Kraybill, a professor in the Con ict Transformation
Program at Eastern Mennonite University).
91Id. at 261-70 (chapter entitled “How Long Will It Take??

Eby Lederach).
92Id. at 271-80 (chapter entitled “How Will I Sustain

Myself??Eby Amy C. Potter, Ronald S. Kraybill, Louise
Diamond, and Joe Campbell).
93Id. at 283-90 (chapter entitled “Embody Peace?Eby

Hizkias Assefa, a mediator, trainer, and educator based in
Nairobi, Kenya who also teaches courses at Eastern
Mennonite University and George Mason University).
94Id. at 291-97 (chapter entitled “Commit to People, and

Commit to Time?Eby Harold H. Saunders, director of
international a airs for the Kettering Foundation).
95 Id. at 299-311 (chapter entitled “Practice Love and

Embody Peace?Eby Elise Boulding, a retired professor who
taught at Colorado University and Dartmouth College).
96Id. at 305-11 (chapter entitled “The Simplicity of

Peacebuilding: An Interview with Adam Curle?Eby Muzna Al-
Masri, a peacebuilder from Lebanon, and Lederach;
interview transcribed and edited by Rita Ann Litwiller and
Lederach).
97Id. at 311.
98 Id. at 315-19 (chapter entitled “So What Have We

Learned??Eby co-editors Lederach and Jenner).
99 John Paul Lederach, Educar para la Paz (La Magrana,

Barcelona, Spain, 3d ed. 2000) (1st & 2d eds. 1983).
100 John Paul Lederach et al., La Regulación del Con icto

Social (Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pennsylvania,
1986).
101 John Paul Lederach, Enredos, Pleitos y Problemas: Una

Guú} Práctica para Resolver Problemas (Ediciones Semilla,
Guatemala City, Guatemala (1996) (1st ed. 1992).
102 John Paul Lederach, Seguir a Jesús: El Camino de la

Etica Cristiana (Publicaciones El Faro, Mexico City, Mexico
1993).
103 John Paul Lederach & Mark Chupp, El Con icto y la

Violencia: En Búsqueda de Alternativas Creativas (Ediciones
Semilla, Guatemala City, Guatemala (1997) (1st ed. 1994).
104 John Paul Lederach, El ABC de la Paz y Los Con ictos

(Editorial Cataratas, Barcelona, Spain 2001).
105 John Paul Lederach, Construyendo la Paz:

Reconciliación Sostenible en Sociedades Divididas (Bakeaz
y Gernika Gogoratuz, Bilbao, Spain 1997).
Biography
Walter A. Wright is a mediator based in Texas, USA.
-------------------------------------------------------
Walter A. Wright es un Profesor de Derecho y Métodos

Alternos de Resolución de Con ictos en Texas State
University, San Marcos, Texas, EE. UU. Estudia, investiga, y
escribe sobre la utilización de la mediación en los EE. UU. y
América Latina. Un abogado, mediador, y árbitro, el Dr.
Wright es presidente de Levey & Wright, P.C., un estudio
jurídico en Austin, Texas. Ha sido el presidente de la
Asociación de Mediadores de Texas y de la Asociación de
Abogados-Mediadores, una organización de categoría
nacional en los EE. UU. Actualmente integra la junta
directiva de la Asociación de Mediadores de Texas y es el
editor de Alternative Resolutions¸ la revista cuatrimestral
de la Sección de Resolución Alterna de Con ictos del

Colegio de Abogados de Texas.
Email Author
Additional articles by Walter A. Wright
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In describing con ict as a process, Lederach adopts

Building sustainable peace is a dynamic process that often

Having explained his two nested paradigms—one for

the two in a matrix that creates an integrated framework

Peacebuilding, Lederach asserts, requires two types of

Resources are most e ective when they are coordinated.

Because the integrated peacebuilding framework requires

In the nal chapter of Building Peace, Lederach examines

suggests that peacebuilding can be evaluated with

V. Third Book: The Journey toward Reconciliation.

Lederach’s purpose in The Journey toward Reconciliation

Peacebuilding work, Lederach relates, sometimes

As someone who has experienced hatred, Lederach

Lederach believes that his ministry, and the ministry of his

VI. Fourth Book: Con ict Transformation.

In his most recent book, The Little Book of Con ict

ideas are in uenced by an Anabaptist/Mennonite religious

Con ict transformation, according to Lederach, is “to

Con ict resolution, in Lederach’s view, focuses on episodes

While Lederach de nes himself as a con ict transformer,

VII. Fifth Book: From the Ground Up.

From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions to

international initiatives of his fellow Mennonites. The

Mennonite peacebuilding overseas is a relatively recent

The next chapters of this book detail the peacebuilding

In another chapter that focuses on South Africa,

from 1991 to 1993. [62]

Sally Engle Merry, an anthropology professor at

Christopher Mitchell, a professor of con ict analysis

have signi cant similarities and di erences but

A reader of From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions

VIII. Sixth Book: A Handbook of International

People who are considering accepting an assignment in

each chapter provide advice on each of the questions;

Part I of the book, entitled “The Invitation: Get a Sense of

Who is requesting that you go to the con ict area,

Part II, entitled “The Context: The Geography of Protracted

How much do you need to know about yourself, the

Part IV, entitled “Intervention Matters: From Money to

money, accountability, and ethics. The rst chapter in this

Part V, entitled “The Decision,?Efocuses on the intervener’s

If you go, how will you balance your role as an

Part VII, entitled “Conclusions and Summary,?E [98]leaves

After reading this book, a prospective peacebuilder will be

IX. Lederach’s Spanish-Language Books.

Lederach has written at least six Spanish-language books:

Lederach is an outstanding representative of a religious

While he clearly is grounded in the Mennonite community,

Lederach’s experiences in con ict transformation and

1JOHN PAUL LEDERACH, PREPARING FOR PEACE: CONFLICT

5Id. at 63-70. Lederach presented the two approaches as

9JOHN PAUL LEDERACH, BUILDING PEACE: SUSTAINABLE

11Id. at 4-10 (adopting de nitions of types of “armed

22Id. at 55-58 (citing Maire Dugan, A Nested Theory of

24Id. at 64 (citing ADAM CURLE, MAKING PEACE (1971)).

35Lederach uses the Spanish-language version of this

40JOHN PAUL LEDERACH, THE LITTLE BOOK OF CONFLICT

50From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions to