It has become only too evident that traditional methods of confl ict prevention and resolution are no longer adequate or effective. This is why editor and contributor Mauro Galluccio's present volume appears to fi ll in an existing and ever more visible void in shaping an entirely new approach in modern-day diplomacy. The signifi cance of this book can hardly be over-rated. It offers an entirely new political and psychological angle to transforming confl ict by managing interpersonal dynamics and tailoring preventive behaviors. It alerts us to the crucial role of the mental heritage of confl icts and powerful emotions. In brief, it enhances an entirely new type of negotiation as a fundamental tool of managing, preventing, and resolving confl ict by acknowledging the diversity of mental viewpoints about any given reality.This volume can indeed serve as a handbook to practitioners-diplomats and decision-makers-in educating themselves, in reshaping their own outlook, and in even bettering themselves as individuals in positions of authority and responsibility for bringing positive change to the lives of millions of people.
Elena Poptodorova Ambassador of Bulgaria to the United StatesGalluccio has brought together a distinguished and diverse group of scholars and practitioners to address an enduring, if evolving, challenge to human wellbeing: violent confl ict between nations and subnational groups. His aim is to organize the interdisciplinary character of the research, on which the authors draw, into coherent perspectives on the causes of confl icts and potentially effective interventions designed to prevent and resolve them.There is much that is new here. Perhaps most important, there is a focus on the personal and emotional character of confl ict-for those who engage in it and those who intervene to mitigate it. The passion, competence, and intensity that Galluccio brings to this edited volume is striking and appropriate, in light of the importance of the topic to those who have been or will be victims of violent confl ict, but at no point does it detract from the intellectual rigor that characterizes the entire volume.
Robert L. Gallucci US Ambassador-at-Large Past President of the MacArthur Foundation Former US Assistant Secretary of StateThis timely volume and the work of Dr. Mauro Galluccio on international negotiation and mediation is extremely relevant in the current climate of confl ict throughout the world and the potential perils that presently exist among nations. This collection of essays by renowned scholars, foreign policy experts, offi cials, psychologists, and other practitioners, ably assembled and edited by Dr. Mauro Galluccio, is so very welcome. This handbook highlights the complexity, and diffi culty, of international negotiations. Fortunately, it also provides important and useful tools for those responsible for conducting diplomacy with terrorists and insurgents. It is sure to be widely read, cited, and used as a valuable reference work for years to come.
Mitchell Reiss President of the Colon...