Jay Rothman Ph.D., is a conflict resolution theorist and practitioner with twenty years of experience. As a
facilitator, consultant, trainer, and educator, he has worked with diplomats from dozens of countries, business
executives, union leaders, opposing leaders of embattled ethnic groups, school boards and superintAndents, community
activists, and students from around the world. He is currently a visiting scholar and associate professor at the
masters of arts program in conflict resolution at Antioch University. The author lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Review
"Absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in identity conflicts and how to overcome them. Provides
a fascinating theoretical introduction to the phenomena, detailed case study experiences, and a final training
guide for practitioners...a landmark work."
--Kevin Clements, Vernon and Minnie Lynch Professor of Conflict Resolution, and director, Institute for Conflict
Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University
"Jay Rothman not only says it is possible to bring about reconciliation of communities, organizations,
and nations involved in long-standing, deeply rooted conflicts, but he shows just how to do it! . . . Focusing
on the importance of social identity and the steps involved in transforming antagonism into effective joint action,
he helps us go beyond the role of interests to a more complete understanding of needs and their importance in conflict
resolution."
--Lawrence Susskind, director, MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program, and president, Consensus Building Institute
"With clarity and imagination, Jay Rothman explores identity conflict from the community to the international
arena. . . . This book provides direction and hope for all those engaged in the essential work of conflict resolution."
--Richard Deats, editor of Fellowship, the magazine of the Fellowship of Reconciliation
"Re-imagines conflict mediation in a remarkably new way--by bringing together the empirical language of
negotiation with the pattern-recognition skills of the artist, a new and exciting synthesis is possible."
--Michael Jones, pianist, composer, Narada recording artist, and author of Creating an Imaginative Life
"The ARIA framework works at many levels. It is a wonderful metaphor for the phases of constructive conflict
resolution that has applications in so many fields. It is the analytic melody that connects the phases through
the example of a string quartet, and it captures how creative conflict resolution is like a beautiful song when
expertly executed. In all its forms, I have incorporated ARIA into my teaching and practice."
--Deborah M. Kolb, professor of negotiation and conflict resolution, Simmons College; Senior Fellow, Program
on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
Submitted by Publisher, March, 2001
Summary
Presenting a brilliant new approach to conflict resolution that will intrigue and inform practitioners and scholars
alike. Writing from his remarkable range of academic and real-world experiences--including his historic work in
bringing Israel and the PLO to the negotiation table--Rothman shows how identity-based conflict can be managed
so that both parties reach a higher ground than either could have found on its own. His vehicle is his ARIA model,
and here he traces the ARIA process through Antagonism, Resonance, Invention, and Action, demonstrating step-by-step
how it can be applied in a variety of environments. Complete with field-tested assessment instruments and action
plans, Resolving Identity-Based Conflict is a seamless union of theory and practice anyone seeking to turn the
passion of conflict into the fuel of creativity can use.
Conflict can either destroy or create--depending on whether and how it is guided. This is the simple yet profound
insight that underlies Jay Rothman's innovative new framework for understanding and transforming identity-based
conflict in nations, organizations, and communities.
Reading a newspaper, working in an organization, or sitting in on a town meeting can provide vivid examples
of identity conflicts in action. Based in the national, organizational, and community groups that provide individuals
with meaning, safety, and dignity, identity conflicts are passionate and volatile because they strike at our core:
who we really are and what we care about most deeply. Though often impervious to traditional methods of conflict
management, identity-based conflict also provides adversaries with dynamic opportunities for finding not only common
ground, but higher ground than separate parties could have found on their own.
Grounded in his grassroots conflict resolution work in the Middle East -- work that earned him the honor of
witnessing the historic White House handshake between Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO President Yasser Arafat
-- and brilliantly refined to address a wide range of organizational and community conflicts, Rothman's ARIA model
is a versatile and innovative synthesis of the best contemporary ideas in conflict management, resolution, and
transformation.
Step by step, Resolving Identity-Based Conflict traces the ARIA journey through Antagonism, Resonance, Invention,
and Action in a variety of environments. In straightforward, jargon-free language, Rothman conveys solid theoretical
insights and practical how-to's that allow researchers and practitioners to:
Recognize the crucial differences between identity- and resource-based conflicts
Zero in on the needs and motivations shared by even the bitterest of adversaries
Create joint agendas for groups in conflict
Transform intragroup and intergroup conflicts in organizations of every kind
Complete with field-tested assessment instruments and action plans, this is a vital tool for everyone working
to turn the energy of conflict into the fuel of creativity -- down the hall, in our neighborhoods, or around the
world.
Jay Rothman shows how identity-based conflict can be managed so that both parties reach a higher ground than
either could have found on its own. His vehicle is his ARIA model, and here he traces the ARIA process through
Antagonism, Resonance, Invention, and Action, demonstrating step-by-step how it can be applied in a variety of
environments. Complete with field-tested assessment instruments and action plans, Resolving Identity-Based Conflict
is an seamless union of theory and practice anyone seeking to turn the passion of conflict into the fuel of creativity
can use.
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Prologue: The ARIA Quartet Conflict
Part One: Transforming Identity-Based Conflict
1. The ARIA Framework: Antagonism, Resonance, Invention, Action
2. Antagonism: Sufacing Differences and Analyzing Animosity
3. Resonance: Articulating Common Needs and Motivations
4. Invention: Generating Cooperative Solutions
5. Action: Setting Joint Agendas
Part Two: The ARIA Framework in Practice
6. Prenegotiation in Nations: Peace Building in Jerusalem
7. Transforming Conflicts Within and Between Groups in Organizations
8. ARIA Tools: Lessons Drawn from Community Conflicts
