About Conflict and Conflict Resolution

History of Mediation

China and Asia
Confucius believed that the best way to resolve a dispute was through moral persuasion and agreement rather than coercion.  There is a natural harmony in human affairs that should not be disrupted.  Peace and understanding were central to his philosophy.  Buddhist traditions encourage dispute resolution through compromise rather than coercion. In these cultures, litigation is a last resort and is involves a loss of face.  Today in the People's Republic of China there is still an emphasis on conciliation, self-determination, and mediation to be used in the resolution of disputes.

Japan
There is a relative absence of lawyers in Japan, probably because of their rich history of mediation.  The leader of the village was expected to help people resolve their disputes.  There are also many procedural barriers to formal litigation and this may contribute to an emphasis on the informal procedures of mediation.  Today mediation is part of the business culture, where intermediaries are introducers, shokai-sha and mediators chukai-sha to smooth business relationships.

Africa
Any disputant may call for an informal neighborhood assembly called a moot.  A respected member of the community serves as a mediator to help parties resolve conflicts cooperatively.  The success of this form may be successful due to the extended kinship patterns within many African communities

Islam
Islamic culture has a strong tradition of mediation and conciliation as preferred approaches as seen in the use of quadis, specialized go-betweens who attempt to preserve social harmony by reaching an agreed upon solution to a dispute.

Western, Judeo-Christian Culture
In the West there is a long tradition of mediation.  Churches have been used as places of sanctuary and clergy often acted as mediators between criminals and authorities.  In the Middle Ages, Christian clergy were called upon to mediate disputes between families and even in diplomatic disputes.  Rabbinical courts used traditions and the Torah to settle disputes. 

From Rural to Formal
As kinship circles and villages gave way to cities due to burgeoning population, people started to turn to more formal means to resolve disputes.

Across All Major Continents
Village elders, tribal councils and the like have been used in the mediating role.  Even now local councils still fulfill an important role as mediators in local disputes.

United States
The Quakers have a long history of practicing both mediation and arbitration.  Much of the early U.S. model of mediation was based on the work of the Quakers.  In New York City the Jewish community established its own mediation forum.  Chinese immigrants established the Chinese Benevolent Society to resolve disputes within the family and within the community by mediation.

Twentieth Century
Early History: United Kingdom: Mediation became institutionalized in the twentieth century in the secular arena where it began to be recognized as having a role in and of itself.  The Conciliation Act relating to the conduct of industrial relations was enacted in the United Kingdom as early as 1896.   and Early History: United States: Then in the United States alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes were being formalized as an alternative to litigation early on with the U.S. Department of Labor (established in 1913) appointing a panel called the "commissioners of conciliation" to deal with labor/management disputes.  These commissioners became the U.S. Conciliation Service and in 1947 that entity became the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Some of the early writing in ADR drew on the experiences of labor and industrial dispute resolution and adapted it to the resolution of interpersonal conflict.

Associations in America: In 1926 the American Arbitration Association was set up as a commercial service for the resolution of disputes in the private sector. 
The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts was founded in 1963 to promote court-related family conciliation as an alternative to family court litigation.  Family mediation has become a major area of growth for ADR and has spawned the Family Mediation Association and the Academy of Family Mediators. 

Federal Law Without Funding: In 1980 the U.S. Congress passed the Dispute Resolution Act calling for ADR programs nationwide to be administered by the Justice Department, however Congress never followed through with the money necessary for its implementation.
State and Local Efforts: Many state and local governments have funded mediation programs to deal with disputes in many different situations including family, environment, governmental contracts, and even the playground. 

World-wide growth: There has been similar growth in many parts of the world, most notably in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.  Australia has a complex system for dealing with family and relationships and this system has become integrated into communities much as community mental health agencies have in parts of the United States.  In the United Kingdom the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) was established to deal with industrial disputes.

Writings that Spurred ADR Development
Laura Nader and P.H. Gulliver beginning in 1969 and 1973 respectively, these cultural anthropologists studied ADR and provided research for later application of its principles. 

Richard Abel, a law professor, in the early seventies and eighties, focused on interdisciplinary, theoretical thinking about conflict resolution. 

Harvard Law School's scholars, Lon Fuller (beginning in 1963), Frank Sander, and Roger Fisher (beginning in the mid-seventies) have helped shape thinking about use of techniques and procedures of conflict resolution.

O. J. Coogler in 1978 wrote Structured Mediation in divorce Settlements, Howard Irving in 1980 wrote Divorce Mediation, and John Haynes in 1981 wrote The Complete Problem Solver.  These books helped to develop mediation with family and divorce disputes.

Martin Deutsch wrote an extremely influential book, The Resolution of Conflict, that examined the negative and positive aspects of dispute settlement and influenced the thinking of many mediators and writers about ADR.

History of ADR in Texas
The Federal, District, and County courts have sought alternatives to the huge dockets and the endless flow of lawsuits that have accumulated in the past 20 years.  But the movement to resolve disputes beyond these institutions has gained momentum, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is astounding in its scope, power, financing, and leadership.  

The Texas Constitution of 1845 speaks of the need for arbitration of citizens' disputes.  But it was not until 1978 that Chief Justice (Supreme Court of Texas) Joe R. Greenhill met with Chief Justice Frank G. Evans (First Court of Appeals) met to discuss ways of reducing the stress of mounting court dockets.  Eventually, the Houston Bar Association established an ADR committee and recommended funding from governmental and private sources for a Dispute Resolution Center.  The first of its kind, it was opened by the Houston Bar and Harris County in October of 1980. 

Later that same year, Dispute Mediation Service, Inc. (DMS) of Dallas County was opened and Tarrant County established a similar service in 1981. Eventually, several Texas counties opened centers, following the lead of Houston and Dallas.  

The Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill 10 (Tex. Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 2372aa) in 1983.  It authorized all county commissioners courts to: 1) establish and maintain alternative dispute resolution systems in cooperation with the local bar associations and 2) support the systems through a $5.00 filing fee for each civil case filed in county and district courts.  In 1985, art. 2372aa was amended to clarify the authority of trial court judges to refer appropriate cases for alternative dispute resolution procedures "upon the motion of a party."

In 1987 the State Bar of Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution recommended new legislation supporting ADR.  First, another amendment to art. 2372aa was passed, increasing the authorizing filing fee to$10.  Next, a provision restricting the effectiveness of private arbitration agreements was repealed.

Again in 1987 the Texas Legislature passed the broad 1987 Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures Act.  This Act spells out the state's policy of encouraging the peaceful settlement of pending litigation.  it provides a means for implementing alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in the courts and outlines appropriate training requirements and duties of neutral third parties.  The Act also assures the confidentiality of discussions and materials used by disputing parties in al alternative dispute resolution procedure. 
[Most of the above information on Texas ADR history is based on material in the DMS Mediation Training Manual for which I am very grateful.]