Abstract
While assessing the applicability of a transformative mediation model in a Middle East setting, the author recognized the influence and preference for local practices for peace. Sulha, a traditional Arab process for peacemaking predating Islam, remains a culturally appropriate framework for building peaceful relations within pluralistic and collectivistic Palestinian environments. Initial research hoped to compare the underlying theory supporting sulha with a Western transformative mediation framework, to consider the potential for training in the region. However, through interviews with sulha practitioners, the analysis focused less on how transformative mediation could be applied in a new cultural context, and more on the need for any outside model to honor the core principles and practices evident in conflict and peacemaking processes in Palestinian society.
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Saxon, E.D. (2018). Peacemaking in Palestine: Encounters in Principles and Practice. In: d'Estrée, T., Parsons, R. (eds) Cultural Encounters and Emergent Practices in Conflict Resolution Capacity-Building. Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71102-7_9
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