Listening and dialogue are activities that are essential to good verbal communications, and can promote peaceful co-existence. They bring together a diverse set of voices to create a microcosm of the larger society. To bring about sustainable change, people have to develop a sense of joint ownership of the process and become stakeholders in identifying new approaches to address common challenges.
The process is not just about sitting around a table, but changing the way people talk, think and communicate with one another. Unlike other forms of discussion, dialogue requires self-reflection, spirit of inquiry and personal change to be present. Participants must be willing to address the root causes of a crisis, not just the symptoms on the surface.
Participants must be willing to show empathy toward one another, recognize differences as well as areas of common ground, and demonstrate a capacity for change. To foster this kind of human interaction, a respectful and neutral setting (safe space) is preferred.
It is not a panacea for resolving all the worlds crises, where there is deep political paralysis or a long history of violence. Rather, it represents just one tool in policymakers toolboxa process that is flexible and adaptable to different contexts and countries, one that is especially useful when the parties to a conflict are not ready yet for formal negotiations.
When violence, hate, and mistrust remain stronger than the will to forge a consensus, or if there is a significant imbalance of power or a lack of political will among the participants, then the situation might not be ripe for dialogue.
In dialogue there are no winners. Whereas the purpose of negotiation is to reach a concrete settlement, the aim of dialogue is to bridge communities, share perspectives and discover new ideas.
People too often grow frustrated by endless rounds of talks without concrete actions. In connection to that, the trend in international affairs points toward more dialogue, not less. The challenge therefore is to capitalize on the respect for dialogue by working to ensure that mediators and others involved are as well equipped as possible to deliver effective and long-lasting results.
We need to manage expectations by being clear about the objectives from the outset, being flexible and adaptable to evolving contexts and peoples cultural differences, prepare and raise awareness for dialogue; while allowing transparency, to understand the shifting power dynamics and the actors involved.
Reference
“Why dialogue matters for conflict prevention and peacebuilding, UNDP (February 2009).
