What is an amicable divorce? When a divorce process is inevitable, a couple may begin to evaluate their options to resolve their divorce inexpensively and as cooperatively as possible. This question will especially crop up when the parties are on good terms with one another but must separate their lives. An amicable divorce process may seem …
While all parts of the divorce process can be complex, asking your spouse to initiate a divorce can be one of the most challenging parts of the process. Learning how to ask for a divorce can be daunting when one spouse has decided that separation is the best thing for the family. Even when divorce …
Negotiation has played a crucial role in human civilization. From tribes bartering goods to modern businesses striking multi-million-dollar deals to governments avoiding starting world wars, good negotiators have been essential for survival, success, and progress. Throughout history, some famous negotiations have changed the world and made headlines. These transactions have uncovered critical insights into different …
What is the concept of international regimes? Let’s dive right in! With the rise of technology and the movement toward globally connected societies, there has been a need for some kind of international organization between countries on infrastructure and resource distribution. This is where the concept of international regimes finds itself. The study of international …
Many ideas in the world are expressed as binaries—good and bad, black and white, truth and lie. Yet many concepts expressed in binaries often have a variety of options in the middle, creating a spectrum. Learning to be comfortable with the spectrum is an important part of development; however, in certain situations, people will hold …
While most people attend a mediation or negotiation hoping to walk away with the most possible value, when the goodwill between the parties breaks down, they may leave the table with little to nothing to show for their work. When both parties leave the table feeling as though they have “lost” and leave the value …
Conflict is often painted in a bad light. It can make people feel uneasy and often contributes to the breakdown of relationships. However, not all conflict is destructive, and there are times when conflict may be beneficial for a situation or relationship. The idea that conflict will have either constructive or destructive results is the …
Communication is an important part of any workplace or group setting, and a key component of reaching agreements. When communication is healthy, a workplace or group can be productive and reach its objective. When communication breaks down, other aspects of the workplace begin to fall apart as well. In some cases, communication breaks down as …
I’ve been doing appellate mediation since the program began, and I’ve been genuinely surprised by the success rate. At the program’s inception, I anticipated a significantly lower success rate than I’ve had with non-appellate mediations — but it’s about 70%, which isn’t much lower than my rate for other matters. While my approach to conducting …
By Scott C. Van Soye “Blessed are the peacemakers.” We value peacemakers. We may even aspire to be among them. But often we have no firm conception of what it means to “make peace.” Does it mean to cause the cessation of conflict, by whatever means? Or does it refer only to non-violent efforts to …
