Impressive strides to peacemaking in law

Peacemaking: Practicing at the Intersection of Law and Human Conflict Douglas Noll. Cascadia Publishing House, 2003. 476 pages.

Don’t let the bright and friendly blue cover with the neon coloured handprints fool you. This is not an easy read. As ambitious as the pursuit of peace itself, Douglas Noll leaves no stone unturned in his quest to examine the concept of peacemaking. Mediation and other dispute resolution processes are discussed in depth; the histories of philosophy and neuropsychology, and the significance of religion and culture in conflict development and management are explored. Game theory, and systems and structural approaches to conflict are explained. The notions of justice, ethics and human nature, and the place for apology and forgiveness in the practise of dispute resolution are all given ample consideration.

Reconciliation is an important theme. Noll contrasts the typical mandatory apology and accountability expected from a child who has committed a wrongdoing, with the more sophisticated and evasive apology avoidance technique typified by adults who follow traditional legal advice – deny personal responsibility as much as possible (and again I say, deny). Noll emphasizes the obstacles this creates in the potential restoration of relationships.

The eclectic range of themes also include the different understandings of salvation from Judaic, Christian, Islamic and Hindi points of view; aspects of gender in dispute development and resolution; and the connection between competition, individualism, politics and conflict.

Noll’s writing style is informative and substantive, but not for the casual reader. Even the proofreaders appear to have lost focus at times, as a number of spelling and punctuation errors appear in the text.

The occasionally obtuse writing style notwithstanding, the contents summary, and the succinct introductions and summaries in each chapter make this an important reference manual. The concepts are cohesive and well developed. Noll has taken impressive strides towards his rather lofty goal of developing an approach in law that transcends traditional conflict resolution processes and actively promotes peacemaking.

Waldy Derksen is a Winnipeg lawyer. He is a member of Jubilee Mennonite Church.