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CSS Blog

Mediation Perspectives: Culturally Oriented Mediation

 

Image courtesy of Alamy.

Mediation Perspectives is a regular series of blog contributions by the CSS Mediation Support Team and occasional guest authors.

Culture becomes the elephant in the room when people do not acknowledge how implicit values shape conflict. “Truth” appears in multiple forms depending on which lenses we are using to view the world. This blog is based on a publication called “Inviting the Elephant into the Room: Culturally Oriented Mediation and Peace Practice”, reflecting insights from the work of UK mediator, Dr Zaza Elsheikh, who places culture and religion at the center of her practice. The blog explores a case from Zaza’s experience and ends with three insights from Zaza’s community mediation, which I believe have useful applications for the peace mediation field, namely regarding power, entry points and mediation success.

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Business and Finance CSS Blog

Warren Buffett confronts the US-China rivalry

Image courtesy of REUTERS/Scott Morgan, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett (left) and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger are seen at the annual Berkshire shareholder shopping day in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 3, 2019.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s annual shareholder meeting, which is often called “Woodstock for capitalists,” is an occasion for tens of thousands of the company’s shareholders to descend upon Omaha, Nebraska, to hear famed investor Warren Buffett and his longtime business partner, Charlie Munger, offer their assessments of the company’s recent performance and of broader trends in the economy and politics. This year’s meeting, which convened on May 6, came at a time when aspects of Berkshire’s recent investment strategy have run headlong into a geopolitical storm arising from the intensifying US-China rivalry.

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Cyber CSS Blog

From natural hazards to cyber resilience: Moving beyond traditional risk analysis

Image: The Concept of Embodied Uncertainty as visualized by Sword-Daniels et al. (2018)

Affluence and vulnerability are often seen as opposite sides of a coin – with affluence generally understood as reducing forms of vulnerability through increased resilience and adaptive capacity. However, during the past ten years, my research with a range of colleagues has consistently highlighted the need to re-examine this dynamic relationship in the context of climate change, natural hazards, and associated disasters. A new collaboration recently provided an opportunity to develop this work further, by applying resilience thinking from the realm of disaster research to another pressing research topic: cyber security.

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CSS Blog

Mediation Perspectives: MSN Commentary on the UN Guidance on Mediation of Ceasefires

Image courtesy of the National Library of Scotland / Flickr, Open air cookery near Miraumont-le-Grand, Western Front, during World War I.

Mediation Perspectives is a regular series of blog contributions by the CSS Mediation Support Team and occasional guest authors.

In this blog, we discuss what ceasefires are and how they related to peace mediation. The Mediation Support Network (MSN) met online on the 16th of February 2023 to discuss the recently published UN DPPA “Guidance on Mediation of Ceasefires”. After reflecting on key points from the Guidance, the MSN members grappled with the questions: what insights and challenges do MSN members face in their work related to ceasefires? What are the gaps and ideas that might carry the Guidance forward?

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CSS Blog

Mediation Perspectives: MSN Commentary on the UN Practice Note on Climate Change and Peace Processes

Image courtesy of Joanne Francis / Unsplash

Mediation Perspectives is a regular series of blog contributions by the CSS Mediation Support Team and occasional guest authors.

In this blog, we discuss the implications of climate change for peace mediation. Members of the Mediation Support Network (MSN) met recently to discuss a UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Practice Note on “The Implications of Climate Change for Mediation and Peace Processes”.