by Ilan Kelman (2011)
"When an earthquake hits a war zone or cyclone aid is flown in by an enemy, many ask: Can catastrophe bring peace? Disaster prevention and mitigation provide similar questions. Could setting up a flood warning system bring enemy countries together? Could a regional earthquake building code set the groundwork for wider regional cooperation? "This book examines how and why disaster-related activities do and do not create peace and reduce conflict. Disaster-related activities refer to actions before a disaster such as prevention and mitigation along with actions after a disaster such as emergency response, humanitarian relief, and reconstruction. This volume investigates disaster diplomacy case studies from around the world, in a variety of political and disaster circumstances, from earthquakes in Greece and Turkey affecting these neighbours' bilateral relations to volcanoes and typhoons influencing intra-state conflict in the Philippines. Dictatorships are amongst the case studies, such as Cuba and Burma, along with democracies such as the USA and India. No evidence is found to suggest that disaster diplomacy is a prominent factor in conflict resolution. Instead, disaster-related activities often influence peace processes in the short-term - over weeks and months - provided that a non-disaster-related basis already existed for the reconciliation. That could be secret negotiations between the warring parties or strong trade or cultural links. Over the long-term, disaster-related influences disappear, succumbing to factors such as a leadership change, the usual patterns of political enmity, or belief that an historical grievance should take precedence over disaster-related bonds. "This is the first book on disaster diplomacy. Disaster-politics interactions have been studied for decades, but usually from a specific political framing, covering a specific geographical area, or from a specific disaster framing. As well, plenty of quantitative work has been completed, yet the data limitations are rarely admitted openly or thoroughly analysed. Few publications bring together the topics of disasters and politics in terms of a disaster diplomacy framework, yielding a grounded, qualitative, scientific point of view on the topic."-- Publisher description.
Ernesto Verdeja
"[Book title] addresses the core concept of respect at four different social levels--political, institutional, civil society, and interpersonal--to explain the promise and challenges of securing reconciliaton and broader social regeneration."--Book jacket.
Edgar Papke
""When leaders fail to confront conflict, they become the 'biggest elephant' in the room." In a survey of more than 4,000 CEOs, executives, and managers, more than 90 percent admitted they were uncomfortable confronting or engaging in conflict. Yet leaders must realize that every conflict presents an opportunity to reach higher levels of performance. In The Elephant in the Boardroom, award-winning leadership psychologist Edgar Papke explores the unique and challenging relationship that leaders have with conflict, and offers the know-how needed to use conflict as the engine of innovation and creativity. As a result, you will learn how to act courageously and be better equipped to lead and win in today's complex and turbulent world. The Elephant in the Boardroom will help you: Better understand the unique relationship leaders have with conflict. Gain the self-knowledge required to confront conflict and attain higher levels of leadership performance. Learn how to foster cultures of openness and higher accountability. Identify the sources of dysfunctional conflict to create constructive change effectively. Learn to use a proven, seven-step model for effectively managing and leveraging conflict. Are you ready to confront the "big elephant in the room," and manage the elephants living and thriving in your organization?"--
Pat Caplan
Are disputes ever really resolved, or do people need to find ways of accommodating them and living with the consequences? Can dispute settlement procedures at the local level be transferred to wider environments? In attempting to answer these questions, some of the foremost specialists in the anthropology of law and disputing behaviour examine how people in a variety of social settings, ranging from Ireland to East Africa, deal with quarrels and seek to resolve or accommodate them. This stimulating volume should be of interest to anyone concerned about the huge increase in conflict in many parts of the world.
Ivan Robertson and Cary Cooper
High levels of psychological well-being amongst employees translate into good news for the organization, including lower sickness-absence levels, attraction and retention of talented people, and more satisfied customers, clients, or service users. People with higher levels of psychological well-being work better, live longer and have happier lives. Engagement and well-being can sustain each other and lead to a healthier and more productive organization, a win-win for employees and employers. - jacket flap.