Two concepts that are important for adaptive mediation are resilience and self-organisation. In complex social systems, the resilience to withstand shocks and challenges grows as social institutions develop increasingly complex forms of self-organisation, which distributes and dilutes vulnerability across a network of interdependent parts. In a mediation context, self- organisation refers to a stage in a mediation process when the parties recognise their interdependence, and when they start to work collaboratively towards mutually acceptable agreements.
Agreements reached through self-organised mediation are more resilient because the ownership is distributed among all the participants who co-created it.
The South African case is an example of self-organised mediation. The talks broke down on several occasions due to various setbacks, such as violent massacres or the inability to find common ground on certain particularly challenging issues.
However, the relationships that had developed among the parties were resilient enough to enable them to find ways to resume talks and ultimately reach an agreement. Adaptive mediation challenges mediators to accentuate rather than constrain the agency and interdependence of the parties.
It focuses more on process or means rather than preconceived ends, and contrasts with top-down approaches that promote the adoption of pre-existing international standards, norms and models. An Ada ptive Approach to Conflict Analyses, Planning and the Assessment of Results It is widely recognised that mediation planning needs to be informed by comprehensive conflict analyses. A prevailing assumption is that if one applies a reputable methodology, conflict analysis will enable the mediation team to identify the contextual components necessary to formulate an effective peacemaking strategy and tactics.
