Facilitated Processes: Expanding the Boundaries of Peace and Conflict Studies
Institutional Affiliation
University of Manitoba
Start Date
January 2026
End Date
January 2026
Proposal Type
Presentation
Proposal Format
On-campus
Proposal Description
This paper introduces facilitated processes as a unifying conceptual framework that encompasses a spectrum of dialogic and participatory practices central to peacebuilding. These include both established approaches in PACS, such as problem-solving workshops (John Burton) and interactive conflict resolution (Ronald Fisher) and under-theorized practice-based methods that have yet to be extensively theorized within academic discourse, including Nonviolent Communication, the Circle Process, Deep Democracy, the Circle Way, and the Art of Hosting. Despite their widespread use in transforming interpersonal, communal, and systemic conflicts, these practices remain marginalized in scholarly discussions. Drawing on transformative learning theory and the framework of emancipatory peacebuilding, this paper argues that facilitated processes foster inner transformation, relational awareness, and collective meaning-making through structured dialogue. They operate across levels of conflict, from interpersonal healing to systemic change, as seen in applications ranging from restorative justice and community reconciliation to deliberative democracy and inclusive policymaking. By surfacing often-marginalized knowledge and practitioner-based innovations, this paper seeks to expand the epistemological boundaries of PACS and re-center embodied, dialogic, and facilitative practices as foundational to sustainable peacebuilding.
Facilitated Processes: Expanding the Boundaries of Peace and Conflict Studies
This paper introduces facilitated processes as a unifying conceptual framework that encompasses a spectrum of dialogic and participatory practices central to peacebuilding. These include both established approaches in PACS, such as problem-solving workshops (John Burton) and interactive conflict resolution (Ronald Fisher) and under-theorized practice-based methods that have yet to be extensively theorized within academic discourse, including Nonviolent Communication, the Circle Process, Deep Democracy, the Circle Way, and the Art of Hosting. Despite their widespread use in transforming interpersonal, communal, and systemic conflicts, these practices remain marginalized in scholarly discussions. Drawing on transformative learning theory and the framework of emancipatory peacebuilding, this paper argues that facilitated processes foster inner transformation, relational awareness, and collective meaning-making through structured dialogue. They operate across levels of conflict, from interpersonal healing to systemic change, as seen in applications ranging from restorative justice and community reconciliation to deliberative democracy and inclusive policymaking. By surfacing often-marginalized knowledge and practitioner-based innovations, this paper seeks to expand the epistemological boundaries of PACS and re-center embodied, dialogic, and facilitative practices as foundational to sustainable peacebuilding.