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Article published In: Dialogue in institutional settings
Edited by Franca Orletti and Letizia Caronia
[Language and Dialogue 9:1] 2019
► pp. 84–105

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Dialogical power negotiations in conflict mediation

 | Università della Svizzera italiana (Switzerland)
Published online: 5 July 2019
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ld.00033.bij
Abstract
In this study, mediator – party power dynamics in workplace disputes mediation dialogues are examined. Adopting Gramsci’s concept of hegemony (e.g. Gramsci, Antonio. 2005. Selections from Prison Writings, ed. and transl. by Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey N. Smith. London: Lawrence & Wishart.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) and Foucault′s notion that power is not fixed in dialogues, but constantly negotiated by participants (e.g. . 1980. Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972–1977, ed. by Colin Gordon, transl. by Colin Gordon et al. New York: Pantheon.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), the analyses show that the power dynamics shift in the mediation setting when mediators subordinate dominant parties and enforce their own formalized power as procedural guides to design (Aakhus, Mark. 2003. “Neither naïve nor critical reconstruction: Dispute mediators, impasse, and the design of argumentation.” Argumentation 17(3): 265–290. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, . 2007. “Communication as design.” Communication Monographs 74(1): 112–117. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) a favorable context for conflict resolution. When their procedural power is threatened, mediators may use specific devices in their interventions that correlate with the four devices – interruption, enforcing explicitness, topic control, and formulation – Fairclough (Fairclough, Norman. 1989. Discourse and Power. London: Longman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, 135–137) states can be used by dominant participants to control weaker parties in dialogues.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Power, institutionalized discourse, and power asymmetries
    • 2.1Power
    • 2.2Institutionalized discourse and power asymmetries
    • 2.3Types of power asymmetries in workplace disputes
      • 2.3.1Party versus party negotiation
      • 2.3.2Party versus mediator (re)negotiation
  • 3.The four devices
  • 4.Data: Collection and treatment
  • 5.Case context
    • 5.1New board and old church
    • 5.2New laws and old habits
  • 6.Power device analyses
    • 6.1Power negotiations
    • 6.2Power device combinations
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (41)
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