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1987 Mediation Q. 75 (1987)
The Dynamics of Power in Mediation and Negotiation

handle is hein.journals/cfltrq1987 and id is 255 raw text is: What influence can mediators exert to promote agreement, and are there ethical constraints to the exercise of this power? The Dynamics of Power in Mediation and Negotiation Bernard Mayer For people in the business of solving disputes in a collaborative manner, power is sometimes viewed as a dirty word. Power is equated with coercion, a noncooperative spirit, and a breakdown in communication. Yet power also provides the motivation for collaboration and defines the range of settlement options available to the parties. Power is a factor in all interpersonal rela- tions, and it has a significant effect on even the most cooperative dispute- resolution process. All negotiators have some power or influence over other parties and use this influence to pursue their goals. People who have no source of power in regard to a dispute do not have to be dealt with or taken into consideration and are therefore not a party to the conflict. Mediators are also invested with a great deal of power by the medi- ation process. Whether or not they consciously choose to exercise it, media- tors inevitably use their influence at every point of the intervention. This is neither good nor bad; rather, it is a necessary consequence of the struc- ture of the intervenor's role in conflict resolution. What mediators can choose is whether to exercise this power in a deliberate way and with a specific purpose. An awareness of the ways in which power impacts negotiation and mediation is crucial to the conflict resolver. In order to help parties reach a settlement, the intervenor must understand the nature of power as it is C. W. Moore (ed.). Practical Strategies for the Phases of Mediation. Mediation Quarterly, no. 16. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Summer 1987. 75

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