Chapter 6 Conflict Circles: Practical Experimentation with Derivations of Restorative Circles in U.S. Intentional Communities
-
Alyson Ewald
Abstract
The practice of Restorative Circles, a community-based way of engaging with conflict, was originally developed in Brazil, and has now spread around the world. The concept of Restorative Circles has been implemented in the U.S. in ways that do not always reflect its key principles, such as designing its systemic aspects endogenously by the community U.S. intentional communities are among the groups experimenting with Restorative Circles. This chapter explores our attempts to design restorative systems in several such communities without close adherence to the principle of producing the system and its practices endogenously. We examine how these attempts to apply a structure largely imported from outside the community led to the initial success but the eventual collapse of the system. We also review our later efforts to work with intentional communities that strive to adhere more closely to this principle of endogenous community-sourced restorative system design.
Abstract
The practice of Restorative Circles, a community-based way of engaging with conflict, was originally developed in Brazil, and has now spread around the world. The concept of Restorative Circles has been implemented in the U.S. in ways that do not always reflect its key principles, such as designing its systemic aspects endogenously by the community U.S. intentional communities are among the groups experimenting with Restorative Circles. This chapter explores our attempts to design restorative systems in several such communities without close adherence to the principle of producing the system and its practices endogenously. We examine how these attempts to apply a structure largely imported from outside the community led to the initial success but the eventual collapse of the system. We also review our later efforts to work with intentional communities that strive to adhere more closely to this principle of endogenous community-sourced restorative system design.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Foreword V
- Contents VII
- An Overview of the Book and a Short Review of the Theoretical Framework 1
-
Part 1: Theory and research
- Chapter 1 Community Building Meets Conflict Transformation: An Integrated Approach 13
- Chapter 2 Man’s Best Friend? Dogs and Social Conflict in the Israeli Kibbutz 43
- Chapter 3 After all, we are one community: Conflicts between the kibbutz and its new extension neighborhood residents as a reflection of changes in the social field 61
- Chapter 4 Ideological conflicts and their resolution in the kibbutz movement 1948–1956 87
-
Part 2: Practical approaches to conflict resolution in intentional communities
- Chapter 5 Consensus building in communities 109
- Chapter 6 Conflict Circles: Practical Experimentation with Derivations of Restorative Circles in U.S. Intentional Communities 125
- Chapter 7 Cultural Context and Conflict in Intentional Communities 139
- Chapter 8 Power-With Instead of Power-Over: Preventing and Addressing Conflict in Communities with Sociocracy 151
- Contributors 165
- Index 167
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Foreword V
- Contents VII
- An Overview of the Book and a Short Review of the Theoretical Framework 1
-
Part 1: Theory and research
- Chapter 1 Community Building Meets Conflict Transformation: An Integrated Approach 13
- Chapter 2 Man’s Best Friend? Dogs and Social Conflict in the Israeli Kibbutz 43
- Chapter 3 After all, we are one community: Conflicts between the kibbutz and its new extension neighborhood residents as a reflection of changes in the social field 61
- Chapter 4 Ideological conflicts and their resolution in the kibbutz movement 1948–1956 87
-
Part 2: Practical approaches to conflict resolution in intentional communities
- Chapter 5 Consensus building in communities 109
- Chapter 6 Conflict Circles: Practical Experimentation with Derivations of Restorative Circles in U.S. Intentional Communities 125
- Chapter 7 Cultural Context and Conflict in Intentional Communities 139
- Chapter 8 Power-With Instead of Power-Over: Preventing and Addressing Conflict in Communities with Sociocracy 151
- Contributors 165
- Index 167
