Transformative Dialogue - by Erik Cleven & Judith Saul

About the Book

Transformative dialogue is a process that allows participants to make decisions about the content, process, and outcomes of dialogue, as well as who will participate, and it can be an effective response to group and community conflict. This book focuses on the many ways of organizing and facilitating transformative dialogue in conflict resolution.

Book Synopsis

Dialogue can be an effective response to group and community conflict. This book focuses on the many ways of organizing and facilitating transformative dialogue in conflict resolution. Erik Cleven and Judith Saul bring together an international array of experts to provide an introduction to transformative dialogue in conflict resolution work and show its application in a variety of contexts and challenging cases.

Transformative dialogue is a process that allows participants to make decisions about the content, process, and outcomes of dialogue, as well as who will participate. It puts the agency and self-determination of participants at the center while allowing facilitators to co-create dialogue with members of organizations and communities. It also centers on the importance of changes in the quality of interaction between participants since these relational changes are at the heart of dialogue.

This book articulates core values that guide the practice of a transformative facilitator and shows how transformative dialogue works in a variety of contexts to support peace and justice.

Review Quotes

This is a valuable book for anyone who wants to understand non-directive group interventions, with convincing and detailed illustrations across diverse settings. It offers a much-needed counterpoint to the belief that only substantive experts can facilitate meaningful change.

This powerful book highlights the transformative impact of community-driven dialogue. Through stories from around the world, the contributors show how co-created conversations foster healing, empathy, and agency-whether in addressing racial divides, family crises, or police reform. For anyone seeking to harness the power of voice to strengthen communities, Transformative Dialogue is an inspiring and invaluable guide.

About the Author

Erik Cleven, Ph.D., is professor of international relations and comparative politics at Saint Anselm College, specializing in the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) efforts to transform political violence and conflict to peace through transformative dialogue. For many years, he worked in high-conflict areas including Yugoslavia, the North Caucasus, and Central and East Africa, using dialogue to transform conflict. His current research focuses on transnational terrorism's connections to press freedom and press attention. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation (ISCT).

Judith A. Saul is mediator and facilitator of the Community Dispute Resolution Centers Program of the Unified Court System of the State of New York, and a roster member of the United States Institute of Environmental Conflict Resolution. She is a Fellow of and serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation (ISCT). She formerly taught a