Realizing the promise of dialogue: Transformative dialogue in divided communities

This article introduces an approach to conflict transformation called transformative dialogue. Building on transformative theory, it differs from other approaches in two important ways. First, it sees the ethical relation to conflict parties as of primary importance, taking priority over any analysis or conceptualization of conflict. Second, transformative dialogue posits a different relationship between conflict analysis and practice. Rather than prioritizing a particular mode of analysis, transformative dialogue starts from the primacy of human agency, prioritizing people's own experience and ways of understanding their conflicts. In this way, transformative dialogue addresses many of the weaknesses in current peacebuilding models.