Argumentation in Dispute Mediation

A reasonable way to handle conflict

Sara Greco | USI - University of Lugano

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027211200 | EUR 95.00 | USD 143.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027287274 | EUR 95.00 | USD 143.00

The context of mediation immediately highlights the importance of argumentation as a means to reasonably handle conflict. Argumentation in dispute mediation tackles this topic providing both theoretical insights and detailed empirical argumentative analysis. Its goal is twofold: to explore mediation as a real-life context of argumentation and to show how an increased argumentative awareness could improve conflict resolution.
Particular emphasis is accorded to mapping mediation through an interdisciplinary reasoned review of existing accounts. The outline of a conceptual framework of mediation constitutes a solid basis for the study of argumentation in mediation. The argumentative analysis of a corpus of mediation cases, based on the pragma-dialectical account and the Argumentum Model of Topics, shows the mediator’s moves which actually help conflicting parties discuss reasonably. The mediator’s topical potential plays a crucial role in this relation at the levels of issue selection, evoking of cultural-contextual premises and choice of argument schemes.

[Argumentation in Context, 3] 2011. xii, 291 pp.

Publishing status: Available

https://doi.org/10.1075/aic.3

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements | pp. xi–xii

Chapter 1. Argumentation in mediation | pp. 1–12

Chapter 2. Mediation as a context of argumentative interactions | pp. 13–48

Chapter 3. Mapping mediation: A necessary prerequisite to the argumentative analysis | pp. 49–78

Chapter 4. Towards an ontology-oriented conceptual framework of mediation | pp. 79–112

Chapter 5. The argumentative perspective: An integrated ontology-oriented framework of mediation | pp. 113–146

Chapter 6. Results of the argumentative analysis: Responses to the research questions and exceeding evidence | pp. 147–256

Chapter 7. Conclusive remarks | pp. 257–268

References | pp. 269–284

Annex List of interviewed professionals | pp. 285–286

Index of authors | pp. 287–288

Index of terms | pp. 289–292

“Sara Greco-Morasso is a prominent member of a group of young scholars that are spearheading research into the role of argumentation in a variety of concrete social, cultural and professional contexts and practices. Her book on the role of argumentation in mediation shines for theoretical finesse and for attention to detail in examining real practices and authentic conversational data. The palette of theoretical and methodological tools put to good use in the book is impressive, and most notably includes the use of lexical semantics in the clarification of key domain terms (like conflict) and the application of loci (topics) to the analysis of the inferential configurations of the arguments used by mediators.
With this sensitive and well informed book, argumentation quietly reclaims a domain that is naturally its own: the use of reason in dialogue to restore jeopardized relationships.”

Andrea Rocci, Università Della Svizzera Italiana (USI)

“A specific strength of this brilliant work is the very refined analysis of conflicts in their argumentative but also human, emotional as well as cognitive dimensions. In the actual practice of conflict resolution, these elements mutually scaffold each other for better or for worse. The reader will find a very detailed account of how the process of argumentation is co-constructed in the context of dispute mediation. In other words, this book re-reads the tenets of conflict resolution from a communicative viewpoint, showing how the fundamental principles of mediation are realized by means of the mediator’s contribution to the parties’ argumentative discussion. The consideration of the disputants' interests (guaranteed by the mediator) builds the necessary trust for them to shift from conflict to cooperation and opens the way to enter into a sound argumentative process. The mediator's argumentative awareness is a key-element in this respect: it enhances the possibility to reframe the problem and helps the parties build a creative solution to their problem. This very well informed book will fascinate all those who are interested in understanding argumentation and conflict mediation in context.”

Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont, University of Neuchâtel

“ Argumentation in Dispute Mediation is an excellent contribution to the research on argumentation in context. Sara Greco Morasso constructs a robust theoretical model that explains the mechanism of successful mediation: the structuring of argumentation. The book provides a detailed empirical account of how the arguments made by mediators contribute to the repair and restoration of our most important relationships.”

Darrin Hicks, University of Denver, in Journal of Argumentation in Context, Vol. 1:2 (2012)

Cited by (68)

Cited by 68 other publications

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Bates, Carolina Figueras

2024. The Effect of Empathic Mediation in Conflict Resolution. In Accessing the Public Sphere, ► pp. 113 ff.

Figueras Bates, Carolina

2024. Conflict resolution in online mental health support groups. Language and Dialogue 14:2 ► pp. 239 ff.

Greco, Sara, Sara Cigada & Chiara Jermini-Martinez Soria

2024. The naming of emotions in dispute mediators’ strategic manoeuvring: a case study using a French language corpus. Text & Talk 44:1 ► pp. 25 ff.

Cooren, François, Boris H. J. M. Brummans & Lise Higham

2023. “You’re putting words in my mouth!”: Interaction as mutual ventriloquation. Communication Research and Practice 9:1 ► pp. 44 ff.

van Eemeren, Frans & Bart Garssen

2023. A functional diversity of argumentative styles. Discourse Studies 25:4 ► pp. 510 ff.

Zhang, Xian & Yanbiao Dong

2023. Constructing mediator identities through questioning in Chinese televised mediation. Discourse Studies 25:3 ► pp. 430 ff.

Brummans, Boris HJM, Lise Higham & François Cooren

2022. The work of conflict mediation: Actors, vectors, and communicative relationality. Human Relations 75:4 ► pp. 764 ff.

Greco, Sara & Chiara Jermini-Martinez Soria

2021. Mediators’ reframing as a constitutive element of a reconciliatory argumentative style. Journal of Argumentation in Context 10:1 ► pp. 73 ff.

DE GIOIA, Michele & Ioannis KANELLOS

2020. Cooperative meta-mediation in semantics of terms: a system for studying and presenting the meanings of lexical items in different domains of occurrence. Écho des études romanes 16:1 ► pp. 5 ff.

Feng, Wenjing & Xinren Chen

2020. Identity (self-)deconstruction in Chinese police’s civil conflict mediation. Pragmatics. Quarterly Publication of the International Pragmatics Association (IPrA) 30:3 ► pp. 326 ff.

Bijnen, Emma van

2019. Dialogical power negotiations in conflict mediation. Language and Dialogue 9:1 ► pp. 84 ff.

Rigotti, Eddo & Sara Greco

2019. Cicero’s Topica and the Establishment of the Topical Tradition by Boethius. In Inference in Argumentation [Argumentation Library, 34], ► pp. 59 ff.

Rigotti, Eddo & Sara Greco

2019. Aristotle’s Research on Topics: The Foundation of the Study of Inference in Argumentation. In Inference in Argumentation [Argumentation Library, 34], ► pp. 3 ff.

Rigotti, Eddo & Sara Greco

2019. Analysis and Evaluation of Arguments in Context. In Inference in Argumentation [Argumentation Library, 34], ► pp. 285 ff.

Rigotti, Eddo & Sara Greco

2019. Advanced Theoretical Perspectives and Open Questions. In Inference in Argumentation [Argumentation Library, 34], ► pp. 247 ff.

Rigotti, Eddo & Sara Greco

2019. The Inferential Configuration of Arguments: The Argumentum Model of Topics. In Inference in Argumentation [Argumentation Library, 34], ► pp. 207 ff.

Agapiou, Andrew

2018. Mediating Planning Disputes: Opportunities, Experiences, and Challenges. Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction 10:3

Greco, Sara, Rebecca Schär, Chiara Pollaroli & Chiara Mercuri

2018. Adding a temporal dimension to the analysis of argumentative discourse: Justified reframing as a means of turning a single-issue discussion into a complex argumentative discussion. Discourse Studies 20:6 ► pp. 726 ff.

Musi, Elena & Mark Aakhus

2018. Discovering Argumentative Patterns in Energy Polylogues: A Macroscope for Argument Mining. Argumentation 32:3 ► pp. 397 ff.

Rocci, Andrea & Chiara Pollaroli

2018. Introduction: Multimodality in argumentation . Semiotica 2018:220 ► pp. 1 ff.

Schär, Rebecca & Sara Greco

2018. The Emergence of Issues in Everyday Discussions Between Adults and Children. International Journal of Semiotics and Visual Rhetoric 2:1 ► pp. 29 ff.

van Bijnen, Emma & Sara Greco

2018. Divide to unite. Journal of Argumentation in Context 7:3 ► pp. 285 ff.

Zampa, Marta & Marina Bletsas

2018. On the production of a multimodal news item: An argumentative approach . Semiotica 2018:220 ► pp. 155 ff.

Bova, Antonio, Francesco Arcidiacono & Fabrice Clément

2017. Chapter 11. The transmission of what is taken for granted in children’s socialization. In Argumentation across Communities of Practice [Argumentation in Context, 10], ► pp. 259 ff.

Greco, Sara

2017. Using Argumentative Tools to Understand Inner Dialogue. Argumentation 31:2 ► pp. 331 ff.

Greco, Sara, Teuta Mehmeti & Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont

2017. Do adult-children dialogical interactions leave space for a full development of argumentation?. Journal of Argumentation in Context 6:2 ► pp. 193 ff.

Janier, Mathilde & Chris Reed

2017. Towards a Theory of Close Analysis for Dispute Mediation Discourse. Argumentation 31:1 ► pp. 45 ff.

Janier, Mathilde & Chris Reed

2017. I didn’t say that! Uses of SAY in mediation discourse. Discourse Studies 19:6 ► pp. 619 ff.

Vasilyeva, Alena L

2017. Practices of topic and dialogue activity management in dispute mediation. Discourse Studies 19:3 ► pp. 341 ff.

Vasilyeva, Alena L.

2016. Interpersonal-Communication and Language-and-Social-Interaction Approaches to Studying Conflict. TIPA. Travaux interdisciplinaires sur la parole et le langage :32

Vasilyeva, Alena L.

2016. Confrontation and collaboration in the course of the election debate. Language and Dialogue 6:3 ► pp. 370 ff.

Vasilyeva, Alena L.

2017. The Role of References in Custody Mediation. TIPA. Travaux interdisciplinaires sur la parole et le langage :33

Vasilyeva, Alena L.

2017. Strategic maneuvering in dispute mediation. Argumentation and Advocacy 53:3 ► pp. 234 ff.

Vasilyeva, Alena L.

2021. Constructing disagreement space. Language and Dialogue 11:3 ► pp. 379 ff.

Vasilyeva, Alena L.

2023. Debaters’ actions to manage interaction in the context of the debate talk show. Language and Dialogue 13:2 ► pp. 229 ff.

Vasilyeva, Alena L.

2024. Framing interactivity in complex communication of debate talk show. Language and Dialogue 14:3 ► pp. 473 ff.

Wildfeuer, Janina & Chiara Pollaroli

2017. Chapter 7. Seeing the untold. In Multimodal Argumentation and Rhetoric in Media Genres [Argumentation in Context, 14], ► pp. 190 ff.

Andone, Corina & Andrea Rocci

2016. Argumentation in journalism: Professional practices and the public sphere. Journal of Argumentation in Context 5:1 ► pp. 1 ff.

Palmieri, Rudi & Sabrina Mazzali-Lurati

2016. Multiple Audiences as Text Stakeholders: A Conceptual Framework for Analyzing Complex Rhetorical Situations. Argumentation 30:4 ► pp. 467 ff.

Palmieri, Rudi & Sabrina Mazzali-Lurati

2017. Practical reasoning in corporate communication with multiple audiences. Journal of Argumentation in Context 6:2 ► pp. 167 ff.

Palmieri, Rudi & Johanna Miecznikowski

2016. Predictions in economic-financial news. Journal of Argumentation in Context 5:1 ► pp. 48 ff.

Porto López, Pablo & Cristián Santibáñez

2016. Argumentación e imagen periodística en la evaluación axiológica del desempeño de la función pública. Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación 65 ► pp. 291 ff.

Bova, Antonio

2015. Adult as a source of expert opinion in child’s argumentation during family mealtime conversations. Journal of Argumentation in Context 4:1 ► pp. 4 ff.

Bova, Antonio

2015. “This is the cheese bought by Grandpa”. Journal of Argumentation in Context 4:2 ► pp. 133 ff.

Bova, Antonio

2020. Un estudio de los argumentos de autoridad utilizados por los padres con sus hijos durante las comidas. Revista Iberoamericana de Argumentación :19 ► pp. 1 ff.

Perret-Clermont, Anne-Nelly

2015. The Architecture of Social Relationships and Thinking Spaces for Growth. In Social Relations in Human and Societal Development, ► pp. 51 ff.

Pollaroli, Chiara & Andrea Rocci

2015. The argumentative relevance of pictorial and multimodal metaphor in advertising. Journal of Argumentation in Context 4:2 ► pp. 158 ff.

van Eemeren, Frans H.

2015. Bingo! Promising Developments in Argumentation Theory. In Reflections on Theoretical Issues in Argumentation Theory [Argumentation Library, 28], ► pp. 3 ff.

van Eemeren, Frans H.

2015. In Reasonableness. In Reasonableness and Effectiveness in Argumentative Discourse [Argumentation Library, 27], ► pp. 223 ff.

van Eemeren, Frans H.

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van Eemeren, Frans H.

2015. Strategic maneuvering in argumentative discourse in political deliberation. In Argumentation in Political Deliberation [Benjamins Current Topics, 76], ► pp. 11 ff.

van Eemeren, Frans H.

2018. Pragma-Dialectics Amidst Other Approaches to Argumentation. In Argumentation Theory: A Pragma-Dialectical Perspective [Argumentation Library, 33], ► pp. 169 ff.

Palmieri, Rudi & Eddo Rigotti

2014. Suspicion as an argumentative move. Journal of Argumentation in Context 3:3 ► pp. 287 ff.

Bova, Antonio & Francesco Arcidiacono

2013. Invoking the Authority of Feelings as a Strategic Maneuver in Family Mealtime Conversations. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology 23:3 ► pp. 206 ff.

Miserez Caperos, Celine

2013. Review of Macedo (): The development of children’s argument skills. Journal of Argumentation in Context 2:2 ► pp. 267 ff.

Miserez-Caperos, Céline

2019. Francesco Arcidiacono & Antonio Bova (2017). Interpersonal argumentation in educational and professional contexts . Journal of Argumentation in Context 8:3 ► pp. 392 ff.

Rocci, Andrea & Marta Zampa

2013. Peter A. Cramer: Controversy as News Discourse. Argumentation 27:3 ► pp. 327 ff.

van Eemeren, Frans H., Bart Garssen, Erik C. W. Krabbe, A. Francisca Snoeck Henkemans, Bart Verheij & Jean H. M. Wagemans

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