Intercultural communication and conflict resolution : The case of Darfur

Abstract

The cultural turn in the social sciences has highlighted the importance of understanding the cultural aspects of phenomena being studied in various disciplines because it serves to provide more nuance and depth to discourse and debates. Intercultural communication theory further provides arguments for the importance of considering culture when facilitating communication between multiple cultures because of the complexities that culture adds to the dynamics in mediation. In tandem, decolonial perspectives debate the need to decentralise western/Eurocentric knowledge and practices in mediation, and to construct mediation from context-specific knowledge that will contribute to the effectiveness and appropriateness of the process, especially in cases on intercultural communication and mediation. The Abuja 2005 mediation process on the Darfur conflict provides an illustration of the importance of cultural consideration and of moving away from ‘universal’ ideas in mediation. The research will use an interpretivist paradigm, following a qualitative approach, and interviews will be conducted as the primary form of data collection.