NEW DIRECTIONS FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, NO. 102, SUMMER 2004 © WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

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Foreword

FOR THE PAST forty years, I have worked to improve the way thatpeople deal with their differences. I was inspired by the awful con-sequences of World War II. After spending several years in the U.S.Army Air Force during the war, I returned home to discover thatmy roommate, two of my close friends, and many classmates hadbeen killed in that war. I remember thinking to myself, “There hasto be a better way for people to deal with their differences.”

At the Harvard Negotiation Project, we developed interest-basednegotiation, a collaborative approach to negotiation. In essence, webelieve that peace is more than a piece of paper; it is a process fordealing nonviolently with differences. Rather than arguing overpositions, people in conflict can come to understand one another’sinterests and work collaboratively to deal with them. Effectivenegotiation can generate mutually satisfying agreements withoutthe need for any party to “give in” to the demands of the other.

The interest-based approach has been captured in a widely cir-culated book I coauthored: Getting to YES: Negotiating AgreementWithout Giving In. The approach has been put to use in internationalrelations, labor-management disputes, and even marital conflict.

Young people around the globe urgently need to learn the skillsof dealing with differences. With the end of the Cold War, ourworld has changed. Terrorism and civil conflict destabilize each ofthe major continents. The power of young people to change ourworld was never more possible, or more important. They need tolearn nonviolent ways to deal with their differences.

For the past several years, I have been coauthoring a book withDaniel Shapiro that focuses on how to deal with emotions in nego-tiation. I have embraced that project out of a belief in the power

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of the human dimension of negotiation. More than ever before,we need effective methods of coping with conflict that help peo-ple build constructive relationships and manage their emotionseffectively.

It is with that backdrop that my colleagues Daniel Shapiro andBrooke Clayton have put together this urgently needed issue ofNew Directions for Youth Development. The chapters in this issueillustrate some of the innovative approaches being used around theworld to help people deal with differences. What I find mostimpressive is the emphasis in each chapter on the importance ofrelationships. Whether in Burundi or Northern Ireland, there isgreat power in the ability to turn adversaries into colleagues work-ing together side by side.

I strongly recommend this issue for anyone who has a desire tochange the world for the better.

Roger Fisher

roger fisher is Professor Emeritus, Harvard Law School, and directorof the Harvard Negotiation Project.