"If someone responds to your negotiation offer with a fist, it is almost impossible to resist responding in kind."

Colin Rule posts in his blog about what he states are the very clear limits of non-violence.

I responded that we have no real choice but to continue to find other ways to avoid the classic cycle of provocation and escalation. But just what would that take, and just who has the alternative?

Is it enough for bloggers to continue to post in their optimism without having plans or solutions or are such hopes nothing more than trite sentimentality?

I don't pretend to have the answer to resolve the plight set out in the article that Colin links to but that uncertainty is all part of the process within dispute resolution or management. It is one reason why the indulgence in conflict is so attractive because at least it is certain and we know the rules, even if we cannot fully anticipate the fallout.

It is not for us as observers to impose solutions upon the parties involved. Instead what is required is a means of referring to suitable services so that all the matters can be explored. The full range of conflict, of differences between the parties need to be communicated and acknowledged before anyone can start even contemplating solutions that might fit.

It is a temptation, always, to respond in kind when we feel provoked. I address this temptation to some extent in an article below "...But conflict feels so good". We don't have to have all the answers. What we need is the will and conviction to carry on searching for other ways to resolve issues such as these and the skills and enthusiasm to encourage others to do the same.

I have mentioned De Bono's book called Conflict below. In that book De Bono suggests an International body working on possible solutions. This could have been just the kind of scenario he had in mind.