The Role Of Culture And Communication In Mediation 2nd Edition. Understanding Culture And Communication In Negotiation

I am exceedingly delighted to write a Preface to the second edition of this important and compelling book, The Role Of Culture And Communication In Mediation 2nd Edition by Edward Dzerinyuy Bello. Culture has been defined as the aggregate or sum total of the values, mores, worldviews, and philosophy of life of a people. This means that culture is critical to the construction of the identity of a people as it crystallises their hopes and aspirations, affirms their distinctiveness as a group and offers them a foothold in life.
Culture, therefore, constitutes the bedrock or foundation on which a people or group builds and finds meaning to their essence and existence. Culture is also strategic to communication which is language in action. We are rational beings because we communicate intelligently and coherently. Language is the veritable vehicle through which culture is communicated and transmitted from generation to generation.
This is what separates humanity from other lesser creatures and demarcates the boundary between nature and culture. Both culture and communication play a key and decisive role in mediation which is the art of exercising prudent judgement with the aim of resolving conflicts and enhancing mutual understanding. This book covers these key themes of culture, communication, and mediation in a salutary and commendable manner.
Through the book, the author Edward Dzerinyuy Bello invites readers to contemplate the power of culture in communication and mediation as a strategy for enriching the discourse and providing actionable solutions to disputes and conflicts which may arise due to differences in perception, knowledge, and cognition. This is a book that is a valuable addition to the corpus of literature on the subject.
It titillates our interest and understanding of the range issues and concerns inherent in the cultural imagination. The chapters have been well laid out and treated with candour, remarkable skill, and powerful insight. This is a book whose time has come. It keeps the company of canonical books on media, communication, and mediation. I recommend it to those with passion for the mediatory role culture and communication can play in the promotion of social harmony and peaceful coexistence in formal and informal settings as well as in public and private domains.
James Tar Tsaaior PhD (Professor of Media and Cultural Communication & Senior Research Fellow, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa)