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Human Needs and Problem Solving Approaches to Creating New Social Structures: Action Research on Conflict Resolution in Georgia

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Human Needs and Problem Solving Approaches to Creating New Social Structures: Action Research on Conflict Resolution in Georgia Human Needs and Problem Solving Approaches to Creating New Social Structures: Action Research On Conflict Resolution in Georgia, 2000-2002 Davin Ledrich Bremner The London School of Economics and Political Science Ph.D. 1 UMI Number: U615872 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615872 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Library Q*n*W #a'yoi - oiitic-’ i •'jKlCamomic Scienct- Abstract This dissertation analyses the design, implementation and results of problem solving research workshops conducted within a conflict prevention intervention in Georgia. The research goal is to explore: human needs theory as a conceptual framework; analytical problem solving as a methodology; and action research as an intervention strategy. The research themes of the dissertation are: what can be learned about new ways of using human needs theory in the design and conduct of conflict prevention and resolution interventions; what can be learned about options for and methods of conducting analytical problem solving workshops; and what can be learned about action research as a conflict intervention strategy - through a systematic comparison between existing theoretical frameworks and a field-based case study. The needs theory contributions of Burton and Max- Neef; problem solving workshop literature from Mitchell and Hoffman; and action research perspectives from Rothman are focal points. The dissertation argues, among other things, that while identifying the ‘right people’ to involve in an intervention is doable in the abstract, in fact there might be no right people on the ground who are available or willing to participate; that action research is a legitimate and credible intervention strategy for creating a safe space for dialogue, that a human needs conceptual framework such as Max-Neef s needs/satisfiers matrix can be a valuable tool for analysis and can be applied explicitly in the workshop setting; and that there are always problematic impacts on intervention design, conduct and evaluation due to time and resource limitations. 2 Contents Abstract 2 Acknowledgments 4 Chapter 1: Theory and practice: Needs theory,analytical problem 5 solving, and action research Chapter 2: Post-Soviet times in Georgia 19 Chapter 3: Review of relevant literature 46 Chapter 4: Methodology and methods: Action research frameworks 96 and consultations in Georgia Chapter 5: The intervention design process: Design informed by theory 140 Chapter 6: The problem solving research workshops: Activities 173 and outcomes Chapter 7: Reflections on the problem solving research workshops 211 and dissertation themes Chapter 8: Practice springs from theory as theory spawns practice 233 Chapter 9: The end of the story 266 Bibliography 227 Appendices 287 List of Illustrations: Figure 1: Map of Georgia and Georgian Regions Project 45 Figure 2: Max-Neef matrix of needs and satisfiers 61 Figure 3: Theoretical Aspects of Problem-solving Exercises 81 Figure 4: Research Paradigms, Methodologies and Methods 97 Figure 5: Action - Reflection Learning Cycles 98 Figure 6: Georgian Regions Project 99 Figure 7: DAR Research Validity 102 Figure 8: Regions Project ‘Four Quadrant Analysis’ 165 Figure 9: Regions Project Workshop Schedule 166 Figure 10: Results of Problem Solving and Action Planning Activities 202 3 Acknowledgements During the course of a complicated and long-term process of research and intervention there have been many people who have made meaningful contributions and to whom I am very grateful. My colleagues at International Alert made this research possible by allowing me to insert my dissertation aspirations into the real work that we do. Thanks especially to Dr. Gevork Ter-Gabrielian and Dr. Kevin Clements. At the LSE I have appreciated the guidance and thesis supervision of Mark Hoffman. Jonathan Cohen of Conciliation Resources gave of his valuable time for both an extensive interview and editing of Chapter Two. The Department for International Development of the British Government provided funding to IA for the Georgian Regions Project, fully aware that this dissertation was designed deeply into the project and thereby subsidizing it, for which I thank them. The facilitation team in Georgia, Dr. Nodar Sarjveladze, Jana Javakhishvili, and Amiran Dolidze gave our work its motivation, gravity and credibility, and I learned much from them. They are superb professionals and true Georgian humanists. Without interpretation, I am useless in the field and I especially appreciate the contribution of Tamuna Kvaratskhelia, who did much more than act as interpreter. Because we do relationship-based work, I will remain forever indebted to many of the warm and committed people who were participants of the Georgian Regions Project and from whom I learned about Caucasian cultures and worldviews. I remain inspired by the vision of Dr. John Burton with whom I studied briefly at George Mason University, and who couldn’t realize how much he motivated the past 15 years of my life and work. I appreciate more than everything else the support of my Masha during the year of dissertation writing, and the many years of unconditional patience, support and love provided by my parents, Eric and Bobbie Bremner. 4 Chapter One Theory and practice: Needs theory, analytical problem solving, and action research A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants. A good scientist has freed himself of concepts and keeps his mind open to what is. Tao Te Ching1 Somewhere to Start There are many and varied ways of understanding the fundamental link between theory and practice in any complex endeavor. They may be seen as related but distinct elements of academic, intellectual or social activity. They may be seen as inherently, symbolically and holistically inseparable, as yin and yang. Or, if one adheres to a praxis philosophy, then theory itself is regarded as a form of practice. In many domains, including the field of conflict analysis and resolution, people commonly refer to a ‘gap’ between theory and practice where there is either not enough theory, or what exists is underdeveloped to the extent that it is not entirely adequate to fully inform or comprehensively explain what we actually can do as conflict resolution professionals, or the theory is too abstract and not informed by practice. My own experience base begins with theory, if only because I started in the field in an academic program at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. Having gained some knowledge of theory, I find that there is always and necessarily a theoretical component or perspective 1 The Tao Te Ching quotes that open each chapter come from the translation by Stephen Mitchell, Harper and Row, New York, 1988. 5 to my thinking, in the sense that knowledge is very difficult to put back into the box once it has been let loose. I am personally less concerned with the often referred to theory-practice gap, and much more interested in exploring the application of some existing theoretical constructs as tools, reference points, metaphors and frameworks, to assist people in resolving their own conflicts. This reflects my constant struggle as a practitioner with versions of this concern: how do we most effectively put theory to use in a way that will contribute to the development of ever better methods and practice? The main aspiration of this dissertation is to contribute to the improvement of the practice of conflict resolution. In the process, some ‘real work’ on existing conflicts in the country of Georgia will be undertaken. The dissertation allowed me to organize and conduct that work in specifically reflective way. However, as the experiences detailed in subsequent chapters will make clear, the dissertation is informed by a particular theoretical framework, namely a modified Burtonian human needs theory and analytical problem solving. Burton’s approach is taken as a valid and valuable starting point, because of what it has to offer as a set of analytical tools and as a process for motivating constructive communication between conflicted parties. The aim of the thesis is to create and share some new thinking about practice methodologies and gain some insights that will contribute to the evolution of those theory elements that I employ. It is a significant challenge to work on practice, theory, and Georgia all at the same time, and the complexity doesn’t come without some costs and cautions. But, as the Taoist journey metaphor above implies, it has been a practical and intellectual journey that has been traveled with an open and hopefully intuitive mind, flexible plans, and without a pre-determined end point. How I Got Here During the South African political transition of 1990-94, I was part of a team working on community conflict resolution in some of the violence torn townships of South Africa. Our institutional base was a religious, community-based
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