Creating a big circle for a difficult discussion

Source: (2002) Reflections: A Journal of the Conflict Transformation Program 1: 36-41.

Jayne Seminare Docherty, in this article, reflects on conflict and response to conflict in light of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, against targets in the United States. She begins by recounting her attendance at the First Annual International Conference of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ARC) shortly after the attacks. In organized discussions at the conference, it became clear that participants experienced a wide range of reactions to the attacks and advocated an equally wide range of responses. For some, the attacks led them to question what they knew and believed about conflict resolution. For almost all, the attacks caused them to “wake-upâ€? and review their assumptions about the world and their commitments to certain principles and ideas. Docherty relates some of her own reflections on these matters, and she urges the “creationâ€? of a very large circle for dialogue, analysis, policy-making, and articulation of responses to September 11.