This program gives students the opportunity to study conflict resolution processes through multinational examples and perspectives, and addresses challenges in designing and delivering ADR initiatives in the dynamic context of emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. The program is ABA-approved, and all courses are taught in English. Faculty in the program come from five countries and include professors from leading ADR law schools in the US and prestigious multi-national legal scholars and ADR leaders. It seeks to contribute to the development of open societies in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union by promoting a system of education in which ideas are creatively, critically and comparatively examined. CEU serves as an advanced center of research and policy analysis and facilitates academic dialogue while preparing its graduates to serve as the region's next generation of leaders and scholars.
Students earn six credits by taking two consecutive courses.
This course introduces students to basic mediation theory and examines the impact of culture and context on different mediation approaches through a combination of lecture, discussion, demonstrations, and role-plays. Scenarios from the US and Central and Eastern Europe will be introduced to highlight the relevance of cultural and contextual nuance. This course will also examine strategies to foster and support open dialogue in emerging democratic states. This interdisciplinary course will introduce students to the wide array of theoretical approaches for understanding conflict and approaching dispute resolution. Students will explore the sources of conflict, the conditions that may cause conflict to be constructive or destructive, the nature of conflict escalation, stalemate, and de-escalation, negotiation theory and the barriers to negotiated settlement, and the relationship between conflict theory and the various approaches and processes for resolving disputes.