Book Summary of Dictionary of Conflict Resolution by Douglas A. Yarn (Ed.)

The Dictionary of Conflict Resolution is the result of the work of the Conflict Resolution Lexicon Project, which began in 1989 at the Consortium on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (CNCR). CNCR is a program based in the University System of Georgia and is funded primarily by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

In its efforts toward the institutionalization of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes, CNCR decided that a need for a core language or vocabulary existed in the burgeoning field of conflict resolution. The "specialized lexicon" provided by the Dictionary of Conflict Resolution serves to clarify the meanings of various ADR and other conflict resolution processes, so that practitioners, policymakers, and others may all understand the terminology of the field in common ways. Generally, this work is a reflection of the rapid development of conflict resolution theory and vocabulary since the early 1980's, and may be used as a benchmark for comparison, as the lexicon of the profession and academic discipline continue to evolve.