04 Aug Fall back: what happens when there is no alternative to dialogue?

Fall back: what happens when there is no alternative to dialogue?

Inspired by Joaquim Coello’s article published on ARA.cat on October 3, 2017

www.ara.cat/opinio/joaquim-coello-fall-back_129_1291491.html

In military strategy and international politics, the concept of fall back refers to the ability to retreat or withdraw in an orderly manner when a plan fails . But Joaquim Coello, in his article on ara.cat , went a step further: he said that without a clear fall back, there is no room to negotiate or to build stable agreements. And this —he acknowledged— applies both to geopolitics and to the management of conflicts of all kinds.

As a conflict mediator , this concept resonates deeply with me. Often, when two parties come to the mediation table, what is at stake is not just a specific solution, but the possibility of not breaking up at all . This is what we call the “BATNA” option (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) in mediation: what is the best alternative if there is no agreement?

But there are situations—family, work, neighborhood, community—in which there is really no viable alternative outside of dialogue . Where the conflict cannot be resolved with a sentence, a case, or an escape. Where the only realistic “fall back” is to find a new way of living together, of talking to each other, or, at the very least, of not hurting each other any more.

This idea challenges us:

• Are we offering enough mechanisms for dialogue before conflict erupts?
• What is our “fall back” as a society? Impose? Judicialize? Remain silent?
• What if we put MASC at the center, not as an alternative route, but as a first response?

MASC (Appropriate Methods of Conflict Resolution) —such as mediation, conciliation or arbitration— are not simple technical tools : they are ways of recognizing the other as legitimate, even if we disagree with them. And this, in times of polarization and tension, is revolutionary.

The real fallback, today , may not be to withdraw, but to return to the word . Because when there is no alternative, dialogue or rupture . And rupture has costs that we all end up paying.

If we can help you, contact us: daniel@mediadorconflictos.com

Phone. (34) 661.463.306