EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

• Published date: 01 December 2022
• Author: Helena Desivilya Syna
• Date: 01 December 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21367

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

It is a pleasure to introduce the winter issue - the second one - in volume 40 of Conflict

Resolution Quarterly, featuring five Research articles, a Practice Note, a Commentary relating to the

ongoing discussion following the feature article on the hyper-polarization crisis and a book review.

Akin to previous volumes and the first issue of volume 40, we proceed with materializing

the main premises of the journal: presenting research and practice engaging with social conflict

while reflecting diverse contexts, geographic locations and linking the discussions to contempo-

rary and pertinent social and political issues.

The first research article by Pilot Ndhlovu and Provilence Ndhlovu presents a qualitative

study on the hidden aspects and limitations of the Labor Act in Zimbabwe, namely, benefiting

by and large the employers and thwarting its purpose of providing social justice and enacting

democracy. Consequently, amendments were proposed.

Muhamad Ikhwan, Mohd Zain,Nur Ezan, Rahmat,Ibtisam and Ilyana Ilias focus in the sec-

ond research article on the inauguration of the Ombudsmen of Financial Services in Malaysia.

The authors elucidate by means of comparative analysis how the availability and use of the new

service to resolve financial disputes can be expanded.

The third research article authored by Tzofnat Peleg-Baker and Michael Lang underscores

the importance of structured reflective practice in enhancing the quality of third party interven-

tion, decision-making processes and mediation outcomes. It also presents a research-based,

four-dimensional Structured Reflective Instrument, developed by the first author, aimed at

assisting mediators in developing reflective practice capabilities.

The next research article by Mathias Awonnatey Ateng,Abukari Nuhu and Agoswin A.

Musah explicates blood ritual as an indigenous peacemaking strategy among the Bimoba

people of northern Ghana, employing descriptive qualitative research methods and in-depth

face-to-face interviews with elders of the community. The authors conclude that the indigenous

approach carries the potential of fostering sustainable resolution of communal conflicts.

The final research article by Raphael Kweyu explores intergroup conflicts in communities

residing adjacent to Eastern Mau forests complex in Kenya. The research contributes to further

understanding as regards the manifestation of community conflicts. The author examines how

cultural identity is communicated drawing examples from the studied communities and sug-

gests that conflicts in Eastern Mau “persist, vacillating between periods of relative peace and

periods of escalation.”

The Practice Note by Rashri Baboolal-Frank concentrates on the judicial enforcement of

arbitral awards in South Africa. It examines the consequences of the disparate orientation to

arbitration agreements and proceedings.

Rachel Goldberg's commentary purports to the continuing discussion revolving around the

feature article on the hyper-polarization crisis. The author illuminates the limitations of

dialogue while attempting to engage with the aforementioned predicament by posing some

potential remedies.

The issue culminates with Rachel Goldberg's review of a recent ground-breaking book The

Neutrality Trap: Disrupting and Connecting for Social Change authored by Bernard Mayer, and

Jacqueline N. Font-Guzm

an.

I invite all the readers to insightful and enriching reading journey of the winter issue.

Accepted: 18 November 2022

DOI: 10.1002/crq.21367

Conflict Resolution Quarterly. 2022;40:185–186. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/crq © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC. 185