Roads and Riddles? Western Major Power Metaphors of Nonviolent Conflict Resolution

• Published in: Alternatives: global, local, political Vol. 34; no. 3; pp. 275 - 297
• Main Author: Kuusisto, Riikka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Lynne Rienner Publishers 01.07.2009; SAGE Publications; Sage Publications, Inc; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Activism; Civil rights movements; Conflict; Conflict management; Conflict Resolution; Disasters; Disputes; Forecasts and trends; France; Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand; Gardens & gardening; Great Britain; International relations; King, Jr., Martin Luther; Luthuli, Albert; Management; Metaphor; Metaphors; Methods; Narrative plot; Nonviolence; Political aspects; Political leadership; Political rhetoric; Political systems; Political violence; Problem Solving; Project engineering; Rhetoric; Riddles; Roads & highways; Social aspects; Speeches; United Kingdom; United States of America; Violence; War; Finland; nonviolence; great powers; metaphor; conflict; comic rhetoric
• ISSN: 0304-3754; 2163-3150
• DOI: 10.1177/030437540903400303

Our conceptual systems are metaphorical in nature: We understand complex issues by comparing them with relatively straightforward and familiar ones. Renowned experts of nonviolent problem solving, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Luthuli, and Martin Luther King, Jr., have structured difficult conflicts in terms of roads, gardens, building projects, and riddles. The conflict rhetoric of leaders of the major Western powers—the United States, Britain, and France—is most often studied in violent contexts, vis-a-vis epic battles and tragic catastrophes. However, when dealing with mundane disputes among fundamentally likeminded parties, disagreements with petty challengers and debates with major powers with different political systems, for example, US, British, and French leaders employ many of the metaphors that nonviolence activists do. Understanding and expanding this sphere of comic conflict resolution—where ingenuity and reflection instead of black-and-white juxtaposition are the norm—is essential in the search for a more peaceful, yet vibrant world.