First edition published August 2008; cover design by t-ART Design; layout and design by Barbara Mueller; Printing by MegaDigital, Cape Town.

About the Book:
This book combines an overview of the theory and practice of the conflict management field, with a specific focus on the conflict management interventions into the deep-rooted historical conflict in South Africa. Confronted by outbreaks of xenophobic violence, and crises of governance, high levels of corruption and crime, the people of the Rainbow Nation are justified in asking themselves whether their conflicts were ever resolved, or merely settled.

An Introduction to Conflict Management for South African Students attempts to provide some useful lessons, drawn from the ideas of the conflict resolution literature, and a careful analysis of our recent past. Bradshaw explains the strengths and weaknesses of South Africa’s unique National Peace Accord, and its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The constitutional negotiations and pre-negotiation activities and their impact are also analysed.

Any students of South African history or deep-rooted conflict resolution will benefit from reading this timely book, as will policy-makers or anyone seeking an explanation, or a remedy for the ongoing episodes of destructive conflict in the country. Sections on negotiation and mediation and more specialized forms of conflict management will also enlighten the reader.

The author engages critically with theories of deep-rooted social conflict in a way that sheds light on, and provides suggestions for the general improvement of the theory and practice of conflict resolution. He argues, from a basic human needs perspective, for continuing vigilance, and an ongoing commitment to conflict resolution in a democratic South Africa.

About the Author:
Gavin Bradshaw is the founder of the largest postgraduate programme in Conflict Transformation and Management in the Southern Hemisphere, at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth. He is the Director of the Unit for the Study and Resolution of Conflict at the University, which is a centre of excellence in the field, with multiple training, research and intervention activities to its credit. Dr Bradshaw developed the concept of the conflict cube, and conflict management systems approach for dealing with conflict in the South African community context. Besides having played a leading role in the South African National Peace Accord, Gavin Bradshaw has a strong international record and continues to contribute to the peace process in Sudan. He has contributed widely to organisational conflict transformation in South Africa, and regularly lectures abroad on topics related to conflict and its management. He has published in the fields of deep-rooted social conflict, and conflict management and resolution, and his ideas have contributed greatly to the understanding of conflict and its management. Dr Bradshaw wrote his PhD thesis on: An Evaluation of the Application of Specific Conflict Management Mechanisms in the South African Transition to Democracy, 1985 – 2004:A Conflict Resolution Perspective.
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