Introduction: Peter Coleman of Columbia University says thir parties are not netural, as they actually wield enormous power.

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Neutrality
Peter Coleman
Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Director of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia
Interviewed by
Julian Portilla
2003

...One of the things that I really learned and that I fundamentally believe is that there is no such thing as neutrality. That neutrality is a game and it's really about positioning yourself vis-à-vis parties. That the decisions that change agents make in the systems have a huge impact on the system and they have to really understand the nature of that impact because it will not be sort of removed, neutral facilitators who are just trying to bring people together in their own interests. We make a lot of decisions that have a huge impact on the nature of their relations and the long-term nature of the conflict.
Beyond Intractability Version II
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