Monday’s talks between the United States and Iran (the first in almost three decades) have been eagerly followed in the international press, touted as a landmark event in the countries’ relations. While certainly a step in the right direction, away from the last year’s ever-increasing tension and military threat, the prospect of real, sustained reconciliation emerging from these highly politicized and top-level negotiations is decidedly low. The Fellowship of Reconciliation, with its fourth peacemaking delegation to Iran, is stepping in where the governments have left off.
The team of sixteen “civilian grassroots diplomats” have met and conversed with Iranian citizens from all walks of life, and their report so far is an inspiring account of personal communication, education, and common ground. The high-level political talks have relied heavily on the use of threat power: negotiation is contingent upon each side’s predetermined goals and its ability to coerce the other to concede. FOR’s delegation, however, relies on an entirely different force. According to peace scholar Kenneth Boulding, integrative power arises in a situation where one party acts in accordance with their sense of truth, maintaining respect for the other, and this interaction brings the two sides closer together. The team in Iran, through honest and informal discussions with the Iranian people, seeks to establish this kind of connection and create an alternative to the alarming standoff in which the two governments have become embroiled. Their work is a crucial step in replacing the negative force of military threat with a positive power for understanding and reconciliation.
Learn more about FOR and read the delegation’s reports: FOR Iran Initiative