Informing Pakistan’s Negotiations Through the Psychology of Peacebuilding
Abstract
The Government of Pakistan has played a constructive role in seeking to resolve the current conflict between Iran and the United States. Here, we describe the role of geopsychiatry in promoting research on peacebuilding to address the causes of violent conflicts as a form of primary prevention in mental health. We discuss an evidence-based framework from the Irish Peace Process led by psychiatrist-negotiators that could inform ongoing interventions for Pakistan’s negotiators. These interventions include leveraging the psychology of the mutually hurting stalemate, constructing superordinate identities, building a frame for negotiations, and using psychodynamic principles of communication. Numerous obstacles to peace remain, but Pakistan’s negotiators can adopt these evidence-bases strategies and inspire hope for resolving other global conflicts.
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