A DIALECTICAL ANALYSIS OF A SOCIAL-JUSTICE PROCESS - INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION IN SOUTH-AFRICA

This paper presents a case study of an international team collaboratio n between US and South African conflict specialists and educators impl ementing a Community Peace and Safety Network in four communities in t he Gauteng province of South Africa. The project, funded by the United States Information Agency, was a social justice initiative that provi ded mediation training for school and community centers to aid them in accomplishing constructive conflict management and social change. Fol lowing an overview of the project goals, stages, and accomplishments, Smith and Berg's theory of paradoxes in groups is used to analyze the negotiated relationships in the international team and the mutual infl uence of group tensions and community impact throughout the 18-month p roject period. Discussion includes implications for dialectical analys es of groups and for social justice scholars.