Self Change: Social Psychological and Clinical Perspectives examines cognitive and motivational factors affecting the intention to seek change, processes involved in the initiation and maintenance of change, the role of social networks as facilitators or inhibitors of change, and measurement and assessment of personal change. At any given moment millions of people are contemplating changing various aspects of themselves; a general theory on volitional change is sorely needed. This book, which is of interest to social psychologists, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists, to researchers and practitioners, is a significant contribution to a more thorough understanding of self change.

"The work of these authors--at once scholarly and practical/political--is not only rigorous, but very moving. At a moment when the conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis seem insurmountable, they demonstrate otherwise and so offer us hope." -Joan W. Scott, professor of social science, Institute for Advanced Study "This book contains very important insights into Israeli Arab attitudes towards citizenship in Israel. . . . The two groups need to negotiate a new social and political contract and this book offers critical guidance in this urgent process." -Joseph V. Montville, director, Preventive Diplomacy Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies "This volume provides a significant contribution to the field of peace studies and conflict resolution. It captures the unique work of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam on identity dialogue and power relations. . . . highly recommended reading." -Mohammed Abu-Nimer, author of Nonviolence and Peace Building in Islam: Theory and Practice Attempts to initiate interactions between Palestinians and Jews outside official frameworks have often dissolved under political and economic pressures. One lasting effort to help create a more authentic and egalitarian dialogue between the two groups began when the School for Peace was established in 1976 in Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam, a joint model village set up in 1972 by a group of Jewish and Palestinian Israelis. This volume is the product of the insight and experiences of both Arabs and Jews at the School for Peace over the last two decades. Essays address topics such as strategies for working with young people, development of effective learning environments for conflict resolution, and language as a bridge and as an obstacle. It is the first book to provide a model for dialogue between Palestinians and Jews that has been used successfully in other ethnic and national conflicts, and should be required reading for everyone interested in Jewish-Palestinian relations. Rabah Halabi is the head of the School for Peace Research Center at Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam in Israel, and a lecturer in the education department at the Hebrew University.

The volume begins with an overview by Herbert Kelman discussing reconciliation as distinct from related processes of conflict settlement and conflict resolution. Following that, the first section of the volume focuses on intergroup reconciliation as consisting of moving beyond feelings of guilt and victimization (i.e., socio-emotional reconciliation). These processes include acceptance of responsibility for past wrongdoings and being forgiven in return. Such processes must occur on the background of restoring and maintaining feelings of esteem and respect for each of the parties. The chapters in the second section focus on processes through which parties learn to co-exist in a conflict free environment and trust each other (i.e., instrumental reconciliation). Such learning results from prolonged contact between adversarial groups under optimal conditions. Chapters in this section highlight the critical role of identity related processes (e.g., common identity) and power equality in this context. The contributions in the third part apply the social-psychological insights discussed previously to an analysis of real world programs to bring reconciliation (e.g., Tutsis and Hutus in Rwanda, Israelis and Palestinians, and African societies plagued by the HIV epidemic and the Western aid donors). In a concluding chapter Morton Deutsch shares his insights on intergroup reconciliation that have accumulated in close to six decades of work on conflict and its resolution.