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Globalization and Technological Evolution in Alternative Dispute Resolution: Opportunities and Challenges
Globalization and Technological Evolution in Alternative Dispute Resolution: Opportunities and Challenges
Introduction
Hollywood has taken a worldwide approach to mediation; The Wedding Crashers (2005) opened with a hilarious effort at divorce mediation. The early phases of globalization in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) were acknowledged at the 2005 Hamline University Symposium on Advanced Issues in ADR. The smooth 24-hour transacting made possible by email, Google, automated teller machines, and cell phones has greatly influenced the globalization of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). National boundaries no longer matter in the new geography created by the e-revolution for relationship-building, negotiation, transacting, and conflict resolution. Technology has contributed to the globalization of ADR by speeding up the export of dispute resolution and enabling the quick exchange of information and expertise between national and international players. ADR programs for the 'third world' are supported through' first world' institutions as part of legal and economic reform. Reforming nations are frequently misled into believing Western mediation is a value-free, inclusive process.
The globalization of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has been impacted by the rise of online dispute resolution (ODR), which offers online filing and case management, e-mediators, automated blind-bidding processes, and online mediation platforms. But technology may also work against globalization by encouraging some technologies that are more widely used in the Global North at the expense of others that are more widely available and appropriate for the Global South. In its call for a culturally inclusive globalization process, the article ends with a challenge to researchers and practitioners of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to go beyond the Global North's conventional web applications and into the wider, culturally diverse world of electronic technology.
ODR
With the development of technological infrastructure like email, SMS, and mobile phones, e-revolution has had a major influence on the globalization of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). This has made transacting easy and available around the clock, opening up new channels for contact. The e-revolution has expedited the export of dispute resolution expertise by facilitating the exchange of information and knowledge between national and transnational players in the context of international commerce. Technology, however, may also work against globalization by encouraging some technologies that are popular in the Global North at the expense of others that are more appropriate for the Global South. Through information sharing and an acceleration of the dispute resolution export explosion, technology has made alternative dispute resolution (ADR) more globally accessible. It is a common misconception that Western mediation is a culturally inclusive procedure. Globalization has been impacted by the rise of online dispute resolution (ODR), which provides online filing and case management, e-mediators, automated blind-bidding processes, and online mediation platforms. On the other hand, technology may also work against globalization by favouring technologies that are more extensively utilized in the Global North over those that are more affordable and appropriate for the Global South.
Online dispute resolution (ODR) now includes strategic and preventive mediation techniques as well as conflict transformation, going beyond its initial online focus. Online dispute resolution (ADR) and the integration of all forms of electronic technology into dispute settlement procedures are now considered state-of-the-art ODR applications. E-technology, the fourth party in ODR, has completely changed the way ADR is practised globally by presenting users with new options and threats. Online mediation tools are asynchronous, which makes communication refraining, automated processes for negotiation support and aided decision-making, and threaded discussion technologies possible. Better counsel and more informed discussions are made possible by these technical elements, which provide users access to professional and organized information. Concurrent caucusing is another way the fourth party expresses its participation; it permits private sessions to take place concurrently with a joint mediation session.
Challenges
The globalization of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is hampered by ODR systems. ODR technology needs to be literate, inexpensive, accessible, and culturally appropriate to be successful. Online dispute resolution (ADR) may neglect cultural variables including linguistic background, power imbalances, and inner and exterior direction. The designers' culture, which frequently ignores their prejudices and ideals, shapes these cultural variances. Disparities in language context, power dynamics, inner and outer direction, synchronous and sequential time, identity orientation, negotiation process orientation, and universalist and particularist approaches can all lead to cultural misunderstandings. Western mediation theories can have an impact on online mediation, but cultural practices can have an impact. There are benefits and drawbacks to not using body language or other nonverbal cues while communicating. ODR systems need genuine, highly skilled people to maintain and support them to be viable. The link between technology and culture is bidirectional: it influences cultural norms and the lack of nonverbal cues in online interactions.
Conclusion
ODR technology is developing to support in-person ADR procedures, moving away from its initial emphasis on e-commerce disputes. It has had a dual impact on globalization, both promoting and impeding the development of an inclusive global economy. One barrier is the Global North's hegemony in the culture of conflict resolution and predilection for PC-based alternative dispute resolution. By giving participants access to well-known and user-friendly ODR programs, SMS-assisted ODR shows how technology may influence the course of globalization and promote a more equitable process of globalization in alternative dispute resolution.
- Ongoing evolution in ODR technology presents both opportunities and obstacles for achieving a more equitable and inclusive global approach to conflict resolution.
- Despite technological advancements, cultural factors and disparities pose challenges to the inclusive practice of ADR on a global scale.
- Technology, particularly online dispute resolution (ODR), accelerates the globalization of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) by facilitating information exchange and expanding accessibility.
