@article{QUTLR, author = {Patricia Marshall}, title = { Political Competence and the Mediator: A New Strategy for Managing Complexity and Stress}, journal = {QUT Law Review}, volume = {8}, number = {1}, year = {2008}, keywords = {}, abstract = {The newly developed ‘Practice Standards for Australian Mediators’ emphasise the need for competence in knowledge, skills and ethical understanding. These competencies now need to be defined more specifically. For a mediator, competence is vital, not only to achieve client satisfaction, but to ensure the mediator’s own sense of wellbeing; lack of mastery may produce stress and inability to cope with the demands of the role. The focus of this article is a form of competence which has thus far not been named in the mediationliterature: political competence. It is relevant because mediators must: manage power relationships; harness the power of parties in order for them to achieve some form of resolution that meets their needs; and restrain their own power so that they do not impose a settlement which contravenes the ideal of self-determination. The paper describes how awareness of this competence emerged from a study of mediator stress and coping. It then suggests a link between political and social/emotional competencies, and proposes the need for political competence to be developed in mediation practice.}, issn = {2201-7275}, doi = {10.5204/qutlr.v8i1.93}, url = {https://lr.law.qut.edu.au/article/view/93} }