Überblick: Identity plays a crucial role in the success or failure of the mediation process. This paper introduced Identity Affirmation Theory, which posits that disputants want their identity affirmed and feel upset when it is disregarded or demeaned. The theory illuminates two emotional dynamics that impact the degree to which identities feel affirmed. In the declare-defend-descend model, disputants declare their identities and engage in tit-for-tat self-defensive counterattacks that “descend" the conflict. In the connect-respect-transcend model, disputants are bound together through their shared motivation to collaborate and, within the safety of that connection, create space to affirm important facets of each other’s identities. They transcend adversarial roles in favor of a collaborative process that produces better outcomes through mutual affirmation of identities.
