The Educator Prioritizing Mediation Over Confrontation. Member Spotlight: Luca Dal Pubel
Growing up in Vicenza, Italy, Luca Dal Pubel was exposed to an international community from an early age. There was a U.S. military base in town, and Luca mingled with a variety of cultures different from his own. And, coming from a family of academics, he was raised to appreciate the value of a cross-cultural education. “American culture was present in my early childhood,” Luca says, which in part inspired his move to the U.S. after receiving his law degree from the University of Bologna. Luca has taken his love for traveling and international affairs to build a career spanning disciplines, countries, and mediums.
Luca initially got his international law degree to go beyond the civil and domestic realm. However, he became increasingly interested in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and went on to earn his Master’s in Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, and Peacebuilding from California State University. Shifting conflict from an adversarial to a communicative realm is of the utmost importance to Luca, as is the rejection of individualism in favor of a more community-based understanding of conflict resolution. As Luca explains, ADR is about “improving access to justice,” and giving the power of resolution back to citizens. For example, Luca believes that the criminal justice system would benefit from more restorative justice programs instead of increasingly stringent laws. Addressing the root of a problem and comprehending its effect on a wide variety of people and groups will allow the offending party to change and improve. Although law remains beloved by Luca, he is passionate about moving the field’s emphasis from confrontation to mediation.
Luca has trained lawyers in negotiation skills, with the goal always being to help resolve disputes out of court. Shifting people’s mindset away from “the pressures of the traditional judicial process” is a key goal of Luca’s. While the easiest solution might seem to be going to court and having a third party decide one’s fate, Luca explains how taking the time, effort, and energy to properly communicate with a party in conflict can be incredibly rewarding and healthy for all. Especially in a modern climate which views this kind of “soft power” as weak, Luca stresses that mediation and negotiation are actually a sign of great personal strength.
Speaking about his work with NGOs, Luca remarks on the struggle between well-meaning yet financially lacking NGOs and better-funded yet less situationally aware governments. Luca is a partner at Resolutia, a well-respected mediation firm in Italy that also works with other European organizations to promote mediation in cross-border disputes. Through his work, he has come to recognize the importance of supporting local NGOs in Africa. For instance, Mozambique has embraced ADR in its criminal justice system, and Ghana has utilized restorative mediation between tribes. Furthermore, Luca worked with the National Conflict Resolution Center based in San Diego, which offers a variety of mediation and conflict management trainings and services. Luca’s involvement with diverse organizations reveals his commitment to furthering mediation across border lines.
Luca is also passionate about Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), a process where disputes are resolved through the use of electronic communications and information technology, like the internet. Under the supervision of Professor Esther Vilalta—a leading scholar in ODR at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC)—Luca received his PhD in Law focusing on ODR. Luca has gone on to research how ODR can help improve consumer confidence and access to justice in e-commerce consumer disputes. Luca acknowledges that “technology is faster than the law,” and that it is necessary to adapt ADR to the times. Luca is also keen to investigate how governments and international actors can harness digital tools and social media to conduct effective diplomacy and promote strategic foreign policy agendas.
Teaching remains a critical part of Luca’s life. Currently, Luca is a professor of mediation, negotiation, and ADR at San Diego State University (SDSU) and negotiation and conflict resolution at Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU). Luca’s courses prepare the next generation to address both domestic and international conflicts by emphasizing the role of ADR, including its potential in mitigating and resolving international armed conflicts. He encourages his students to break out of their overly virtual worlds to prioritize face-to-face social interaction. Luca has also taught HR professionals mediation skills to revolve workplace conflict. His published works span from “Resolving Conflicts and Preventing Violence in Italian Schools” to “The Role of the Internet and Digital Information in Education and the Teaching of Internet Law and Politics in Forming Future Leaders’ Perspectives on Global Issues.” In addition to his scholarship, Luca serves on the editorial committee of the Italian law journal Consensual Justice, which features contributions in both Italian and English addressing, from diverse perspectives, the complex questions raised by the theme of consensual justice. Intelligence and a deep appreciation for the merits of academia are evident in Luca’s impressive professional scope.
Conflict, to Luca, “is an inevitable part of life, but it has the potential to improve relationships.” Depending on how people deal with conflict, it can affect them either positively or negatively. Luca stresses that it is never about the problem, but rather how people deal with the problem which matters. Through his eternally curious and optimistic take on mediation, Luca is advancing the field into its next (digital) phase. Mediation is inherently interdisciplinary, and Luca takes advantage of every angle available, blending his interests into a powerful tool for peace.
Article by Elsie Aleck, MBBI Writer