The drama of conflicts: what the creative arts can bring to understanding, handling, and transforming policy conflicts

Abstract

There is no shortage of drama in most conflicts. Policy makers often try to control conflict drama by staging settings that privilege rational discussion over hot engagement. But attempts to expel the drama in policy conflicts may result in the alienation of citizens that are emotionally engaged in a topic. A more inclusive approach might be to embrace the drama of conflicts for its democratic and creative potential, for example in terms of generating a desire for change. The creative arts, known for the capacity to embrace, (re)imagine, and perform drama and for transforming the way in which we understand public issues and each other in their wake, may play a vital role in harnessing the generative potential that conflicts bring. For the section on policy conflict as default, this roundtable will discuss the role of creative arts for understanding, handling and transforming policy conflicts. Together with scholars, theatre makers and performers who have worked with the creative arts on contentious public issues and in conflictual settings, we reflect on the role that the arts (theatre, performance, public art; visual arts; urban interventions) might play in governance processes. This roundtable asks: what might it mean to give the arts a more prominent place in democratic governance processes dealing with complex and contentious topics? what is at stake and what new opportunities are opened when we bring the practices of creative arts into engaging with and studying policy conflicts?

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