Adversarial process
Encyclopedia
An adversarial process is one that supports conflicting one-sided positions held by individuals, groups or entire societies, as inputs into the conflict resolution situation, typically with rewards for prevailing in the outcome. Often in the form of the process assumes a game-like appearance.
to choose candidates to hold political and military power
is often necessarily adversarial. This process requires each candidate to convince voters that they are more trustworthy in the expected future circumstances, than their opponent.
Adversarial politics takes place when one party (usually not in government) takes the opposite (or at least a different) opinion to that of the other (usually the government) even when they may personally agree with what the government is trying to do.
Those opposed to adversarial politics believe that politicians should state what they actually think rather than following the 'party line'. They consider adversarial politics to be cynical and intolerant, with ‘winning’ the driving principle versus attempting to establish the truth. Politicians captivated by the ‘struggle for victory’ corrupt the ideals that brought them into politics in the first place.
Adversarial politics is often blamed for turning the electorate away from politics and their right to participate in the democratic process of their country through voting at elections. In the United Kingdom
, many voters consider 'Prime Minister's Questions
', a weekly ritual involving the prime minister and the leader of Her Majesty’s opposition confronting each other in the House of Commons, to be a sad and embarrassing relic from the past.
In the US, huge fundraising for presidential elections increasingly results in campaigns focused on personalities versus honest debate, and trading insults versus addressing substantive issues.
or civil court
to decide the social attitude to an alleged wrong-doing of a defendant
, and penalties to be assessed, and restitution to be awarded to their deemed victim often depends on the adversarial witness questioning. This is adversarial as the opposing attorneys are competing to convince the judge to include or exclude evidence or witnesses, and competing to convince the judge or jury of the guilt or innocence of the defendant, and severity of the impact of the actions (if guilty) on the plaintiff or victim. Lawyers must be held to rather specific ethical code
s, e.g. rules of civil procedure, to ensure that their tactics do not cause an undue burden on larger society, e.g. freeing defendants who have admitted that they are not only guilty but intend to offend again. Lawyers differ on whether the process should be seen as strictly adversarial, in order to ensure they retain the trust of clients and the overall process retains the trust of society, or whether the ethics of the larger society should play a role in their behavior.
s, e.g. commodity markets
. In these, bid and ask prices are constantly compared, with sellers representing goods as being valuable and buyers haggling and claiming they are less valuable. Product markets tend to focus on the comparison of sellers' products with other sellers' products - the adversarial process itself making trustworthy information, e.g. as published in Consumer Reports
or the Better Business Bureau
, hard to compile and to obtain. Health advocates often claim that market systems are very difficult to reconcile with food, nutrition, agriculture or medicine's need to work well with living systems—a key complaint of the anti-globalization movement
.
(which tend to alternate adversary, discussion, and voting over a longer period of time allocated to make the decision and explore implications), are ancient. However, they are less well studied in political science
and economics
. Most commentators are suspicious of the utopian goals of the advocates of such non-adversarial processes, viewing competition as essential to a good result.
Other activists argue that adversarial process works well and should probably be expanded to areas that are presently less adversarial. For instance they advocate "science court
s" and "prediction market
s" that would force the scientist, economist and technologist to put reputations and money on the line, rather than trusting them based on reputation without a disciplined follow-up to see if they were right or wrong. These ideas are increasingly popular in part because such alternative courts and markets can be easily started up on the Internet.
Adversarial politics
The use of a voting systemVoting system
A voting system or electoral system is a method by which voters make a choice between options, often in an election or on a policy referendum....
to choose candidates to hold political and military power
Power (sociology)
Power is a measurement of an entity's ability to control its environment, including the behavior of other entities. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to...
is often necessarily adversarial. This process requires each candidate to convince voters that they are more trustworthy in the expected future circumstances, than their opponent.
Adversarial politics takes place when one party (usually not in government) takes the opposite (or at least a different) opinion to that of the other (usually the government) even when they may personally agree with what the government is trying to do.
Those opposed to adversarial politics believe that politicians should state what they actually think rather than following the 'party line'. They consider adversarial politics to be cynical and intolerant, with ‘winning’ the driving principle versus attempting to establish the truth. Politicians captivated by the ‘struggle for victory’ corrupt the ideals that brought them into politics in the first place.
Adversarial politics is often blamed for turning the electorate away from politics and their right to participate in the democratic process of their country through voting at elections. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, many voters consider 'Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
', a weekly ritual involving the prime minister and the leader of Her Majesty’s opposition confronting each other in the House of Commons, to be a sad and embarrassing relic from the past.
In the US, huge fundraising for presidential elections increasingly results in campaigns focused on personalities versus honest debate, and trading insults versus addressing substantive issues.
Adversarial legal process
The use of an adversarial process by the criminalCriminal procedure
Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated criminal law.-Basic rights:Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the...
or civil court
Civil procedure
Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits...
to decide the social attitude to an alleged wrong-doing of a defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
, and penalties to be assessed, and restitution to be awarded to their deemed victim often depends on the adversarial witness questioning. This is adversarial as the opposing attorneys are competing to convince the judge to include or exclude evidence or witnesses, and competing to convince the judge or jury of the guilt or innocence of the defendant, and severity of the impact of the actions (if guilty) on the plaintiff or victim. Lawyers must be held to rather specific ethical code
Ethical code
An ethical code is adopted by an organization in an attempt to assist those in the organization called upon to make a decision understand the difference between 'right' and 'wrong' and to apply this understanding to their decision...
s, e.g. rules of civil procedure, to ensure that their tactics do not cause an undue burden on larger society, e.g. freeing defendants who have admitted that they are not only guilty but intend to offend again. Lawyers differ on whether the process should be seen as strictly adversarial, in order to ensure they retain the trust of clients and the overall process retains the trust of society, or whether the ethics of the larger society should play a role in their behavior.
Other examples
A third example of an adversarial process is the operation of market systemMarket system
A market system is any systematic process enabling many market players to bid and ask: helping bidders and sellers interact and make deals. It is not just the price mechanism but the entire system of regulation, qualification, credentials, reputations and clearing that surrounds that mechanism and...
s, e.g. commodity markets
Commodity markets
Commodity markets are markets where raw or primary products are exchanged. These raw commodities are traded on regulated commodities exchanges, in which they are bought and sold in standardized contracts....
. In these, bid and ask prices are constantly compared, with sellers representing goods as being valuable and buyers haggling and claiming they are less valuable. Product markets tend to focus on the comparison of sellers' products with other sellers' products - the adversarial process itself making trustworthy information, e.g. as published in Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports is an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union since 1936. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory. It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides...
or the Better Business Bureau
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
, hard to compile and to obtain. Health advocates often claim that market systems are very difficult to reconcile with food, nutrition, agriculture or medicine's need to work well with living systems—a key complaint of the anti-globalization movement
Anti-globalization movement
The anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalisation movement, is critical of the globalization of corporate capitalism. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist movement, anti-corporate globalization movement, or...
.
Alternative Systems
The alternatives, including consensus decision making and deliberative democracyDeliberative democracy
Deliberative democracy is a form of democracy in which public deliberation is central to legitimate lawmaking. It adopts elements of both consensus decision-making and majority rule. Deliberative democracy differs from traditional democratic theory in that authentic deliberation, not mere...
(which tend to alternate adversary, discussion, and voting over a longer period of time allocated to make the decision and explore implications), are ancient. However, they are less well studied in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. Most commentators are suspicious of the utopian goals of the advocates of such non-adversarial processes, viewing competition as essential to a good result.
Other activists argue that adversarial process works well and should probably be expanded to areas that are presently less adversarial. For instance they advocate "science court
Science Court
Science Court, an edutainment animated series from Tom Snyder Productions, aired on ABC's One Saturday Morning from 1997 to 2002. It was the closing show to Disney's One Saturday Morning as it aired at 11:30 am/12:30 pm...
s" and "prediction market
Prediction market
Prediction markets are speculative markets created for the purpose of making predictions...
s" that would force the scientist, economist and technologist to put reputations and money on the line, rather than trusting them based on reputation without a disciplined follow-up to see if they were right or wrong. These ideas are increasingly popular in part because such alternative courts and markets can be easily started up on the Internet.