Thailand faces "a situation of high complexity" that requires dialogue and not debate to find a way out of its political crisis, a leading complex-problem solution expert based in Johannesburg says.
In dialogue, people don't just tell others what they're thinking, but also explain where the thinking comes from, Kahane said. "It is only with the shift from debate to dialogue that something new can be created."
This differs from debate, where people see clashes of ideas and judgement. "Both downloading [of one's view and narrative] and debating will simply reproduce the [existing] reality."
In so-called presencing, on the other hand, people have no boundary and dialogue is generative and comes with an almost religious dimension in the willingness to listen to others. "If you change the way of talking, you change the way results are produced."
Kahane, who has helped countries like South Africa and Guatemala solve political conflicts, said all stakeholders in Thailand need to come together to identify the country's problem or problems.
He challenged the audience: Is the problem in Thailand one of corruption, or disparity between rural and urban people, or political systems?
Asked if Thailand could really have genuine dialogue and "presencing" when the issue of the monarchy is taboo and can't be discussed critically or frankly, Kahane replied: "The more we can see, the more we can talk about, the better."
But, he said, even if a subject was not being discussed it didn't automatically mean talk was not useful. People may need to get to know each other better before talking frankly, he explained.
"Problems of high social complexity cannot be dealt with peacefully by authorities and experts," he warned. "Peaceful resolutions required participation by the actors themselves."
In Guatemala, where about 250,000 people were killed by the state or disappeared during the civil war till 1996, partners in dialogue and the drawing up of scenarios included former guerrillas as well as government officials.
Kahane, who is a visiting practitioner at the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society at Oxford University, said it was important to draw scenario situations together and build bridges across divides.
Using a technique called Mont Fleur scenarios, Kahane said a society where a settlement was not negotiated was like an ostrich (with its head in the sand). Governments which failed to change rapidly and were indecisive were like lame ducks; while a regime which had unsustainable policies was like Icarus, the Greek god who flew too close to the sun only to have his wings melt. None managed what in Mont Fleur scenarios is called the "flight of the flamingoes".
Kahane's latest book, "Power and Love: A Theory and Practice of Social Change" has been translated into Thai and published by Post Books. Kahane argues that both power, which he defines as the desire to achieve, as well as love or the desire to unite, are both needed to solve complex problems.