BeyondIntractability.org   BeyondIntractability.org
Beyond Intractability: A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict
   


Introduction: Elise Boulding talks about the need for third parties to approach a situation as an "apprentice" rather than an expert.


This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).

How to Approach a Peacemaking Situation
Elise Boulding
Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Dartmouth College and Former Secretary General of the International Peace Research Association
Interviewed by
Julian Portilla
2003

One thing that I feel very strongly about, especially since I see it being violated so often, is that for people who are taking on a role of a peacemaker or a mediator or a conflict resolver, they need to be an apprentice to any situation they go into. They really have to know where people are coming from, what is going on, what are the priorities, and so on, in order to apply what they know. But you see, it happens too often that the people who are trained in all of this set themselves up as outsider experts, and go in and say, "Here is what you need to do."

 
You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war. -- Albert Einstein

Featured Links
Organizations Making Noteworthy Contributions to Efforts to Promote More Constructive Conflict
OECD Development Assistance Committee
OECD Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC)


Other Resources from
Beyond Intractability
Reporting on Conflict
Reporting on Conflict

A guide for reporters showing how they can get the most out of Beyond Intractability. Includes a list of experts available for interviews.

Nobel Peace Prize Winners

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso
The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso

1989 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Beyond Intractability Version IV
Copyright © 2003-2007 The Beyond Intractability Project
Beyond Intractability is a Registered Trademark of the University of Colorado
Project Acknowledgements

The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project
Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess, Co-Directors and Editors
c/o Conflict Information Consortium (Formerly Conflict Research Consortium), University of Colorado
Campus Box 580, Boulder, CO 80309
Phone: (303) 492-1635; Fax: (303) 492-2154; Contact
University of Colorado at Boulder