Beyond Intractability: A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict
Introduction:
Peter Coleman, from Columbia University, discusses different types of intractable conflicts.
This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).
Different Types of Intractable Conflicts
Peter Coleman
Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Director of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia
...Intractable conflicts can be of different sorts.
They can be because some despot is throwing a wrench in the peace works, and
that's really what's happening, this is really the bad guy. But I think that that
explanation has limited value these days. In some situations it may be
accurate, but typically I think what happens is that in the long term conflicts where
people are in relationships where they are stuck and can't get out — in a family
system or elsewhere...you have long-term destructiveness or latency that
endures. Typically what you have here is an emergent phenomenon, you have a lot
of complex things that happen but the ultimate result in this state of
destructiveness, it might be high intensity, it might be low intensity, but it's
basically bad and it can cycle in terms of intensity and things like that but
basically it stays in this sort of state.
We do not inherit the earth from our fathers. We borrow it from our children. -- David Bower
Featured Links Organizations Making Noteworthy Contributions to Efforts to Promote More Constructive Conflict Aid Workers Network
Other Resources from Beyond Intractability Preventive Diplomacy and International Violence Prevention "The concept and practice of violence prevention have evolved from being focused almost exclusively on the short-term interventions of preventive diplomacy, to a new, more comprehensive approach that can be defined as structural prevention and includes long-term initiatives targeting the root causes of conflict."
Nobel Peace Prize Winners
Ralph Bunche Served as an acting mediator in Palestine in 1948 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950.
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
