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

Introduction: Peter Colemand describes how an abortion dialogue in Boston run by the Public Conversations Project had its genesis in a shooting.

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

The Benefits of Conflict
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

Interviewed by
Julian Portilla
2003

Those women came together because of a shooting. A series of shootings that took place and it was the violence that encouraged them to engage and I'm sure it was suggested that they do and community and church leaders suggested that they do. So there was a constellation of factors that readied them to come together and do this process and it still took six years of quiet closed-door work.

Don't ever let them pull you down so low as to hate them. (also cited as: I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.) -- Booker T. Washington

Featured Links
Organizations Making Noteworthy Contributions to Efforts to Promote More Constructive Conflict

Global Policy Forum

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Beyond Intractability

Interview With Mari Fitzduff
A leading peacebuilder from Northern Ireland, Mari talks about her work around the world transforming religious and ethnic conflicts.

Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Kofi Annan
Former United Nations Secretary General, and 2001 Nobel Peace 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