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

Introduction: Peter Coleman of Columbia University says thir parties are not netural, as they actually wield enormous power.

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Neutrality
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

...One of the things that I really learned and that I fundamentally believe is that there is no such thing as neutrality. That neutrality is a game and it's really about positioning yourself vis-à-vis parties. That the decisions that change agents make in the systems have a huge impact on the system and they have to really understand the nature of that impact because it will not be sort of removed, neutral facilitators who are just trying to bring people together in their own interests. We make a lot of decisions that have a huge impact on the nature of their relations and the long-term nature of the conflict.

If it were proved to me that in making war, my ideal had a chance of being realized, I would still say "No" to war. For one does not create human society on mounds of corpses. -- Louis Lecoin, French pacifist leader

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

The Coexistence Initiative

Other Resources from
Beyond Intractability

Interview With Morton Deutsch
One of the founders of this field talks about his research into "malignant relationships."

Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Ralph Bunche
Served as an acting mediator in Palestine in 1948 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950.

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