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

Misunderstandings
	Nancy Ferrell explains how you need to overtly change erroneous perceptions and work hard to figure out what those perceptions are.
	In a case of Iranian students being harrassed and attacked by white students in Oklahoma, the Iranian students did not understand the role of the local police and the laws that limited their involvement, says Nancy Ferrell.
	Nancy Ferrell explains how rumors can be controlled by opening lines of credible communication.
	Nancy Ferrell explains that some situations call for "technical assistance," while at other times, "table mediation" is necessary. The existing level of communication is one determining factor.
	Civil rights mediator Efrain Martinez explains how cultural misunderstandings between Vietnamese and local fisherman in Texas caused tensions and eventually a killing (though the killing isn't described here).
	Efrain Martinez explains how the mediation process itself can create trust where none existed before.
	Will Reed explains how establishing communication is key to forming relationships that will allow parties to solve problems over the long term.

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

Someday they'll give a war and nobody will come. -- Carl Sandburg

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

Rutgers State University: Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (CNCR)

Other Resources from
Beyond Intractability

Web-Based Conflict Research Tutorials
A guide to using the Web for conflict resolution research.

Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Rene Cassin
Former President of the European Court for Human Rights, and 1968 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