Recent BI and Substack Posts

If you want reconciliation to “stick,” you need to design it in collaboration with all affected parties, designing a place everyone would want to live in, not just your side. #mbi_fundamentals

Using the metaphor of baking, reconciliation can be made with a variety of ingredients, in different amounts, and added in different orders. #mbi_fundamentals

Reconciliation can be visualized as a balance beam, where everyone needs to maintain their balance to keep reconciliation from failing. #mbi_fundamentals

Simple solutions won't work in complex conflicts; one needs a complex solution to match the complexity of the conflict. #mbi_fundamentals

We need to think about the complexities, where our areas of influence are, and how we can scale up our influence go over the tipping point. #mbi_cci

We need to figure out how we can live together if we want to avoid a threatening disaster. Prospective reconciliation helps us do that.

An overview of common mistakes that people make when trying to deal with uncertain situations like COVID-19 (and strategies for avoiding them). #mbi_cci

To prevent violence, you need to respond to more than the immediate incident. You need to look at the structures and processes that led to it. #mbi_cci

Expressions of anger and unfocused demands are unlikely to fix things. You need a workable plan and a strategy for building the needed support. #mbi_cci

The key to successful revolutionary (or evolutionary) change is a broadly agreed-upon vision for a better society in which most everyone would like to live. #mbi_cci

Efforts to limit the disproportionate impact of social problems are more likely to succeed when you take an inclusive approach that tries to address the problem wherever it arises. #mbi_cci

Neither party can now win elections without fully mobilizing their "base." This is being done by portraying the other side in the most threatening way possible, which has left us in a cycle of escalating hostility that we must find a way to escape. #mbi_cci

This short video introduces one of the most widely used and cited exercises ever to come out of the peacebuilding field. Lederach offers a realistic way of thinking through the tough issues that plague deeply-divided societies #mbi_cci

It is hard to fight for justice when you don't know what it means. This essay helps you decide what types of justice are worth fighting for. #mbi_cci

For a time when it seems like everyone thinks they're being oppressed by someone, a comprehensive look at what oppression really is and what to do about it. #mbi_fundamentals

As we struggle to navigate the terrible storm produced by the pandemic, the economic crisis, and climate-related disasters, it makes sense to adopt a lifeboat ethic, put aside our differences, and work together to address the big threats. #mbi_cci

For a time when it seems like our differences are unbridgeable, a guide to finding what binds us together and dealing with what drives us apart. #mbi_cci

An eloquent and persuasive defense, with lots of statistics, of the United States' many "welfare state" programs. #mbi_context

For those who are looking for a way to be part of efforts to start reconciling our divided society, Bill Ury offers great advice, become a Third Sider. #mbi_cci

We just had an election that both sides felt they couldn't lose. Now, our ability to reunify the US depends upon overcoming misinformation and assuring Republicans that, even in defeat, their vital interests be still be protected. #mbi_cci

We need to remember that, in many ways, coercion is the weakest form of power. It generates a terrible and often counterproductive backlash. The real key to sustainable change is persuasion and exchange. #mbi_cci

We must address extremist groups' grievances, while standing firm against their extreme actions. By focusing on commonalities, as well as differences, we can find a path forward. #mbi_colleague

As outrage on all sides continues to intensify, we need to find more effective ways of resisting the dehumanization that threatens more violence. #mbi_cci

A reminder that, amid today's racially-focused acrimony, we must find a way to work together to combat new types of 21st-century injustice. #mbi_cci

For a time when there are lots of things that, for good reason, make us furious, a reminder that too much anger can be a trap. #mbi_cci