Beyond Intractability

Destructive conflict dynamics are our real enemies -- they cause us to do terrible things to one another.

The complexities of society-wide conflict require a more expansive paradigm than that needed for small-scale disputes.

We are all responsible for limiting destructive conflict. We can't just be "free riders" waiting for someone else to do it.

For those willing to do what they can to help, the MOOS offers information that can make their work more effective.

It's not enough to better apply existing conflict knowledge – we need new ideas for meeting today's tough challenges.

The non-credit MOOS seminars merge the free and widely accessible reach of massive open online courses with a seminar's exploration of frontier the field issues.

The MOOS is designed to speed the development and utilization of strategies for effectively addressing the complexity of destructive, intractable conflicts so that they can be transformed into more constructive situations.

The content and organizational structure of MOOS Seminars and Blogs is designed to meet the needs of five principal audiences:

Citizens wanting information about more constructive of handling conflict problems.
Advocates and Activists wanting to limit the destructive conflict dynamics they commonly encounter.
Students and Educators at the undergraduate graduate level looking for a structured exploration the intractable conflict problem.
Practitioners in formal & informal conflict roles looking for ways to improve their practice.
Expert scholars and practitioners with substantial background in intractable conflict-related fields interested in helping to advance the frontier of the field (and improving the MOOS).

The MOOS content can be accessed directly through the specific seminar pages. In addition, as the seminars proceed, MOOS content is posted in two streams on social networks and on the MBI-MOOS page:

Core Content Blog:
All Content Blog: (Core Content plus Additional Resources and Colleague Activities):

Additional details on how the various ways to access MOOS content can be found on our Access Page.

Posts are organized in the following annotated syllabi and blogs.

Conflict Frontiers Seminar - a sustained inquiry into ways of advancing the conflict field,
Fundamentals Seminars - quick summaries of the field's big and proven ideas,
Additional Resources - links to informative intractable conflict-related news stories,
Colleague Activities - highlighting the contributions of our colleagues,
Brown Bag Seminars.- short, free-standing explorations of intriguing topics:
- Complexity,
- US Political Polarization, and
- Constructive Confrontation for advocates.

What's a MOOS | Access Options
Newsletter | Join the Discussions
Seminars: Frontiers | Fundamentals
Additional Resources | Latest Posts

The Decentralized, "Markets Plus" Metaphor -- Harnessing the power of markets: a strategy for scaling up efforts to deal with complex, intractable conflict.
The Google Traffic Metaphor -- Google traffic and other traffic control activities can teach us a lot about dealing with conflict.
The Scale-Up Problem -- We need to stop thinking in terms of mediation triads, and scale up conflict work to societal levels.
Engineering and Medical Troubleshooting Models -- Complexity-oriented approaches to conflict are more like medicine and less like engineering.
Summary of Mari Fitzduff's Introduction to Neuroscience for the Peacebuilder - Part 2 -- How can peacebuilders use a knowledge of neuroscience to do their jobs better? We are just beginning to learn.
Summary of Mari Fitzduff's Introduction to Neuroscience for the Peacebuilder - Part 1 -- Neuroscience can explain why so many peacebuilding interventions don't work as hoped --and how to do better.
Social and Psychological Complexity -- Those who seek power-over others are dealing better with social & psychological complexity. This needs to change!
The Complex Causes of Social Problems -- We need to think about social problems as complex adaptive systems requiring massively parallel problem-solving.
Our Most Important Conflict: Coexisters vs. Fighters vs. Divide & Conquerors -- We need to resist "divide-and-conqueror's" efforts to control society by exacerbating left/right tensions.
The Evolutionary Choice: "Power With" or "Power Over" -- An explanation of why this may be our best/last chance to make democracy work (and avoid autocracy and anocracy).

When Trump Says Jump -- A well-documented argument that "issues" are less important than "partisanship"--what matters is who is winning.
Antifa: Guardians Against Fascism or Lawless Thrill-seekers? -- A look into the complex and varied motivations of antifa activists.
Cultural Spectrums of Emotion & Conflict -- A matrix highlighting stereotypical cultural differences between countries--a reminder that we are not all the same
Automatic for the Peaceful -- Provocative (and controversial) initiative: using social media bots to promote peace not hate.
Affordable Quality Homes: A Thing of the Future? -- This should be the next big thing, good $20,000 houses for the poor with reasonable pay for construction workers.
5 Facts About Illegal Immigration in the U.S. -- Irony of ironies, illegal immigration pretty much stopped under Obama!
War Plans for North Korea -- For people who think military victory over North Korea would be quick and easy, a horrifying look at the war plans.

Misunderstandings -- Even if the misunderstandings do not cause conflict, they can escalate it rapidly once it starts.
Interpersonal Communication -- We take it for granted, but so much can go wrong with our communication. In conflict, care is essential!
Victimhood -- Victimhood has a dual nature—people can be both ashamed and proud of their victim status at the same time.
Delegitimization -- Delegitimization drives escalation and violence—but how is it reversed?
Siege Mentality -- North Korea's siege mentality is particularly dangerous as the US is exhibiting a siege mentality too!
Ethos of Conflict -- Since the conflict ethos feeds continuation of the conflict, that needs to change for conflicts to be resolved.