Beyond Intractability | A place to explore and discuss ideas for moving beyond the complex intractable conflict problems.

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

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).
Meeting the Adaptation Challenge -- Speeding society's ability to rapidly adapt to changing conditions should be a key goal of the conflict field.
The Really Big Picture Ecodynamics & Planetary Evolution -- An exploration of how understanding ecodynamics and evolution can help us deal with complex conflict.
System Levels -- Simple models won't work! We must develop conflict intervention models for higher-level complex systems.

Male Unemployment & Video Games -- Yet another factor in the complex causes of inequality, video games have gotten too good!
Are you a Dream Hoarder? -- Tough questions and a game for those fortunate enough to be in the top 20%, are you a "dream hoarder?"
Declaration of Disruption -- At a time when everyone seems to want to be a "disrupter," pray for those who promote stability.
More Professionalism, Less Populism -- A question worth considering: Have we taken direct democracy too far with too much superficial public involvement?
Millennials and the 'Success Sequence' -- Conservative ideas for dealing with poverty and inequality that are worth considering as part of the solution.
Facebook: The Problem & Solution -- More on things that Facebook might be able to do to promote more constructive civic engagement.
Two Questions About Trump and Republicans -- From George Lakoff, "Two Questions About Trump and Republicans that Stump Progressives".

Psychological Dynamics of Intractable Conflicts -- In intractable conflicts, entire societies can get tangled up in destructive psychological dynamics.
Limits of Rationality -- Emotions cannot be ignored in intractable conflicts--they are the elephant that a rider only tenuously controls.
Cultural and Worldview Frames -- Worldview frames go a long way in explaining why the US is becoming increasingly polarized.
Stereotypes / Characterization Frames -- Genocides start with negative stereotyping--is this where the US wants to go?
Enemy Images -- Enemy images deepen our socio-economics & political problems, while they make effective problem solving impossible.
Identity Frames -- Identity frames shape who we are...and what we believe and do as well.