Recent BI and Substack Posts

Frank Dukes talks about how he balances his three roles of conflict resolution practitioner, teacher/trainer, and human rights advocate in this wide-ranging interview.

Another set of interesting readings.

Comments and further thoughts about the Fourth of July from readers and Guy and Heidi

Our weekly set of interesting readings with a new "Highlighted Links" section.

July 4, 2025 is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Is this an event to be celebrated or mourned? Or celebrated and used as a platform to revitalize and improve our democracy? We choose the latter!

Interesting readings from our colleagues and journalists of note.

Heidi Burgess talks with Richard Harwood, President and Founder of the Harwood Institute about how community members can work together to overcome even their most difficult problems.

Our discussion with Ashok about peacebuilding after USAID and USIP generated three very different comments. We share them all and respond here.

More interesting and important articles to share.

Does peacebuilding always work? Are there some instances in which it should not be pursued? The Burgesses and three readers weigh in.

A report on the webinar Guy and Heidi Burgess did with the Environmental and Public Policy Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution, focusing on how environmental and public policy mediators might be able to help strengthen U.S. democracy.

A note about the Boulder terror attack, followed by our weekly set of readings.

The peacebuilding field has been seriously shaken by the closure of USAID and USIP. What does this (and other real-world pressures) mean for the field? A conversation with three people who have been thinking about these challenges for a long time.

Reflections on the vital role played by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the fraught relationship between those organizations and governmental sources of support.

Another set of interesting readings

A retrospective look at the long and hopeful history of the conflict resolution and peacebuilding fields -- a history punctuated by a long series of societal crises and, ultimately, constructive responses to those crises.

More news, opinion, and colleague's readings and videos

A report on Better Together America's first Hub Accelerator Workshop -- an inspiring get together of people from around the United States who are working in a wide variety of ways to strengthen civic engagement in their local communities.

Insightful readings for this week.

Two more interesting exercises to think about ways of constructively approaching intractable conflicts and the role of intervenors in those conflicts.

An introduction to a set of exercises that people can do alone or in groups to think through difficult conflict situations and find ways of overcoming obstacles to moving forward more constructively.

This weeks readings from colleagues and journalists of note.

What does "thinking politically" mean in terms of nonviolent action. It doesn't mean thinking along party lines. Rather, it means thinking strategically about audiences, desired outcomes and best strategies to meet those outcomes.

Another interesting set of readings con hyper-polarization and related topics.

David Eisner observes that bridgers serve as a critical portal for ideas on each side to be heard, understood and considered by the other when they are too angry to listen to the other on their own. Are bridgers the only people who can do that?