Recent BI and Substack Posts

Weekly collection of important and interesting readings from our colleagues and journalists writing on topics relating to polarization, democracy, and intractable conflicts.

An exploration of the critical role that civil society needs to play in the defending US democracy and thoughts about how civil society might overcome the challenges that are making it difficult for it to play that role.

Here we announce the release of the much updated Beyond Intractability website with the addition of an extensive Constructive Conflict Guide focused on hyper-polarization and ways to strengthen and improve democracy. See the details here.

Catching up after two weeks off -- we have a lot of readings to share!

Continuing our review of the distinction between core conflict factors and conflict overlays, this post examines common overlay factors that make conflicts even more difficult to resolve--and (briefly) what to do about them.

A review of the distinction the Burgesses make between core conflict factors and conflict overlays. This is the first of a two-part series; this one on the core factors; the second one will be on the overlay factors that make conflicts even more difficult to resolve.

Catching up on a lot of interesting readings and podcasts.

Jacob Bornstein gives a master class on how to assemble and facilitate a collaborative process over very contentious issues -- and easier ones.

A tribute to Lou Kriesberg --a leading light in the peace and conflict resolution fields, along with his latest thoughts on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

A lot of interesting and important reading for this week!

Magical production is the tendency to unconsciously think that goods and services magically appear in our stores and that the only important question is how to distribute them. A road trip through flyover country shows how false--and damaging--this image is.

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.