Recent BI and Substack Posts

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?

Are we facing a "constitutional" or "rule-of-law" crisis? What can/should the peacebuilding community do in such circumstances? This is what we call "the peacebuilder's dilemma."

Weekly readings and viewings of interest.

A reflection on the relationship between love and power and what makes nonviolent protests effective.

David Eisner asks whether the fires we talked about in our "Fiddling While Rome Burns" series are controlled burns or forest fires. The Burgesses respond "out of control forest fires" -- and explain why.

Our weekly readings for your enjoyment! (Or blood pressure increase).

We finish answering Ashok Panikkar by talking about other drivers of hyper-polarization: globalization and technology driven job loss, identity politics, cable news and social media, and distrust of institutions. We also address Ashok's notion of theory of continuity and share what we think it will take to "save" liberal democracy in the U.S.

We reflect on the implications and impact of the closing of FMCS, USIP, and probably CRS, what might be done about that, and then turn to answering Ashok Panikkar's question about whether hyper-polarization is "logical and rational," given the current state of the world.

The second half of Guy and Heidi Burgess's conversation with Lamar Roth and Tom Klaus on their podcast "Getting to Third Space." Here we talk more about what is driving American polarization, why it is a problem, and what can be done to address it.

Lots of readings about the Trump administration and responses to it -- plus other readings and videos of note.

The Burgesses respond to Bernie Mayer's comments on "Are We Fiddling While Rome Burns," arguing that bridging and advocacy are both needed for change, along with other elements in David Eisner's "renewing democracy ecosystem."

A discussion with David Eisner and Bernie Mayer of how bridging efforts relate to other efforts to strengthen American democracy in what David refers to as the "renew-democracy ecosystem."

Our weekly collection of readings, not surprisingly, heavily focused on Trump's moves and responses to those moves.

In the United States, hyper-polarization has escalated to the point where President Trump is trying to destroy pretty much everything Democrats care about. The question is how can the Democrats defend themselves while also working to defuse the hyper-polarization that made Trump's Presidency possible.

A reflection on why it still makes sense to try to find a middle ground between the far left and the far right, even as the far right seems to be profoundly threatening U.S. democracy.