BI ArticleWhat Makes Conflicts Intractable?
An overview of the many "core" and "overlay factors" that tend to make conflicts intractable. The more there are, the more likely intractability will occur.
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Constructive Conflict Guide
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BI Article
What Makes Conflicts Intractable?
An overview of the many "core" and "overlay factors" that tend to make conflicts intractable. The more there are, the more likely intractability will occur.
BI Article
The Core Causes of Intractable Conflicts
Intractable conflicts such as between Israel and Palestine are rarely just about surface issues such as land or religion. At the core of most intractable conflicts is a tangle of issues threatening the most vital interests of the parties. This essay describes some of the common causes underlying many intractable conflicts.
BI Article
What Are Intractable Conflicts? (Fundamentals Essay)
Intractability refers to conflicts that seem to be stuck in an increasingly destructive spiral. These conflicts consume time, money and energy and at their worst, result in millions of deaths.
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Causes of Intractability Exercise - for Face-to-Face Classes
BI Article
Causes of Intractability Exercise - for Online Classes
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The Illusion of Simplicity
Much of the intractability problem stems from the fact that we fail to recognize the complex nature of intractable conflict and, instead, fall back on simplistic images that see conflict in hyper-polarized, binary terms (e.g. good vs. evil, us vs. them).
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The Limits of Business As Usual Approaches
Understandably, we tend to approach conflict using the current generation of conflict-handling techniques. Unfortunately, these techniques are not enough to meet today's complex challenges. We need to do better.
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Deep-Rooted Core Differences
Understanding intractability requires understanding how fundamental, "core" tensions over moral, distributional, status, identity, and fairness issues continually pull us apart.
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Conflict "Overlay" Problems
A series of problems overlying the core issues make conflicts even more intractable. These include: competing frames, escalation dynamics, communication failures, factual disputes, procedural problems, and collaborative difficulties.
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The Staggering Scale of Society-Wide Conflict
We tend to think of conflict as a simple two party game (perhaps with a role for a third party mediator). The reality of society-wide conflict is that it simultaneously involves the chaos of millions of such simultaneous and interlocking games.
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The Additional (and Even Bigger) Challenge of Societal Complexity
It isn't just scale, the intractability of society-wide conflict is also attributable to the complexities of human psychology, social interactions, high-tech communication systems, modern economies, environmental constraints, and other factors.
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Challenges Posed by Bad-Faith Actors Who Who Are Trying to Profit by Undermining Collaboration and Power-with Democracy
Not everyone is making a good-faith effort to strengthen democracy and handle conflict constructively. There are many types of bad-faith actors who, for selfish reasons, deliberately try to inflame and exploit conflict.
BI Article
Why Chain Exercise