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Constructive Conflict Guide >
Civic Knowledge and Skills That We All Need to Constructively Handle Intractable Conflict
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Colleague Activities
Framing Democracy: A Quick Start Guide
This short guide from The Frameworks Institute asks, how can we foster a more productive dialogue and build a greater understanding of what democracy is and how we can improve it in the US?"
BI Article
Frames, Framing and Reframing
Frames are the way we see things and define what we see. Similar to the way a new frame can entirely change the way we view a photograph, reframing can change the way disputing parties understand and pursue their conflict.
BI Article
Sanda Kaufman: Back to Basics: Making Sense of Current Events - Can Framing Help?
Better framing can contribute to depolarization, mutual understanding, and productive dialogue. Why don't we work on that?
BI Article
Colin Rule: Positive Reframing in Political Conversations: Avoiding the Race to the Bottom
A call for positive reframing in political conversations --- demonstrating that you have really heard the core contentions of the other side, and that you are willing to engage with the strongest part of their argument.
BI Article
Envisioning
Envisioning is a process in which people try to see into the future--not only what they expect to happen, but what they would like to happen. In order to attain "peace," people must have an image of what "peace" would look like. Only then can they figure out what they need to do to get there.
BI Article
Adding to the call to action---A few more thoughts
An exploration of the importance of framing and the need to take control of the destructive narratives that are so pervasive in polarized democracies. We need to replace them with a shared vision for our future -- one that is attractive to everyone including those with whom we disagree.
BI Article
The 4th of July, a Time to Celebrate --- Or Not?
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!
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Complexify Worldview
Many of us assume that most of our socioeconomic and political problems are caused by the other side, if not one particular person on the other side. While some people with a lot of power can, indeed, be very problematic, the system is always much more complex than one "bad guy." We need to develop a much more complex and nuanced sense of the conflict system we are in, recognizing that there are multiple causes (often including "us") that are contributing to any particular problem.
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Conflict Assessment and Mapping Tools
A variety of conflict assessment and mapping tools are available to help understand the complexities of a conflict more clearly.
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Identifying Leverage Points and Opportunities
Conflict maps can help identify what aspects of a conflict system might be changeable, and which not. Then one can figure out what the leverage points for change are likely to be, and identify ways in which those leverage points could be accessed and affected.
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Limiting Divisive Us-vs-Them Framing
When we define a conflict in us-versus-them terms, asserting that "we" are the "good guys" and "they" are the "bad guys" we are almost assuring that "they" will do the same thing, and common ground (other than defining each other as the enemy) will not be found.
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Conflicting Visions and Frames
When people have divergent and competing images of what is happening in the world, why, and what they want, that makes resolving the conflicts between them much more challenging than it is when they share fundamental understandings of what the conflict is about, and how it might be resolved.
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Imagine a Positive Shared Future
You can't get to a destination if you don't know where it is. Likewise, if you don't know what kind of future you want, it will be hard to achieve. And if you seek a future that the "other side" strongly opposes, you are also likely to fail. Constructive conflict involves developing an image of a positive shared future -- a future in which everyone in society would like to (or at least be willing to) live.
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Visionaries
Visionaries help us imagine a unifying vision for a diverse society that maximizes self-determination while promoting joint action to protect the commons.
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A Vision for a Democracy That Lives up to Its Ideals
The ability of conflict to advance, rather than threaten, the human condition depends upon having a shared vision of how to build a democratic society that fairly and wisely balances the competing interests of its diverse citizenry.
Colleague Activities
The Power of Communities in Uncertain Times Part 1
The power of communities --- people coming together around a shared vision, passion, and purpose --- can transform the world and take us toward an anti-fragile, resilient, and regenerative future.
Colleague Activities
Is reconciliation in a divided America possible? Look to Northern Ireland to see what could happen.
For peace to be sustained, it requires a shared vision of the future that's anchored in a shared understanding of the past.
BI Article
How Do We Get What We Want and Need? Through Polarization or Bridge-building, Reframing, and "Omni-Win" Approaches?
This newsletter focuses on the several contributions to the BI/CRQ Hyper-Polarization Discussion that we have not yet had space to include in the newsletter.