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The Complex Factors That Make Intractable Conflict So Difficult >
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Unmet Human Needs
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Identity Issues

BI Article
Identity Issues
Identity has long been identified as a driver of intractability. This essay explains why, and what can be done to address these conflicts.

BI Article
Bruce Dayton: We're at a Crossroads between Tribalism and a New Supra-Ordinate Identity
A reflection on the choices facing us, plus the intersection of the fields of constructive conflict and crisis management.

BI Article
Identity Frames
Identity frames include ideas about who one is, what characteristics they share with their group(s) and how they do and should related to others. These frames are frequently sources of conflict.

Related Folders
Cultivating Respect for Identity Groups
Societies tend to be divided into competing identity groups with differing circumstances, values, histories, and priorities. Massively parallel problem-solving requires respectful coexistence, if possible, and constructive confrontation, if not.

Colleague Activities
Citizenship and American Identity Program--The Aspen Institute
This program explores the question of what it means to be American, and how to promote a shared sense of national identity in an age of demographic flux and severe inequality.

News and Opinion
Nationalism Is a Form of Love, Not Hate

News and Opinion
Is there a legal right to free choice of ethno-racial identity?
An academic look at another reason why combating racism is so difficult--legal and political difficulties in defining membership boundaries.

News and Opinion
The Collapse of American Identity

News and Opinion
The American Identity Crisis

News and Opinion
How We Make Real Progress on Climate Change

News and Opinion
Reimagining American Identity

News and Opinion
IS HISTORY HISTORY? Identity Politics and Teleologies of the Present

News and Opinion
A Pedagogy of Social Justice Education: Social Identity Theory, Intersectionality, and Empowerment

News and Opinion
Sexual and Gender Identity: Four Competing Paradigms

News and Opinion
How Identity Politics Aids the Right and Divides the Left
An assessment of the political implications of dividing society into separate (and often competing) identity groups.

News and Opinion
Language and Traditions Are Considered Central to National Identity
A report on an extensive series of international polls that tries to help us understand what people think are the core elements of their national identity.

News and Opinion
The Racial Identity of Americans Is Rapidly Blurring. Politics Hasn't Caught Up.
An assessment of the contradictions between a political philosophy based on sharp racial differences and the reality of increasingly blurry racial distinctions.

News and Opinion
The New Driving Force of Identity Politics Is Class, Not Race
An argument that the United States' "identity politics" is in the process of refocusing itself around class and away from race.

News and Opinion
Democrats' Continued Fixation on Identity Politics Carries Risks