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Constructive Conflict Guide >
Intractable Conflict Threat and Opportunity >
Runaway Escalation and Hyper-Polarization >
Small-Group Intractable Conflict Threat
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Destroys Relationships

BI Article
Damaged or Destroyed Relationships
People on opposite sides of a long-running conflict tend to distrust or even hate each other. This takes an emotional toll on both parties and prevents them from working together in the future.

BI Audio/Video
Talking Intractability, Polarization and Ways Out with Peter Coleman
Peter Coleman talks about his years' long study of intractability, focusing on empirical research and physical science concepts such as attractors to find better ways of dealing with these very difficult conflicts.

Colleague Activities
Toxic polarization fractures our relationships --- even with our political peers
The contempt arising from toxic polarization makes us less able to do the basic work of politics. There is an urgent need to see value in engaging in civil, respectful ways, even with people we see as wrong.

News and Opinion
Delaying Conflict Is Better Than Venting for Relationships

Related Folders
Builds Mutually Supportive Integrative Relationships
The primary reason modern civilization is possible is because humans have become very adept at working together for the common good. If we lose this ability, we are losing much more than friendships -- we will be losing everything we depend on to survive.

Related Folders
Build and Repair Relationships
Society, as well as smaller assemblies of people, are built on relationships. When relationships are loving, respectful, friendly, and trusting, conflicts can usually be resolved without great difficulty. When relationships break down, or never existed, conflict resolution and problem solving becomes much more difficult. So an early step in dealing effectively with intractable conflicts is strengthening the relationship between the disputants.