BI ArticleDestructive Escalation
Escalation is an increase in the intensity of a conflict. The number of parties and issues tends to increase, tactics become heavier, malevolence increases, and overall destructiveness generally increases as well.
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BI Article
Destructive Escalation
Escalation is an increase in the intensity of a conflict. The number of parties and issues tends to increase, tactics become heavier, malevolence increases, and overall destructiveness generally increases as well.
BI Article
Escalation is the Most Dangerous Force on the Planet. But We Continue to Drive It
Driven by many interacting feedback loops, escalation can get out of control quickly--leading to violence or even worse.
BI Article
The Causes and Outcomes of Escalation
A diagram and explanation showing the way multiple positive feedback loops quickly drive escalation higher and higher.
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Polarization and Hyper-Polarization
Polarization usually happens along with escalation--causing people to move towards the extremes (the "poles") of each side, leaving fewer and fewer people in the middle. Guy and Heidi Burgess write about "hyper-polarization," which is an extreme form of polarization that is all encompassing -- it involves not only polarization on issues, but also what is widely called "affective polarization," the fear of and hatred of the other side.
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Weak Societal Integration
Robert Putnam is famous for his book Bowling Alone which documents the break down of social ties in the United States. Societal integration is essential in keeping societies together. Without it, it is easy for both internal divisive actors or external enemies to ferment strong enough conflicts to break a society apart.
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Crisis-Related Time and Information Pressures
When a crisis occurs, decisions about how to respond have to be made quickly, often on the basis of incorrect or incomplete information. These pressures often cause people to do things that make the situation worse, not better.
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Unwillingness to Balance Partisan and Societal Interests
When conflicts become hyper-polarized, disputants lose the sense of integration -- of being in a relationship or sharing a society with the other side. So they lose most or all interest in solving problems in ways that work for everyone in the society, seeking only solutions that help themselves at the expense of others.
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Entrenched Escalation
Escalation tends to feed upon itself, becoming so "entrenched," that is very hard to back out of the destructive conflict dynamics it spawns, for fear of appearing weak.
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Hostile, Inflammatory Language and Behavior
Calling the other side names, demeaning and humiliating them, or accusing them of being the source of shared problems almost always makes conflicts worse, and gets the other side thinking of you in the same way.
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Overcoming Hyper-Polarization, Escalation, and the Forces of Disintegration
Polarization and escalation tend to make conflicts increasingly intense. But there are a variety of conflict resolution strategies that can help de-polarize and de-escalate conflicts so that they at least do less damage, and at best, might be resolved.
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De-escalation
De-escalation can take place through de-escalatory language (such as I messages and active listening) and de-escalatory behaviors such as conciliatory gestures, gradual reduction in tension (GRIT) and other measures designed to break negative stereotypes and build confidence between groups.
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De-escalators
De-escalators help us diffuse our escalated and hyperpolarized politics by working to replace anger, hostility, us-vs-them demonization, and, sometimes, violence with a willingness to peacefully and constructively engage with the other side.
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Escalation Educators
Escalation Educators expose the dangers posed by conflict escalation and closely linked hyper-polarization, and help people in all walks of life learn the skills needed to avoid escalation and polarization in the first place, and if it is too late for that, reverse it and start to heal its wounds.