Listing of Seminar Topics 

Jump to Part II: Massively Parallel Peacebuilding Posts

All posts can be found here or you can sign up to receive them on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Alternatively, you can get an email compilation of each unit by signing up for our newsletter.

A Note about Post Order:  We should note that this list is inherently linear, but this set of ideas is not linear. Rather, it is a web.  We have (as usual) had a very difficult time deciding what to post first, what later, what toward the end.  Conflict, and particularly complex systems, are very much chicken-and-egg affairs--everything relates to everything else.  So we will be presenting a lot of different ideas up front, and then circling back to them over time as we explore earlier ideas further and present related ideas that need to be linked to something that came before.  On this page we present the posts in a "Table-of-Contents" order, meaning from the first to the last.  The Conflict Frontiers Blog has the same posts, but like all blogs, lists the most recent post first.

Other Notes: 

• The MBI Overview and Unit 1 are the same in this seminar and the Fundamentals Seminar. Starting with Unit 2, the two seminars diverge.
• The dates shown are the dates that these posts will be (or were) sent out on social media.  However, all through Unit 4 are available here, now.  We are now starting to work on Unit 5, and will post those posts here when they become available as well. 

Moving Beyond Intractability Overview

• The Challenge of Complex, Intractable Conflicts -- Our inability to constructively handle intractable conflict is making societal problem solving impossible. -- February 28, 2018
• Beyond Intractability, CRInfo, and Moving Beyond Intractability -- BI is completely redesigned with new materials added daily. For students, conflict professionals, and anyone who wants to deal with conflict more effectively. -- February 28, 2018
• Constructive Confrontation Initiative -- MBI's Constructive Confrontation Initiative is starting! Use it to learn how to confront everday and difficult conflicts more constructively! -- March 1, 2018
• Things You Can Do To Help Limit Destructive Conflict -- Wonder what YOU can do to help counter destructive conflicts? This blog is for EVERYONE! -- March 1, 2018
• Conflict Frontiers Seminar/Blog -- Our standard interest-based solutions to conflicts aren't working for today's complex, intractable conflicts. We need something new! -- March 2, 2018
• MBI Discussions -- All the MBI Seminars (and one blog) have discussions open to our users. Please join them! -- March 2, 2018
• Peacebuilding in the Era of Trump -- How do we build peace and resolve conflict in the age of hyper-partisanship and Donald Trump? -- March 3, 2018
• Conflict Fundamentals Seminar/Blog -- Do you want to know what drives conflicts and disputes and how to resolve them? -- March 3, 2018
• Beyond Intractability in Context Blog -- Intractable conflicts permeate the news--in uplifting as well as disturbing ways. We highlight particularly interesting stories and articles here. -- March 4, 2018
• Colleague Activities Blog -- A conference without the travel--see here what others are doing to address the intractable conflict challenge. -- March 4, 2018
• BI/CRInfo Knowledge Base -- What happened to "The Old" Beyond Intractability and CRInfo? It's still all here--it's called the Knowledge Base! -- March 5, 2018

Conflict Frontier Seminar Part I

The Challenge of Complex, Large-Scale Intractable Conflict

Part I of the Conflict Frontiers Seminar starts by arguing that the destructive way in which society handles intractable conflict is the single greatest threat facing humanity. We then explore the factors that make intractable conflict so difficult including, especially, the challenges posed by the enormous scale of society-wide conflict and the many problems posed by the social and psychological complexity of these conflicts. We also examine the limitations of current strategies for addressing the conflict problem and suggest a broad strategy for getting around those limitations. 

Unit 1: Understanding the Intractable Conflict Problem

• Welcome and Introduction to the Frontiers Seminar -- Limiting the destructiveness of today's big and intractable conflicts will require majors advances at the frontiers of the peace and conflict fields. -- March 6, 2018
• Why Can't We Fix Anything Anymore? -- Why can't we fix our serious social, economic, political, and environmental problems? Because we don't know how to deal with the underlying conflicts! -- March 7, 2018
• What Are Intractable Conflicts (A Frontiers Video)? -- Intractable conflicts aren't impossible to resolve--they are just very difficult. Recognizing their true nature is the first step towards transformation. -- March 7, 2018
• What Makes Conflicts Intractable (Frontiers Post)? -- Why are intractable conflicts like the earth and an onion? They all have multiple layers that hide the core. -- March 8, 2018
• Intractable Conflict: A "Climate Change-Class" Problem -- What are the parallels between intractable conflicts and climate change? There are many--and much to be learned from studying them. -- March 9, 2018
• Limits to Growth, Tragedies of the Commons, and the Conflict Problem -- Conflict problems associated with wisely and equitably managing the social, political, economic, and environmental "commons" are society's real "limit to growth." -- March 10, 2018

Unit 2: Pushing the Frontier: the Limits of Business-as-Usual Approaches

• Business-as-Usual Introduction -- Business-as-usual strategies don't work for intractable conflicts--they often make them worse! -- March 11, 2018
• Part 1: Same Old Approach, Just More or Better -- Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Why do we do that with conflict? -- March 12, 2018
• Part 2: Boys Will Be Boys" -- Are confliict and war inevitable? Is "compromise" bad? Common attitudes turn us into cynics and block learning. -- March 13, 2018
• Part 3: The "Blame Game" -- In conflict, we often blame the other. But then that person or group gets defensive, and the conflict often escalates. -- March 14, 2018
• Part 4: Power and the Power Strategy Mix -- What is power? The ability to get things done? The ability to push other people around? Which is right? (Actually, they both are.) -- March 15, 2018
• Part 5: The Interplay of Reason and Emotion -- Can you be "rational" about conflict? -- March 16, 2018
• Part 6: More Bad Assumptions -- If they'd just talk, they could work it out! Exploring this and other bad assumptions. -- March 18, 2018
• Part 7: The Return of I'll Fight-you-for-it Rules -- Are efforts to solve problems collaboratively now losing to naked contests of Machiavellian power? -- March 19, 2018
• Part 8: The Backlash Effect and Coefficient -- If your backlash coefficient is more than one, your cause cannot be won! Learn why! -- March 20, 2018
• Part 9: Recent Peace and Conflict Paradigms -- Peace cultivation and massively parallel peacebuilding: two ideas for a new complexity-oriented conflict paradigm. -- March 21, 2018

Unit 3: Introduction to Complexity and "Systems Thinking" -- Theoretical Antecedents

• Developing a Systems/Complexity Paradigm -- An introductory look at a developing new paradigm for peacebuilding: using systems thinking and complexity analysis -- April 3, 2018
• Dugan's "Nested Theory" of Conflict -- Conflicts exist in many levels at once - seeing these helps you see the entire conflict system. -- April 4, 2018
• Lederach's Pyramid -- Leaders at three levels of society all contribute to peace, but those at the middle-level are often the most effective. -- April 6, 2018
• Lederach's Big Picture of Conflict Transformation -- Lederach's circle of conflict transformation shows how to design change processes that work. -- April 7, 2018
• Diamond and McDonald's Multi-track Diplomacy -- Diplomats are not just officials, but include 9 different types of people--all contributing towards peacebuilding. -- April 8, 2018
• Ury's "Third Side" -- Everyone can play at least one of Ury's 10 "Third Side" roles--even the disputants themselves. -- April 10, 2018
• Coleman's "Five Percent" Part 1 -- Peter Coleman says intractable conflicts are formed by powerful "attractors" or seemingly inescapable traps. -- April 11, 2018
• Coleman's "Five Percent" Part 2 -- Different from linear approaches, Coleman says intractable conflicts can still be tamed by 3 steps. -- April 12, 2018
• Ricigliano's SAT model -- Complex conflicts require complex responses: the SAT and PAL models are linked approaches for doing just that. -- April 13, 2018
• Hauss's "New Paradigm" -- Intractable conflicts are "wicked problems" that need an entirely new paradigm to deal with, says Chip Hauss. -- April 15, 2018

Unit 4: Moving Toward a Complexity-Oriented Paradigm

• Embracing Complexity: The Key to Dealing with Intractability -- Understanding the difference between complicated and complex systems is key to understanding that no one is in charge in intractable conflicts. -- April 16, 2018
• Complex vs. Complicated Systems -- Intractable conflicts are complex adaptive systems, so they need complex, adaptive responses. -- April 17, 2018
• System Levels -- Simple models won't work! We must develop conflict intervention models for higher-level complex systems. -- April 18, 2018
• The Really Big Picture Ecodynamics and Planetary Evolution -- An exploration of how understanding ecodynamics and evolution can help us deal with complex conflict. -- April 19, 2018
• Meeting the Adaptation Challenge -- Speeding society's ability to rapidly adapt to changing conditions should be a key goal of the conflict field. -- April 20, 2018
• The Evolutionary Choice: "Power With" or "Power Over" -- An explanation of why this may be our best/last chance to make democracy work (and avoid autocracy and anocracy). -- April 22, 2018
• Our Most Important Conflict: Coexisters vs. Fighters vs. Divide-and-Conquerors -- We need to resist "divide and conqueror's" efforts to control society by exacerbating left/right tensions. -- April 23, 2018
• The Complex Causes of Social Problems -- We need to think about social problems as complex adaptive systems requiring massively parallel problem-solving. -- April 24, 2018
• Social and Psychological Complexity -- Those who seek power-over others are dealing better with social and psychological complexity. This needs to change! -- April 25, 2018
• Mari Fitzduff's An Introduction to Neuroscience for the Peacebuilder-Part 1 -- Neuroscience can explain why so many peacebuilding interventions don't work as hoped--and how to do better. -- April 26, 2018
• Mari Fitzduff's An Introduction to Neuroscience for the Peacebuilder-Part 2 -- How can peacebuilders use a knowledge of neuroscience to do their jobs better? We are just beginning to learn. -- April 28, 2018
• Engineering and Medical Troubleshooting -- Complexity-oriented approaches to conflict are more like medicine and less like engineering. -- April 29, 2018
• The Scale Up Problem -- We need to stop thinking in terms of mediation triads, and scale up conflict work to societal levels. -- May 1, 2018
• The Google Traffic Metaphor -- Google traffic and other traffic control activities can teach us a lot about dealing with conflict. -- May 2, 2018
• The Decentralized, "Markets Plus" Metaphor -- Harnessing the power of markets: a strategy for scaling up efforts to deal with complex, intractable conflict. -- May 4, 2018

Conflict Frontiers Seminar Part II

Massively Parallel Peacebuilding

Part II presents Massively Parallel Peacebuilding, a highly-decentralized strategy for meeting the scale and complexity challenge presented in Part I of the Frontiers Seminar.   Building on what we now know (and can reasonably expect to find out), MPP identifies an Action List over 100 steps we can all take to help address ten big challenges that lie at the core of the intractable conflict problem. 

Unit 5:  Introduction to Massively Parallel Peacebuilding (MPP)

• Frontiers Seminar Part II: Introduction to Massively Parallel Peacebuilding - Part II of the Frontiers Seminar shows how EVERYONE can and must get involved in solving today's big problems. -- July 9. 2018
• The Risk of Large-Scale Civil Unrest and Violence in the United States -- Are we on the brink of catastrophe...and if so, can we step back...or will we fall (or jump)? -- July 10, 2018
• The Peace and Democracy-Building Continuum -- In 1978, it looked as if democracy and peace were advancing globally.  Now they are both retreating. Can we reverse that trend? -- July 11, 2018
• The Peacebuilding / Constructive Confrontation Synthesis -- Good conflict resolution skills are not just for peacebuilders--they are crucial for disputants as well. -- July 12, 2018
• Massively Parallel Peacebuilding (MPP) -- Massively Parallel Peacebuilding enlists everyone engaged in or affected by conflict to help change its destructive course. -- July 13, 2013
• Why MPP Isn't Such a Crazy Idea - The civil rights movement, & the environmental movement are both successful "massively parallel" precedents to MPP. -- July 16, 2018
• Massively Parallel Peacebuilding: "Things You Can Do" Actions - Here's a start of a list of things you can do to be a part of MPP.-- July 17, 2018
• 2nd, 3rd, 4th… Order Problems -- Cynicism, reinventing the wheel, information friction and overload are among the problems that need to be tackled. -- July 18, 2018
• Using the MPP Action List: The Authoritarian Populism Example (Part I) -- Here we introduce a set of posts we plan to show how the MPP Action List can actually be used to address a problem that is high on people's minds in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere around the world. -- July 23, 2018
• Using the MPP Action List: The Authoritarian Populism Example (Part II)  -- This video highlights a few of the actions from each of the ten challenges on the MPP Action List that are particularly important for addressing the U.S. Authoritarian Populism problem.-- July 24, 2018

Unit 6: MPP Challenge 1: Figuring Out What Is Going On 

• See the Complexity It's not Just "Us versus Them" -- Parties, issues, dynamics, power, and relationships are among the conflict elements one must clearly understand. -- July 25, 2018
• Map the Basic Conflict Elements -- Conflict mapping lets you see what's going on in a conflict, so you can figure out how to engage to have the most positive impact. -- July 26, 2018
• Identify the Core Issues -- Wonder why conflict mapping matters?  This video shows how it can totally change your approach to a conflict.- -- July 27, 2018
• Identify the Overlay Issues -- This, too, shows why conflict mapping matters as it helps explain why simple, quick "solutions," never work in intractable conflicts.  At the same time it explores what DOES need to happen to tackle such conflicts effectively.
• Example: Mapping the Authoritarian Populism “Conflict Complex," an Overview -- Authoritarian populism is actually a complex array of complex conflicts. This post introduces a series of posts designed to make it easier to understand what's going on.
• Example: Mapping the Continuum between Democracy and Authoritarianism -- First things first, what do we mean by authoritarianism and how does it relate to democracy.
• Example: The Red/Blue Cultural Dvide -- In the first of a set of posts, we will explore how conflict mapping (and later, the other action steps) can be used to address a real-world problem--in this case the core moral conflict in the U.S. and elsewhere between right-leaning "traditionalists and left-leaning "cosmopolitans over cultural, social, and political change.
• Example: The Purple/Gold Distributional Divide -- This will look at another core aspect of the authoritarian populism problem:  the distributional conflict between four major groups: the "1%"; the "99%", the "left behinds", and the "protected classes"--a U.S. legal term for race, color religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, and veteran status.
• Example: Red, Blue, Gold Interactions, Destructive Polarization and the Peacebuilding Imperative -- Using a triangular, graphical map of the above, interlocking conflicts, this post will explain how things have polarized into an all out left versus right conflict and outline how peacebuilding strategies could constructively "repolarize" the conflict as a struggle between the authoritarians and those who want to make democracy work.
• Example:The Divide and Conquer Authoritarian Threat -- One example of overlay issues is understanding how the cultural and distributional core conflict issues are being exacerbated (and sometimes initiated) by authoritarian "wannabes" for selfish purposes unrelated to the core issues of the parties.
• Identify Your Areas of Influence - Before taking action, or even choosing which actions to take, you should consider where you have the most influence and ability to impact the conflict system in a positive way. Especially important are strategies for "scaling up" your influence beyond your immediate circle of contacts.

Unit 7: Challenge 2: Defending and Promoting Democracy

• Understand What we Mean by Democracy
• Establish and Protect the Rule of Law 
• Contend Nonviolently
• Resist Divide-and-Conquer Provocateurs
  • Defend Against Propagana
• Prevent Scapegoating 
• Limit the Concentration of Power 
• Develop a New Global Security Regime
  • Promote Collective Security Arrangements
  • Control Arms to Make Them Less Threatening 
  • Control the Military-Industrial Complex 
  • Defend Against Attacks from Non-State Actors
• Delegitimize Aggression, Conquest, and Human Rights Abuses 
• Initiate Violence Prevention Programs
• Pursue Peacemaking through Track 1 and Track 2 Diplomacy
• Provide Free and Fair Elections

Unit 8: Challenge 3: Constructively Framing Conflicts and Relationships

• Limit "Us Vs. Them" Language and Thinking
  • Resist Enemy Images
  • Limit Negative, Outgroup-based Framing
• Resist Dehumanization Pressures
• Expose the False Promise of Decisive Victory
  • Understand the Limits of "Conversion"
• Resist the Revolution Trap
• Focus on Common Interests, Not Just Differences
  • Frame Goals Consistently with Societal Ideals
• Focus on the Real Enemy: Destructive Conflict Dynamics
• Identify Unmet Human Needs
  • Promote Inclusive, Needbased Protections
• Limit Alienation
• "Recognize and Acknowledge Your Side's Contribution to the Problem."
• Balance Rights with Responsibilities
• Focus on Individual, not Group, Responsibility
• Be Careful of Absolute Good and Evil Thinking
• Think "Win-Win," not "Win-Lose"
• Go Beyond Anger to ProblemSolving 
• Limit Worst-case Thinking

Unit 9: Challenge 4: Reconciling the Past and Developing an Attractive Societywide Vision for the Future

• Promote Peace and End Violence
• Determine the Truth about the Past
• Provide Justice for Past Wrongs
• Limit Retributive Justice
• Provide Restorative Justice Options
• Provide Distributive Justice
• Provide Procedural Justice
• Blend Apology and Forgiveness for Past Wrongs
• Balance Peace, Justice, Truth, Apology, and Forgiveness to Achieve Reconciliation
• Provide Trauma-Healing Assistance
• Use Narratives and Story-telling for Trauma Healing
• Imagine A Realistic Future That We Might All Want to Live In
  • Promote Diversity Amid Intolerable Differences
• Plan for the Future and Protect Posterity
• Balance Demands for Cultural Security and Cultural Freedom

Unit 10:  Challenge 5:  Limiting and Reversing the Escalation Spiral

• Promote Escalation Awareness
  • Promote Constructive Mobilization 
• Use the Power Strategy Mix to Limit Escalation
• Ratchet Down Tensions
• Treat Opponents (and Allies) with Respect
• Voice Complaints Respectfully 
  • Use "I-messages" to Soften Disapproval, Making It Easier to Receive
• Challenge Hate and Malevolence
• Counteract Provocateurs 
• Delegitimize Conflict Profiteering 
• Utilize peacekeepers to control violence
• Provide DDR Programs
• Prevent the "Good Fight" from Becoming an End in Itself 
• Honestly Examine Downside Costs
• Find (and Act as) a Witness
• Encourage Disarming Actions
• Establish Early Warning and Crisis Communication Systems 
• Cultivate of Facesaving Opportunities 
• Set Fair Limits on Competition

Unit 11: Challenge 6: Improving Communication and Correcting Misunderstandings 

• Open Communication Channels
• Get Out of Our Bubbles
• Learn to Communicate Effectively Across Cultures
• Empathically Listen to The Other Side
• Provide Safe Spaces for Communication
• See Ourselves as Others See Us
• See Others as They Really Are
• Scale Up Constructive Communication
• Facilitate Group Learning
• Correct Inaccurate Rumors Quickly
• Employ Good Policy Analysis and Fair Marketing 
• Restore Vibrant Local News Coverage And Debate
• Overcome Narrowcasting
• Overcome the Problem of Feel-good Noise
• Encourage and Participate in Dialogue Processes

Unit 12:  Challenge 7:  Obtaining and Effectively Using"Real Facts" 

• Disentangle Facts and Values
  • Foster Credible Bipartisan Fact Checking
• Be Aware of and Work to Counteract the Confirmation Bias 
• Prioritize Information Flows
• Promote Resistance to Propaganda and Disinformation
• Assess Contradictory Experts
• Pursue Joint Fact-finding
• Decode Misleading Statistics
• Reestablish Respect for Science and Expertise
• Evaluate Impacts of Actions

Unit 13:  Challenge 8: Pursuing Collaboration and the Power of Working Together 

• Find Common Ground Amidst Differences
• Manage Distrust
  • Build Trust
• Build understanding and trust through joint projects
• Demonstrate Collaborative Potential
  • Develop and Pursue "Back Channels" 
• Think "Win -Win", not "Win-Lose"
• Understand "BATNAs," "ZOPAs," "Ripeness" and ways to Promote Ripeness
• Expand your Conflict Styles
• Improve Your Conflict-Handling Skills through Training
• Use Intermediaries 
  • Use a mediator
  • Use a facilitator
  • Engage in a Collaborative ProblemSolving Process
  • Utilize an arbitrator
  • Go to Court
• Develop Verification Measures and Performance Guarantees
  • Guarantee Policy Recommendations 

Unit 14:  Challenge 9:  Promoting Good Governance

• Strengthen Civic Education
• Provide Peace Education
• Protect Individual Rights
• Assure Transparent, Ethical Government 
• Limit the Concentration of Wealth
• Provide a Social Safety Net
• Protect the Commons 
• Provide Support for the Common Infrastructure
• Encourage Grassroots Interest Groups
• Discourage "Free-Riding"
• Prevent Fraud
• Institutionalize Future Protections
• Assure Meaningful Elections
• Assure Expertisebased Governance 
• Provide Governmental Oversight
• Consider How Safe Is "Too Safe"

Unit 15:  Challenge 10:   Promoting the Invisible Hand While Controlling the Invisible Fist

• Promote Socially Responsible Businesses
• Constructively Engage in the Private Sector
• Offer Quality Goods and Services to the Economically Disadvantaged
• Expand the NonExploitive Sharing Economy 
• Provide Consumers with Accurate Information 
• Require Business to Take Responsibility for their Public Harms 

Massively Parallel Peacebuilding: Making it Happen