Newsletter #172 — November 5, 2023
Colleague Activities
Highlighting things that our conflict and peacebuilding colleagues are doing that contribute to efforts to address the hyper-polarization problem.
- Leadership
Leadership Now Project — This is a membership organization of business and thought leaders taking action to protect and renew American democracy by focusing on and promoting business's role in pro-democracy efforts. - Constructive Communication
Embracing civil disagreement — The Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership is a space for Stanford students to discuss political differences with their peers across the country. - Authoritarianism
Military coups in Africa: A disturbing trend — Future hopes lie in civilian governments effectively governing upon return to power and the rise of promising civil movements in Africa. The West can still play a role, but needs to respect Africa's self-determination. - Constructive Communication
Polarization Conversation Guide — A simple, easy-to-use guide that will allow anyone to lead a constructive conversation about political polarization from LivingRoom Conversations. - De-Escalation Strategies
A depolarization-aimed speech I'd like to see President Biden give — An imagined, fictional speech that would (it seems to us) do wonders to disarm the polarization wars--if it would be heard and taken to heart. One can only wish! - Crime / Policing / Guns
Ravenscroft students leverage EP training in the wake of a local shooting — A story from Essential Partners about how their trainings helped high school students deal with a local shooting. - Human Needs
Dignity Press — Dignity Press has published more than 30 books that explore the dynamics of human dignity and humiliation from diverse standpoints and global perspectives.
Beyond Intractability in Context
From around the web, more insight into the nature of our conflict problems, limits of business-as-usual thinking, and things people are doing to try to make things better.
- Social Complexity
Destiny of Earth — For those times when you want to think really, really big, a review and summary of a provocative new book, "A Theory of Everyone." - Saving Democracy
Restoring Civility in Our Politics — An overview and summary of an important new book, "The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves" by Alexandra Hudson. - Social Complexity
Two Ways of Looking at the West’s Population Dilemma — Reflections on the big demographic changes (including migration) that are going to shape our future and provide real opportunities, as well as a focal point for conflict. - Cancel Culture
The Laws of Campus Culture War — For those embroiled in the campus culture wars, a primer on what everyone ought to know about the law regarding such conflicts. - Critical Theory
Why We're Rescuing Local News — A good news story about a major effort to restore local news -- a cornerstone of effective civic culture and the ability of local communities to govern themselves democratically. - Freedom of Speech
Free Speech Defenders Must Be Consistent — A plea for free speech standards that protect everyone's right to express their views and not just the rights of one's allies. - Left / Right Conflict
On This Issue, Matt Gaetz Actually Has a Good Point — An argument that much-maligned GOP rebels like Matt Gatetz are making at least one sensible argument -- Congress ought to follow its own rules and debate and pass all 12 appropriations bills (something it hasn't done since the mid 1990s). - Saving Democracy
Brexit and The Voice: Two Ill-Conceived Referenda — Reflections on two cases in which the voters were asked to consider hugely consequential and poorly understood referenda. - Hate Mongering
The Words in the Middle East That Are Breaking My Heart — Perhaps more than anything, the Hamas attack was a campaign to dehumanize Gazans in the eyes of Israelis. Reflections on where this has taken us. - Social Complexity
The Tech That’s Radically Reimagining the Public Sphere — A thoughtful analysis of what the advent of inexpensive, widely available, and accurate facial recognition is likely to due to society. - Terror
How to Stay Sane in Brutalizing Times — Thoughts on how to better cope with the turbulent and increasingly violent era in which we find ourselves from people who have struggled through vastly more dangerous times. - Large-Scale Violence
A World at War -- What Is Behind the Global Explosion of Violent Conflict? — A thoughtful exploration of the many ways in which global efforts to limit large-scale violence are eroding. - Israel / Hamas War
The Untold Stories of Gazans — A much-needed counterpoint to the widespread demonization and dehumanization of Gazans that has followed the October 7 attack. - Israel / Hamas War
The Theory of Hamas’s Catastrophic Success — An enlightening essay the tries to understand what Hamas was thinking and hoping to accomplish when they launched their brutal attack on Israel. - Israel / Hamas War
5 Things to Know About the Hamas-Run Gaza Health Ministry — A guide for those trying to evaluate the credibility of widely cited statistics about Gaza war casualties. Remember, we are in the midst of an information war and these statistics come from Hamas — the party that started that war. - Psychological Complexity
JD Haltigan: The Emotional Dysregulation Behind Progressive Authoritarianism — An important and controversial argument worth considering: the political left has its own authoritarian streak -- one that is not driven by the grandiose narcissism of Donald Trump, but rather something different—vulnerable narcissism. - Israel / Hamas War
The Israel-Hamas War Will Reshape Western Politics — An analysis of the many ways in which the politics of Western democracies is likely to be influenced by the surprisingly intense conflict over whether Israel or Hamas is most deserving of support. - Israel / Hamas War
How a deep Palestinian yearning has been hijacked by Hamas — Thoughts about a little mentioned but critically important conflict — the conflict between Hamas and Palestinians who would like to take a different path. - Israel / Hamas War
After Years of Vowing to Destroy Israel, Iran Faces a Dilemma — For years, the Iranians have used fiery rhetoric about the destruction of Israel to mobilize support and deflect criticism. Following the most successful attack on Israel in decades, they now are having to decide whether they really mean it. - Gender / LBGTQ+
Feminists Are Consenting to Hamas’ Rape Culture — A look at one of those cases in which the intersectional left's anticolonial bifurcation of the world into oppressor and oppressed groups seems to make no sense. - Israel / Hamas War
Gaza and the De-Colonization Narrative — Western views of Arab society often get one major thing wrong – Arab agency.
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