Recent Beyond Intractability Posts
Including Hyper-Polarization Posts
Posts by BI Section
Lists of recent posts are also available separately for each BI Section:
Hyper-Polarization Discussion Posts | Earlier Constructive Conflict Initiative Blog
Things You Can Do To Help | Conflict Frontiers | Conflict Fundamentals
Beyond Intractability in Context | Colleague Activities
- Does the Power-With Approach Include Justice? Comments on Our Power-Over/Power-With Essay -- Colleagues ask power-with and power-over whom, for what purpose, and when? All good questions--and starts of answers. -- Sep 18
- Beware the False Prophets of War -- For anyone who thinks that we understand war and can reliably predict its outcome, a review of failed predictions (and an argument for not trying to "ride the tiger"). -- Sep 17
- Good Intentions Gone Awry -- A must-read explanation of why it is so critical that we "save" democracy and the pitfalls of many popular strategies that people are using to pursue this goal. -- Sep 16
- Reinvigorating Peace: A Critical Look at the UN’s New Agenda for Peace -- Boutros Boutros Ghali's 1992 "Agenda for Peace" taught us the word peacebuilding. This article looks at the United Nations' recent update of this important document. -- Sep 16
- The Building Civic Bridges Act -- A Congressional Act introduced by a bipartisan coalition to establish a pilot program within AmeriCorps, focused on building relationships across lines of difference, led by a new "Office of Civic Bridgebuilding." -- Sep 15
- A Further Discussion of Dialogue -- Dialogue has no fixed goal or predetermined agenda. The emphasis is not on resolving disputes, but rather on improving the way in which people with significant differences relate to each other. -- Sep 11
- How American Democracy Fell So Far Behind -- For United States, a country that likes to think of its democracy as exemplary, a look at countries that have found ways to fashion better democracies. -- Sep 10
- Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of September 10, 2023 -- More interesting reading from colleagues and others in allied fields on democracy, polarization, and related issues. -- Sep 09
- Polarization, Democracy, and Political Violence in the United States: What the Research Says -- From Rachel Kleinfeld and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an extensive, must-read analysis of the origins of the United States' ongoing political difficulties. -- Sep 09
- MLK and the Content of Character -- On the anniversary of Martin Luther King's 1963 March on Washington, thoughtful reflections on the meaning of his "I Have a Dream" speech in the contemporary context. -- Sep 09
- Jay Rothman on Large Scale Interventions -- In this interview, Jay Rothman continues to reflect on strategies for scaling up small group processes in ways that enable whole communities to develop "both-and" solutions the common problems. -- Sep 06
- Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of September 3, 2023 -- More interesting and important ideas from our conflict resolution/peacebuilding colleagues and others in allied fields. -- Sep 05
- Why civility should not trump free expression: Part 10 of answers to bad arguments against free speech from Nadine Strossen and Greg Lukiano -- For those trying to think through what limits should be placed on free speech, a link to thoughts on one part of the argument plus links to 13 articles addressing other aspects of this complex issue. -- Sep 03
- Essentials of Social Innovation - Articles -- from the Stanford Social Innovation Review, a starter kit for "leaders of change" who are beginning to explore social innovation . -- Sep 03
- America Is Often a Nation Divided -- An informative look back at historical periods in which the US was as deeply divided as it is today. We got through those tough times and we can get through today's (if we work at it). -- Sep 02
- Daniel Stid: Four Ways To Reframe Democracy in America -- How loneliness and isolation are contributing to our political malaise--and four ideas for changing that. -- Aug 30
- Zach Elwood on the Belief that "Polarization is not the Problem" -- Polarization is hurting both sides, and both sides should be concerned about reducing it if they want to achieve any of the high-priority goals. -- Aug 27
- Zach Elwood on the Belief that "Polarization is not the Problem" -- Polarization is hurting both sides, and both sides should be concerned about reducing it if they want to achieve any of the high-priority goals. -- Aug 27
- What is Meritocracy For? -- An article that asks an all-important (but not commonly asked) question, what are the obligations of those who hold positions in the meritocracy? -- Aug 23
- Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of August 20, 2023 -- Another set of links to interesting articles from our colleagues in conflict resolution, journalism, and allied fields. -- Aug 23
- Difficult Dialogues National Resource Center -- DDNRC seeks to ensure that college campuses sustain freedom of expression and academic freedom, promote pluralism, and expand opportunities for constructive communication across different perspectives. -- Aug 23
- More on Constructive Conflict Communication -- Empathic (active) listening and I-message are two very powerful communication strategies that work at the societal as well as interpersonal levels. -- Aug 21
- Why So Many Elites Feel Like Losers -- An especially perceptive article highlighting what happens when more people feel entitled to upper level positions in the social hierarchy than there are positions available. -- Aug 20
- First Principles: The Need for Greater Consensus on the Fundamentals of Polarisation -- A discussion of the definition of polarization, why it is so important, and how it might be addressed, including, perhaps by creating an academic "field" of polarization. -- Aug 16
- Talking with and Listening To People on the Other Side -- Most of us have unrealistic images of "the other side." If we talk with, and most importantly really listen to, some of those people, we will usually find out they are not nearly as different from us as we think. -- Aug 16
