All Recent Posts

Recent Posts are also available seperately for each BI Section:
Things You Can Do To Help | Conflict Frontiers | Conflict Fundamentals
Beyond Intractability in Context | Colleague Activities

  • Complexity-Oriented, Massively Parallel Reconciliation -- Simple solutions won't work in complex conflicts; one needs a complex solution to match the complexity of the conflict. #mbi_fundamentals
  • Identify--and Scale Up--Your Areas of Influence -- We need to think about the complexities, where our areas of influence are, and how we can scale up our influence go over the tipping point. #mbi_cci
  • Avoiding a Category 5 Socio-political Hurricane -- We need to figure out how we can live together if we want to avoid a threatening disaster. Prospective reconciliation helps us do that.
  • Living with Uncertainty in the COVID-19 Era -- An overview of common mistakes that people make when trying to deal with uncertain situations like COVID-19 (and strategies for avoiding them). #mbi_cci
  • The "Two Taproot (or Fuses) Theory" of Social Unrest -- To prevent violence, you need to respond to more than the immediate incident. You need to look at the structures and processes that led to it. #mbi_cci
  • Theories of Change -- Expressions of anger and unfocused demands are unlikely to fix things. You need a workable plan and a strategy for building the needed support. #mbi_cci
  • The Crane Brinton Effect -- The key to successful revolutionary (or evolutionary) change is a broadly agreed-upon vision for a better society in which most everyone would like to live. #mbi_cci
  • Disproportionality Trap and Counter Trap -- Efforts to limit the disproportionate impact of social problems are more likely to succeed when you take an inclusive approach that tries to address the problem wherever it arises. #mbi_cci
  • The Base-Mobilization Trap -- Neither party can now win elections without fully mobilizing their "base." This is being done by portraying the other side in the most threatening way possible, which has left us in a cycle of escalating hostility that we must find a way to escape. #mbi_cci
  • John Paul Lederach's "Meeting Place" -- This short video introduces one of the most widely used and cited exercises ever to come out of the peacebuilding field. Lederach offers a realistic way of thinking through the tough issues that plague deeply-divided societies #mbi_cci
  • Types of Justice -- It is hard to fight for justice when you don't know what it means. This essay helps you decide what types of justice are worth fighting for. #mbi_cci
  • Morton Deutsch on Understanding and Overcoming Oppression -- For a time when it seems like everyone thinks they're being oppressed by someone, a comprehensive look at what oppression really is and what to do about it. #mbi_fundamentals
  • Finding Common Ground / Constructive Addressing Differences: a Discussion Guide -- For a time when it seems like our differences are unbridgeable, a guide to finding what binds us together and dealing with what drives us apart. #mbi_cci
  • The welfare state is extremely good -- An eloquent and persuasive defense, with lots of statistics, of the United States' many "welfare state" programs. #mbi_context
  • Hyper-Polarization, the Pandemic, and the Need for a "Lifeboat Ethic" -- As we struggle to navigate the terrible storm produced by the pandemic, the economic crisis, and climate-related disasters, it makes sense to adopt a lifeboat ethic, put aside our differences, and work together to address the big threats. #mbi_cci
  • Third Siders -- For those who are looking for a way to be part of efforts to start reconciling our divided society, Bill Ury offers great advice, become a Third Sider. #mbi_cci
  • What Happens When We Have an Election That Both Sides Absolutely Positively Can't Afford to Lose? -- We just had an election that both sides felt they couldn't lose. Now, our ability to reunify the US depends upon overcoming misinformation and assuring Republicans that, even in defeat, their vital interests be still be protected. #mbi_cci
  • Power Strategy Mix -- We need to remember that, in many ways, coercion is the weakest form of power. It generates a terrible and often counterproductive backlash. The real key to sustainable change is persuasion and exchange. #mbi_cci
  • Shamil Idriss: America’s Hard Path Forward -- We must address extremist groups' grievances, while standing firm against their extreme actions. By focusing on commonalities, as well as differences, we can find a path forward. #mbi_colleague
  • Dehumanization in Politics -- As outrage on all sides continues to intensify, we need to find more effective ways of resisting the dehumanization that threatens more violence. #mbi_cci
  • Fighting Today's Oppression, Not Yesterday's Oppression -- A reminder that, amid today's racially-focused acrimony, we must find a way to work together to combat new types of 21st-century injustice. #mbi_cci
  • The Blood-Boiling Trap -- For a time when there are lots of things that, for good reason, make us furious, a reminder that too much anger can be a trap. #mbi_cci
  • Chip Hauss - On Coups and Reconciliation -- The U.S. desperately needs reconciliation at a time when it is going to be especially difficult for us to reconcile. #mbi_frontiers
  • Ebrahim Rasool on What America Might Learn From South Africa's 300+ Years of Struggle -- Exceptionally wise advice from South Africa on how to overcome polarization with vision, humanism, inclusion, and a balancing of truth, peace, and justice. #mbi_cci
  • Chip Hauss - On Coups and Reconciliation -- The U.S. is desperately needs reconciliation at a time when it is going to be especially difficult for us to reconcile.

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