The Third Side: Where and Why Bridge Builders are Needed

Where and Why Bridge Builders are Needed

Bridge builders are crucial for breaking down barriers between people. While some view these barriers as "obstacles," they can also be seen as "calls for help." These calls for help include:

  • Broken-Down Personal Relationships - Damage to relationships is almost inevitable in intractable conflicts. The friendliness and openness that may have previously characterized a relationship are replaced with distrust, fear, and anger. Bridge builders can play a crucial role in re-establishing more positive relationships between people and groups.
  • Dehumanization - Opponents who view each other as less than human — and thus not deserving of moral consideration — are unlikely to be capable of any positive interaction. This essay explores how the psychology of dehumanization can have disastrous implications for human relationships.
  • Fear - Parties who view each other as a threat are extremely unlikely to form positive relationships. Instead, each group will attempt to avoid or eliminate the other group. This essay describes how fear has a negative impact on human interaction, and offers some strategies for dealing with fear.
  • Anger - While anger is a natural and potentially productive emotion, it can also get out of control and become destructive. Anger sometimes leads to rage, which in turn may lead to hatred. This essay explores the functions of anger and how to deal with one's angry feelings.
  • Misunderstandings - Parties in conflict often misunderstand each other's intentions and messages, and make negative assumptions about the other side. This essay describes the sources of misunderstanding and how to avoid it.
  • Prejudice - Negative attitudes on the basis of differences are likely to blind parties to all that they have in common. This essay describes the psychology of prejudice, and recommends education and the establishment of cooperative communities as ways to reduce it.
  • Stereotypes - Negative generalizations about the members of a particular group may shut down communication, heighten tensions, and ultimately lead to conflict escalation. This essay describes how inaccurate stereotypes can push parties further apart.
  • Enemy Images - It is common for each side in an intractable conflict to decide that the other side is "the enemy" and therefore the source of all their problems. This essay explores the nature of enemy images and how to combat them.
  • Distrust - Parties' distrust of each other is likely to evoke a competitive orientation that stimulates and exacerbates conflict. This essay explores the development of distrust, and outlines how parties can temper distrust through communication and focusing on commonalities.
  • Polarization - When individuals on either side of the conflict take increasingly extreme positions that are more and more opposed to each other, trust and respect diminish. This essay explores the causes of polarization, as well as ways to address it.
  • Humiliation - Feelings of humiliation often lead to antagonism, anger, and even rage. This essay explores the psychological damage associated with humiliation.

For More Information

Much of the material on this user guide is drawn from www.thirdside.org. Thanks to William Ury and Joshua Weiss for giving us permission to republish their material here.