- Ariel Markose, the Chief Strategy Officer of Amal-Tikva, Talks About How To Do Peacebuilding in Wartime -- Peacebuilding looks different in the context of war, but it can (and must) be done, explains Ariel Markose, CEO of a leading Israeli-Palestinian NGO. And, she explains, it IS being done, despite tremendous obstacles. -- Dec 05
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of November 24, 2024 -- Our weekly compilation of interesting and important readings from other sources. -- Nov 24
- Do You Want the U.S. Government to Work? Read This! And Then Do This! -- A description of the House Administration's Subcommittee on Modernization, and its predecessor, the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, and a plea for everyone to lobby for its continuation in the incoming Congress. -- Nov 21
- Kristin Hansen: As America’s political “world series” wraps up, let’s focus on the long game + Richard Harwood Concurring Statement -- Kristin Hansen of the Civic Health Project reflects on where we need to move to strengthen our civic health after the election; Richard Harwood and the Burgesses concur and add a few more thoughts about how to create a new "civic path." -- Nov 19
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of November 17, 2024 -- Our weekly set of "reader-suggested" links, colleague activities and news and opinions from journalists and others outside the conflict and peace field. -- Nov 16
- Daniel Stid: The Meaning of Democracy in Nine Words -- Daniel Stid writes about one definition of democracy -- that it is a system in which one party loses elections, but is able and wants to "come back and play again." -- Nov 13
- More Reflections from "Gail," The Israeli Peacebuilder Who Also Serves in the IDF Active Reserves -- And What that Says for U.S. Peacebuildi -- Excerpts from an email exchange between Heidi Burgess and one of her former students, who is now a peacebuilder in an Israeli/Palestinian peacebuilding organization, while also serving in the IDF reserves. -- Nov 12
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of November 10, 2024 -- Thoughts on the U.S. election from our readers, or colleagues, and journalists, among other interesting reads. -- Nov 10
- Emma Addams and Jennifer Thomas Talk about Mormon Women for Ethical Government -- Emma Addams and Jennifer Thomas talk about the founding, the principles, and the "magic sauce" that has made the Mormon Women for Ethical Government so successful. -- Nov 07
- “Don’t Destroy What you Want to Inherit”: Peacebuilding Holds the Key to Building a Strong United States of America -- A guest post from a MSc student at Ulster University in Northern Ireland, charting a way forward in the United States after the election -- suggesting three critical steps the U.S. might take to avoid "destroying the country we want our children to inherit." -- Nov 04
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of November 3, 2024 -- Reader-suggested links, along with Guy Burgess's suggested links to colleague activities and news and opinion stories from the last few weeks. -- Nov 02
- Massively Parallel Problem Solving and Democracy Building: An Ongoing Response to the Threats to Democracy in the U.S. - Part 5 -- This final installment of the Burgess's Toda Policy Brief on Massively Parallel Democracy Building describes 53 different roles which all need to be filled simultaneously for democracy strengthening efforts to succeed. And everyone fits somewhere! -- Oct 31
- Massively Parallel Problem Solving and Democracy Building: An Ongoing Response to the Threats to Democracy in the U.S. - Part 4 -- This 4th (of 5) installments of the Burgess's Toda Policy Brief on Massively Parallel Democracy Building lays out seven essential goals, all of which contribute to developing a "power-with democracy" to replace "power-over" approaches. -- Oct 28
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of October 27, 2024 -- Recommended readings and videos from our readers, plus Guy Burgess's suggestions of useful readings for this week. -- Oct 26
- Comments on Our Post Comparing Responses to October 7 to Those of September 11 -- Comments from two readers about the Burgess's comparison of responses to October 7 and 9-11, one from an American, the other from an Israeli peacebuilder who also serves as an active reservist in the IDF. -- Oct 23
- Massively Parallel Problem Solving and Democracy Building: An Ongoing Response to the Threats to Democracy in the U.S. - Part 3 -- The resilience of American democracy is based on three factors: an abundant array of tools for resisting those who threaten democratic institutions, a willingness to use those tools, and the creativity needed to develop new responses to new challenges. -- Oct 20
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of October 13, 2024 -- More recommended readings and videos for this week. -- Oct 17
- Massively Parallel Problem Solving and Democracy Building: An Ongoing Response to the Threats to Democracy in the U.S. - Part 2 -- In this 2nd (of 5) installments of the Burgess's Toda Policy Brief on Massively Parallel Democracy Building, we look at some of the threats facing democracy in the United States, and where they could lead if they aren't addressed soon. -- Oct 11
- September 11, October 7, and Our Changing Responses to Terrorism -- A comparison of the differing reactions to the terrorism of September 11 and October 7 plus an exchange of views on the role that dehumanization is playing in the ongoing Middle East wars. -- Oct 06
- Massively Parallel Problem Solving and Democracy Building: An Ongoing Response to the Threats to Democracy in the U.S. - Part 1 -- The first of a five part series on massively parallel democracy building. This installment briefly introduces the core argument about what the threats to democracy are, and what is needed to meet them. -- Oct 02
- Caleb Christen and Vinay Orekondy Talk about the Better Together America Project -- Caleb Christen and Vinay Orekondy talk about the democracy and civic hubs they are helping form around the country to bring "democracy back to the people" where it can actually work. -- Sep 30
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of September 29, 2024 -- Our weekly set of recommended readings from colleagues and news and opinion writers. -- Sep 29
- The Threat of Political Violence in the United States -- The number of people supporting political violence is not nearly the 30% that has been often reported, but it is still much higher than it should be. We all need to try to calm down our rhetoric so things don't get out of hand. -- Sep 25
- Revisiting BI's Constructive Conflict Initiative - Part 1 -- Looking back on the 5-year old Constructive Conflict Initiative, a lot has happened to bring it to fruition. But a lot of challenges remain. -- Sep 19
- Reprise: The Power Strategy Mix — Empowering the Pursuit of the Common Good -- Power takes three forms that can be mixed and matched: coercion, exchange, and integration. The "recipe" for the optimal "power strategy mix" changes depending on whom you are trying to influence. -- Sep 17
The Hyper-Polarization Challenge to the Conflict Resolution Field
We invite you to participate in an online exploration of what those with conflict and peacebuilding expertise can do to help defend liberal democracies and encourage them live up to their ideals.
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