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
- Daniel Stid -- PS: Three Further Reflections on "Pluralism in the Trump Era" -- Daniel Stid's three key "take-aways" from a conference on Pluralism in Action: we have a choice between pluralism and war; political resistance and civic renewal are different tasks, and pluralism is not a field. See why! -- Feb 08
- Reprise: Sharp vs. Fuzzy Feedback — The Distinction That Explains Why Society Can Be Both Astonishingly Smart and Incredibly Stupid -- We are good at understanding and responding to sharp feedback, but not nearly as good seeing and responding to fuzzy feedback, which is the source of many serious mistakes. With current hyper-polarization, will any feedback be heeded? -- Feb 03
- Colleague, News, and Opinion Links for the Week of February 2, 2025 -- Our weekly set of readings renamed to clarify the contents, trying to help our readers understand the challenges we face. -- Feb 01
- Reprise: The Google Maps and Adopt-a-Highway Approach to Systems -- A repeat of a two-year old post, explaining "thinking and acting systemically" by using the metaphor of Google Maps and "Adopt a Highway" programs -- both systemic ways of managing vast amounts of traffic on the U.S. highway system. -- Jan 30
- Daniel Stid: Top Down Democratic Decline vs. Bottom Up Civic Renewal: 8 Working Hypotheses -- The civic renewal we need is not primarily political or governmental, but rather, cultural. While Federal governance is still in a shambles, cultural change at the local and state levels promises a healthier democracy. -- Jan 29
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of January 26, 2025 -- Two weeks' worth of readings from colleagues and journalists about hyper-polarization, intractable conflict and more. -- Jan 25
- Potpourri Newsletter #2 -- Comments on our U.S. democracy post, Ashok Panikkar's question about contemporary education, and uplifting essay from Anne Leslie, and a new case study on Burundi from Emmy Irobi. -- Jan 22
- Harry Boyte Talks with Heidi Burgess about the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and the Lessons it Can Teach Us -- Harry Boyte explained how the ideas of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s and 1960s can be adapted by anyone wanting to make fundamental change in their communities and their societies. -- Jan 19
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of January 12, 2025 - Part 2. -- This is the second of a two compilations of links collected over the holiday break. -- Jan 14
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of January 12, 2025 -- The first of two sets of readings collected over the holiday break. -- Jan 11
- Representative Derek Kilmer on the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress and De-polarization -- Guy and Heidi Burgess talked with Rep. Derek Kilmer on how to break down polarization in Congress and in society in order to actually solve problems collaboratively. There is much to learn and utilize here! -- Jan 07
- A Reasonable Peace: Can Critical Thinking Save the Field of Peacebuilding? -- Ashok Panikkar, Heidi and Guy Burgess (with facilitation from Merrick Hoben) talked about why peacebuilding is failing in much of the world, and how the use of critical thinking explains why and what might be done to be more successful. -- Jan 04
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of December 21, 2024 -- A last set of readings for 2024. -- Dec 20
- Lou Kriesberg: Applying the Constructive Conflict approach to the American Right-Wing Populism Phenomenon -- Lou Kriesberg explores "what next" for progressives in the United States following Trump's election, arguing that two responses are necessary: resistance, and strengthening democracy. -- Dec 17
- The US in 2024: An Election That Worked and a Democracy That Doesn't -- U.S. polarization and political dysfunction is only going to worsen until the two parties realize that the problem isn't "the other," but rather the way we (don't) tolerate, compromise and or work collaboratively with with "the other." -- Dec 15
- The US in 2024: An Election That Worked and a Democracy That Doesn't -- U.S. polarization and political dysfunction is only going to worsen until the two parties realize that the problem isn't "the other," but rather the way we refuse to tolerate, compromise and/or work collaboratively with with "the other." -- Dec 15
- Marc Wong on How We Can Bring Out the Best in Others -- and Ourselves -- Road rage is much like ideological rage. We don't accept the former; why do we accept the latter? -- Dec 11
- Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of December 8, 2024 -- Reading and videos from colleagues and journalists on peace, conflict, and governance. -- Dec 08
- 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
