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
- The Battle for the Constitution -- For democracy in serious trouble, a project that the takes a serious look at the tough questions surrounding the U.S. Constitution. #mbi_colleague -- Jan 23
- Finding Common Ground / Constructive Addressing Differences: a Discussion Guide -- For students (and everyone else) a strategy for unpacking our conflicts that illuminates common ground and constructively addresses differences. #mbi_activities -- Jan 23
- The Common Element Uniting Worldwide Protests -- Reflections on the worldwide wave of leaderless mass protests. Opposition is not enough, you need a broadly supported "what's next" plan. #mbi_context -- Jan 22
- The Divide in Yakima Is the Divide in America -- For those who don't have time to really talk with those on the other side, articles like this can help us understand one another. #mbi_colleague -- Jan 21
- Enemy Images -- Enemy images deepen our socio-economics and political problems, while they make effective problem solving impossible. #mbi_fundamentals -- Jan 21
- The New China Scare -- With respect to China, an argument for not repeating the United States' Soviet era mistake of over inflating our adversaries. #mbi_context -- Jan 21
- I Invented the World Wide Web -- Here’s How We Can Fix It -- A report on a global effort to figure out how to restore the Web to its original promise. Their approach, a "Contract for the Web." #mbi_context -- Jan 20
- Allow Your Opponents to "Save Face." -- Key to solving a great many problems is giving people a face-saving way to change their behavior and admit that they've learned things. #mbi_to_do -- Jan 20
- "Scaling The Commons An intervention to depolarize political conversations on Twitter and Facebook in the USA." -- An organization that is trying, with some success, to do the impossible--facilitate constructive dialogue on Twitter. #mbi_colleague -- Jan 20
- Project Purple Coalition -- We are not alone. There are lots of people and organizations that are trying very hard to help democracy overcome its many difficulties. #mbi_colleague -- Jan 17
- The Google Traffic Metaphor -- Google Maps and Adopt-a-Highway programs, crazy, but I think illuminating, metaphors for better dealing with society-wide conflict. #mbi_frontiers -- Jan 17
- A Review of "The Meritocracy Trap" by Daniel Markov -- A review of the new book that helps explain the widespread resentment of meritocratic elites that is at the core of so much conflict. #mbi_context -- Jan 17
- This Has Been the Best Year Ever -- As we struggle with today's very difficult challenges, we should not lose track of the fact that, in many ways, things are getting better. #mbi_context -- Jan 16
- Understand Your--and Others'--Fundamental Human Needs -- What would happen if we focused on meeting the fundamental human needs of our adversary and then asked them to do the same? #mbi_to_do -- Jan 16
- Modernizing Congress: Bringing Democracy into the 21st Century -- A step in the right direction -- developing ways to improve Congress' problem-solving ability (and provide an alternative to partisan gridlock). #mbi_colleague -- Jan 16
- The Presidential Nominating Process Is Absurd -- For those frustrated by the Presidential nominating process, ideas for making things better. #mbi_context -- Jan 15
- Why Chain Exercise -- An exercise for students (and everyone else). Instead of a single cause, think in terms of a chain of causes that explain why things happen. #mbi_activities -- Jan 15
- The Democratic Debates Are a Fantasy World -- For the debate and the campaign, a much better set of questions (if we want a President who can really solve problems (and heal the country). #mbi_context -- Jan 15
- Intellectual humility: the importance of knowing you might be wrong -- A story about an important new effort to get closer to the truth by encouraging people to admit and then work to correct their own misconceptions. #mbi_context -- Jan 13
- How a ‘quantum change’ in missiles has made Iran a far more dangerous foe -- For those who think that the US will easily win a military confrontation with Iran, sobering news that the balance of power has shifted! #mbi_context -- Jan 07
- A Ridiculously Optimistic History of the Next Decade -- David Brooks has a great new game. Imagine an optimistic future in which we constructively handle our differences (& try to make it happen). #mbi_context -- Jan 07
- How Hypocrisy Became Standard Operating Procedure for the U.S. Government -- An analysis of the daunting problems that will have to be solved in order to prevent the kind of hypocrisy revealed by the Afghanistan Papers. #mbi_context -- Dec 18
- The Economist Who Wants To Ditch Math -- A look at an economist who wants us to move beyond quantitative, rational, econometric models and look at the complexity of human thought. #mbi_context -- Dec 17
- The Meaning of Civility -- Before civility can provide an alternative to today's hyper-partisan dysfunction we need a clear image of what it is and isn't. #mbi_frontiers -- Dec 17
- Can social media ‘targetcasting’ and democracy coexist? -- I look at the many implications of an important new word "targetcasting" (as opposed to broadcasting or narrowcasting). #mbi_context -- Dec 13