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 Remarkable Growth of Cooperative Problem-Solving Resources Since World War II -- In today's troubled times, it's important to remember that learning how to handle conflict more constructively is a long-term process. #mbi_cci -- Jun 15
- Jon Stewart Is Back to Weigh In -- From someone who the relationship between news and entertainment, perceptive thoughts about how to better grapple with our current predicament. #mbi_context -- Jun 15
- Yet Another Week of Trump Failing to Be an Actual Authoritarian -- A hopeful, but not definitive, argument that Trump is not on the verge of transforming US democracy into an authoritarian regime. #mbi_context -- Jun 09
- Heidi Burgess and Guy Burgess: COVID-10 and Civic Unrest - The Situation in Early June 2020 -- An article putting the forthcoming articles (about COVID and civil unrest) in context. -- Jun 09
- Washington Wrote a Playbook For Preventing Police Violence. What Happened to it? -- This is an article on the Obama administration's plan for addressing the problem of police violence. It's a pity we didn't have the sense to use it. #mbi_colleague -- Jun 08
- Becoming worshipers at the altar of ‘Science.’ Bad for our health, bad for science, bad for society. -- An irreverent, thought-provoking, persuasive, and practical exploration of the phrase "trust the science." #mbi_context -- Jun 08
- Can Endless Spending Prevent Another Financial Crisis? -- An update on an astonishing consensus between Republicans, Democrats, and economists---that government spending power is essentially unlimited! #mbi_context -- Jun 05
- 2nd, 3rd, 4th... Order Problems -- It's not enough to figure out how to solve problems, we have to figure out how to solve the problems that are preventing us from solving problems. #mbi_frontiers -- Jun 05
- Trump Sows Doubt on Voting. It Keeps Some People Up at Night. -- Encouraging news that contingency planners are looking for ways to defend the election against likely threats. Sadly, we we need more of this. #mbi_context -- Jun 05
- De-escalation Keeps Protesters And Police Safer. Departments Respond With Force Anyway. -- A reminder about what we have long known about protests (and human interactions, more generally) – violence begets violence. #mbi_context -- Jun 04
- New Era of Public Safety: An Advocacy Toolkit for Fair, Safe, and Effective Community Policing -- For those who want to get down to the serious business of addressing the problem of police violence, toolkit from Obama.org #mbi_colleague -- Jun 04
- Crumbs for the Hungry but Windfalls for the Rich -- A reminder that police violence is not the only injustice that desperately needs attending to. #mbi_context -- Jun 04
- How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change -- President Obama shows us how leaders can respond to crises in ways which bring us together in a spirit of real problem-solving. #mbi_context -- Jun 03
- Trump Tries to Scare People Far From the Protests -- An Important and insightful look at the dangers of George Floyd-related fear mongering and an appeal to look at the full complexity of the situation. #mbi_context -- Jun 03
- 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 -- Jun 03
- Heidi Burgess and Guy Burgess: COVID-19 and Civil Unrest -- An introduction to a set of posts on the intersection of intractable conflict, the pandemic, and civil unrest. -- Jun 02
- History Will Judge the Complicit -- A provocative exploration of why some people refuse to to become collaborators with authoritarian regimes and why others do not. #mbi_context -- Jun 02
- Conflict Transformation -- Online Summit -- One big advantage of the new world of Zoom conferencing is that we can all now afford to attend fascinating international meetings like this one. #mbi_colleague -- Jun 02
- Values-Based Conversations -- We assume our "friends" share our values while "others" don't. That often is not the case. -- Jun 02
- The Power of the Powerless -- As struggle with the 21st century threat of authoritarianism, it's worth reflecting on what Havel taught us about bringing power to the powerless. #mbi_colleague -- Jun 01
- Buildings burn, and Trump talks tough. Where are the healers? -- A review of leadership reactions to the protests surrounding George Floyd's death--a review that highlights the critical need for peacebuilders. #mbi_context -- Jun 01
- Chip Hauss: Going to Scale -- How peacebuilders can work with others to "scale up" their efforts to grapple with the many wicked problems currently facing humanity. -- Jun 01
- Four Days in 1968 That Reshaped D.C. -- Amid today's rapidly escalating tensions, it's worth reflecting on the 1960's racial unrest. This is an excellent window into what happened in DC. #mbi_context -- May 29
- The Risk of Large-Scale Civil Unrest and Violence in the United States -- This video lecture, which I put together earlier in the Trump presidency, seems especially relevant now. We are entering a very dangerous period. #mbi_frontiers -- May 29
- The Mueller indictment offers new details on how Russian trolls stoked racial tensions -- We ought remember that intensifying racial tensions was a deliberate goal of Russian trolls and listen to reports that they are trying to do it again. #mbi_context -- May 29