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 problem with analyzing policy decisions in hindsight -- Under conditions of uncertainty, it is critical that we judge decision-makers on their foresight – their ability to limit risks going forward. #mbi_context -- May 27
- Complicating the Narratives: How we’re moving this work forward -- A look at an effort to replace simplistic us-vs-them narratives with the kind of complicated understanding that leads to real problem-solving. #mbi_colleague -- May 27
- Nearly half of 'reopen America' Twitter accounts are bots: Report -- Further evidence that provocateurs are engaged in a major effort to amplify our differences and drive us further apart. #mbi_context -- May 27
- Glenda Eoyang: Crush the Arrogance of Certainty -- We all want certainty and control. But it doesn't exist, and pretending it does is harming everyone. -- May 27
- When the Mask You’re Wearing ‘Tastes Like Socialism’ -- A provocative examination (with lots of links) of the year's (and the election's) defining political conflict – the COVID-19 response. #mbi_context -- May 26
- Facing the Pandemic with a Peacebuilding Stance -- This is our opportunity to heal much more than those who catch COVID---we can start to heal the earth and our societies too. #mbi_colleague -- May 26
- Matt Legge: COVID-19 and Responses to Uncertainty -- An article explaining how uncertainty molds our response to the pandemic and other social challenges--and what should be done about it. -- May 21
- Trump has played the media like a puppet. We’re getting better — but history will not judge us kindly. -- A self-critical exploration of the role that the media has played in fostering our destructive polarization and what it could have done differently. #mbi_context -- May 15
- Divided We Fall: Unity Without Tragedy -- Here is your chance to sit down with your fellow citizens (not political spin doctors) for an honest and thoughtful exploration of today's tough issues. #mbi_context -- May 15
- Putin’s Goal Is to Bring Down American Democracy -- A long article exploring the ways in which we are failing to effectively oppose (and contributing to) Putin's efforts to destroy democraty. #mbi_context -- May 14
- Victimhood -- For a time in which so many have good reasons to think of themselves as victims, it's worth thinking about the implications of victimhood. #mbi_fundamentals -- May 14
- The Health and Economic Impacts of COVID-19 Interventions -- Rarely has the quest for a wise and equitable compromise so consequential and so fraught with agonizing uncertainty. #mbi_colleague -- May 14
- Take the Shutdown Skeptics Seriously -- An eloquent argument for getting past the inflammatory rhetoric and respectfully discussing how much of the shutdown is truly necessary. #mbi_context -- May 13
- Conflict Fundamentals Seminar/Blog -- Looking for something worthwhile to do amidst the COVID lockdown? Try reviewing the fundamental building blocks of the conflict and peacebuilding fields. #mbi_fundamentals -- May 13
- Democracy and Information During a Pandemic -- An interesting effort that could doubtless be expanded---systematically assembling stories that highlight pandemic success stories. #mbi_colleague -- May 13
- How to Get the Truth About the Pandemic -- It Is Time for an Independent Commission on COVID-19 -- This is the kind of thing that we used to be able to do--appoint an independent fact-finding commission to help get us past self-serving interpretations of events. #mbi_context -- May 11
- Fragile States Index 2020 -- The latest Fragile States Index offers an impressive look at global governance trends. (The US made the "most worsened over the long-term" list.") #mbi_context -- May 11
- John Lande on the Crisis-New-Normal (CNN) and the Normal-New-Normal (NNN) -- Humanity needs to make a choice. Will we travel down the route of disunity, or will we adopt the path of global solidarity? #mbi_colleague -- May 11
- We Need National Service. Now. -- A compelling argument for expanding national service opportunities as a way of building civic culture and putting people back to work. #mbi_context -- May 08
- It’s Time to Build a Better Political Culture -- Given the dysfunctional nature of the US contemporary political culture, it seems like a good idea to start reading up on strategies for fixing things. #mbi_context -- May 08
- Want to Avoid the Next Pandemic? Hire a Devil’s Advocate. -- A job description for a new, surprising, and badly needed profession – devils advocate. #mbi_context -- May 07
- To Protect Democracy We Need to Upgrade our Cognitive Immunity -- A insightful strategy for counteracting propaganda built around the application of biological concepts of immunity to the social system. #mbi_context -- May 07
- America Needs a Rebirth of Public Service -- We must figure out how to strengthen public institutions by reforming them internally and defending them from politically motivated attacks. #mbi_context -- May 06
- Two Errors Our Minds Make When Trying to Grasp the Pandemic -- A look at strategies for overcoming two cognitive biases they can make life in the Pandemic-era vastly more miserable than it needs to be. #mbi_context -- May 05
- Trump and the GOP have a plan for governing during a pandemic: Just don’t -- We are in the midst of a real-world test of the belief that we don't need government, and all we (or at least the rich) need is an unregulated market. #mbi_context -- May 05