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
- Historians Clash With the 1619 Project -- A look at an important debate over how to think about US history and how to most effectively address the problem of racism. #mbi_context -- Jun 23
- The Mass Media's Role in Conflict -- Our conflict problems are largely media problems--problems that lead us to wildly different images of the nature of problems like COVID or racism. #mbi_cci -- Jun 23
- Wedged — Some Good Ideas For Fighting Polarization -- For a time when it seems like so many forces are tearing us apart, it is worth remembering why political parties like to encourage divisions. #mbi_colleague -- Jun 23
- How Did We Get Here? -- 163 years of The Atlantic’s writing on race and racism in America -- A reminder that people have long been struggling with the problem of racism in the US and an opportunity to build on what they've learned. #mbi_context -- Jun 17
- The United States Promotes Democracy Abroad. Now It Needs to Promote It at Home. -- A welcome call for the United States to recognize its own hypocrisy and practice the best of what it preaches---this time at home. #mbi_context -- Jun 16
- Cultivating Change Amidst Collapse -- For a time of ever increasing chaos, concrete ideas for strengthening the gigantic and enormously complex social system upon which we all depend. #mbi_colleague -- Jun 16
- How Police Brutality Gets Made -- An first rate analysis of the causes of police brutality with lots of valuable insights for those trying to help effectively address the problem. #mbi_context -- Jun 16
- Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century -- A powerful video introducing a major new effort to strengthen US democracy so we really can work together to solve common problems. #mbi_colleague -- Jun 15
- 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
- Values-Based Conversations -- We assume our "friends" share our values while "others" don't. That often is not the case. -- Jun 02
- 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