Beyond Intractability Newsletters

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Newsletters are listed and linked here in reverse chronological order, meaning most recent first. 

 

2023 Newsletters

  • Newsletter 159 - October 3, 2023 - Fact, Value, Lie, or Uncertainty? How Do We Tell?
  • Newsletter 158 - Sept. 21, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of Sept. 17, 2023 
  • Newsletter 157 - Sept 18, 2023 -Does the Power-With Approach Include Justice? Comments on Our Power-Over/Power-With Essay
  • Newsletter 155 - Sept 14, 2023 - Pro-Democracy Efforts: the Tension between Power-Over or Power-With Approaches
  • Newsletter 156 - Sept 12, 2023 - A Further Discussion of Dialogue
  • Newsletter 154 - Sept 10, 2023- Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of Sept. 10, 2023 
  • Newsletter 153 -  Sept. 7, 2023 - Jay Rothman on Large Scale Interventions
  • Newsletter 152 -  Sept 3, 2023- Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of Sept. 3, 2023 
  • Newsletter 151 - August 31, 2023 - Daniel Stid: Four Ways To Reframe Democracy in America
  • Newsletter 150  - August 28, 2023 - Zach Elwood on the Belief that "Polarization is not the Problem"
  • Newsletter 149 - August 24, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of Aug. 20, 2023
  • Newsletter 148 - August 22, 2023 - More on Constructive Communication
  • Newsletter 147 - August 16, 2023 - Talking with and Listening To People on the Other Side
  • Newsletter 146 - August 13, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of Aug. 13, 2023
  • Newsletter 145 - August 9, 2023 - Anne Leslie: Know Thyself
  • Newsletter 144 - August 6, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of Aug. 6, 2023
  • Newsletter 143 - August 2, 2023 - Constructively Navigating the World of Media Bias
  • Newsletter 142 - July 30, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of July 30, 2023
  • Newsletter 141 - July 27, 2023 - Jay Rothman and Daniela Cohen on the Aria Group School Intervention in Yellow Springs, Ohio
  • Newsletter 140 - July 25, 2023 - Harry Boyte and Marie-Louise Strom: Constructive Nonviolence 
  • Newsletter 139 - July 23, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of July 23, 2023
  • Newsletter 138 - July 20, 2023 -  Civil Rights Mediation Oral History Project: Modern Updates from Lum, Burgess, and Froehlich
  • Newsletter 137 - July 18, 2023 Ted Wetzel's Disagreement Fitness
  • Newsletter 136 - number accidentally skipped.
  • Newsletter 135 - July 16, 2023 -Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of July 16
  • Newsletter 134 - July 13, 2023 - Contradictory Thoughts About Dialogue
  • Newsletter 133 - July 11, 2023 - Seven More Ways to Turn Down the Heat
  • Newsletter 132 - July 9, 2023 -Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of July 9
  • Newsletter 131 - July 7, 2023 - Bridging the Theory/Action Gap:  One Key to Improving the Effectiveness of Efforts to Strengthen Democracy
  • Newsletter 130 - July 5, 2023 - The Key to Saving Democracy: Reducing Polarization? Promoting Justice? It Takes More Than That!
  • Newsletter 129 - June 30, 2023 - A Remarkable Effort to Do Trauma-Informed Peacebuilding Training in Ukraine Amidst Ongoing Trauma
  • Newsletter 128 - June 28, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of June 25, 2023
  • Newsletter 127 - June 26, 2023 - Rachel Kleinfeld and Shamil Idriss on Polarization, Philanthropic Plurality, Social Justice, and Democracy
  • Newsletter 126 - June 22, 2023 - Social Justice Advocacy, Bridge-Building and Philanthropy: How Do These Intersect?
  • Newsletter 125 - June 19, 2023 -  Colleague and Context Posts for week of June 18
  • Newsletter 124 - June 15, 2023 - More Ways to Turn Down the Heat
  • Newsletter 123 - June 12, 2023 - Palma Strand: A Path Out of Polarization: The Strengthening Democracy Challenge and the Civity Storytelling Intervention
  • Newsletter 122 - June 8, 2023 - Reversing or Better Yet, Avoiding, Destructive Escalation
  • Newsletter 121 - June 5 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for week of June 5
  • Newsletter-120 - June 1, 2023 - Divided Community Project: Speaking Out to Strengthen the Guardrails of Democracy
  • Newsletter 119 - May 30, 2023 - Learning More about How the TRUST Network Does Massively Parallel Peacebuilding
  • Newsletter 118 - May 25, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for week of May 22
  • Newsletter 117 - May 22, 2023 - Escalation is the Most Dangerous Force on the Planet. But We Continue to Drive It
  • Newsletter 116 - May 18,2023 - Paul Monteiro, Former Director of the Community Relations Service, Talking About How CRS Works its Magic
  • Newsletter 115 - May 15, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for week of May 15
  • Newsletter 114 - May 11, 2023 - An Award for NAFCM + Conflict Mapping and Other Tools for Understanding Complex Problems
  • Newsletter 113 - May 9, 2023 - John Lande: The Importance of Really Listening – For Ourselves, Others, and Democracy
  • Newsletter 112 - May 7, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for week of May 8
  • Newsletter 111 - May 4, 2023 - D.G. Mawn Talks About Community Mediation and NAFCM
  • Newsletter 110 - May 2, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for week of May 1
  • Newsletter 109 - April 23, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for week of April 23
  • Newsletter 108 - April 21, 2023 - ChatGPT — Can It "Listen" Better Than We Can?
  • Newsletter 107 - April 18, 2023 - Sharing Ideas From Around the Globe on Ways to Strengthen Democracy - A BI/IGN Discussion
  • Newsletter 106 - April 16, 2023 - Polarization's Toll on US Credibility, Progressives' Reverse CBT, and Other Colleague and Context Links
  • Newsletter 105 - April 13, 2023 - Our Problem Isn't "Them"
  • Newsletter 104 - April 11, 2023 - Carrie Menkel-Meadow: Freedom of Speech and Freedom to Protest
  • Newsletter 103 - April 8, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for week of April 2
  • Newsletter 102 - April 6, 2023 - The Power Strategy Mix — Empowering the Pursuit of the Common Good
  • Newsletter 101 - April 4, 2023 - Alan Yarborough: Getting to Meaning
  • Newsletter 100 - April 2, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for week of April 2
  • Newsletter 99 - March 26, 2023 - Julia Roig and James Savage: Exploring Narrative Practices for Broad-based Movements in Contexts of Democratic Decline
  • Newsletter 98 - March 23, 2023 - Helena Desivilya Syna on The Paradox of Tolerance with a response from Heidi Burgess and Guy Burgess
  • Newsletter 97 - March 21, 2023 -  Rachel Kleinfeld's "Five Strategies to Support U.S. Democracy" 
  • Newsletter 96 - March 19, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for week of March 12
  • Newsletter 95 March 16, 2023 - Planning a Constructive Confrontation Strategy: Understanding the Relationship between Negotiation and Power 
  • Newsletter 94 March 14, 2023 - Kevin Clements' "Authoritarian Populism and Atavistic Nationalism: 21st Century Challenges to Peacebuilding and Development
  • Newsletter 93 March 12, 2023 - - Colleague and Context Posts for week of March 12
  • Newsletter 92 - March 8, 2023 - Sharp vs. Fuzzy Feedback — The Distinction That Explains Why Society Can Be Both Astonishingly Smart and Incredibly Stupid
  • Newsletter 91 - March 5, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for week of March 5
  • Newsletter 90 -- March 2, 2023 - Urban Rural Action Frameworks
  • Newsletter 89 - February 28, 2023 -  Blame and Contribution
  • Newsletter 88 - February 26, 2023 Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of March 26
  • Newsletter 87 - February 23, 2023 - Julia Roig Talks about Weaving a Healthy Democracy in the United States
  • Newsletter 86 - February 21, 2023 Massively Circular Hyper-Polarization
  • Newsletter 85- February 19, 2023 Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of February 19
  • Newsletter 84- February 16, 2023 David Smith: Peace is My Day Job
  • Newsletter 83 - February 14, 2023 - Conflict Core and Overlay Issues
  • Newsletter 82 - February 12, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of February 12
  • Newsletter 81 -February 10, 2023 - The Trust Network: An Example of Massively Parallel Peacebuilding in Action
  • Newsletter 80 - February 7, 2023 - Carol Pauli's "The 'End' of Neutrality: Tumultuous Times Require a Deeper Value"
  • Newsletter 79 - February 5, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of February 5
  • Newsletter 78 - February 2, 2023 - Constructive Confrontation: Applying Conflict Insights from a 1st Party (Not 3rd Party) Perspective
  • Newsletter 77 - January 31, 2023 - Could Massively Parallel Processes Make Hyper-Polarization Worse?
  • Newsletter 76 - January 29, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of January 29
  • Newsletter 75 - January 27, 2023 - Revisiting the Gun Violence Issue and America's Declining Trust and Increasing Sense of Threat
  • Newsletter 74 - January 25, 2023 - Massively Parallel Peacebuilding vs. Massively Parallel Partisanship
  • Newsletter 73 - January 22, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of January 22
  • Newsletter 72 - January 20, 2023 - The Google Maps and Adopt-a-Highway Approach to Systems
  • Newsletter 71 - January 17, 2021 - From the Discussion: Kristin Hansen and the Civic Health Project's Work on De-polarization in America
  • Newsletter 70 - January 15, 2023 - Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of January 15
  • Newsletter 69 - January 12, 2023 - From the Hyper-Polarization Discussion: Anne Leslie on Embracing Ambiguity
  • Newsletter 68 - January 10, 2023 - Addressing the Skeptics and Moving Forward
  • Newsletter 67 - January 3, 2023 - Massively Parallel Peacebuilding/Problem Solving

 

 2022 Newsletters

  • Newsletter 66 - Dec. 18, 2022 - Essential Elements + Obstacles = The Things That Need Doing Matrix
  • Newsletter 65 - Dec. 11, 2022 - Obstacles to Implementing the Elements of Successful Democracy 
  • Newsletter 64 - Dec. 5, 2022 - Essential Elements of Successful Democracies - Part 2
  • Newsletter 63 - Nov. 30, 2022 - Essential Elements of Successful Democracies - Part 1
  • Newsletter 62 - Nov. 17, 2022 - The 2022 Election – Did It Make Hyper-Polarization Better or Worse
  • Newsletter 61 - Nov. 9, 2022 - Fighting Hyper-Polarization for Our Children and Grand Children
  • Newsletter 60 - Oct. 31, 2022 - How Do We Get What We Want and Need? Through Polarization or Bridge-building, Reframing, and "Omni-Win" Approaches?
  • Newsletter 59 - Oct. 24, 2022 -  If You Don't Know Where You Are Going, It Is Going to Be Hard to Get There
  • Newsletter 58 - Oct.17, 2022 -  Developing a Vision for a Society in Which We Would All Like to Live
  • Newsletter 57 - Oct. 12, 2022 -  The Crane Brinton Effect — Why Revolutions Fail
  • Newsletter 56 - Oct. 4, 2022 -  Additional Perspectives on Oppression, Justice, Advocacy, Neutrality, and Peacebuilding 
  • Newsletter 55 - Sept 29, 2022 -  On Oppression, Justice, Advocacy, Neutrality, and Peacebuilding -- Part 3
  • Newsletter 54 - Sept 25, 2022 -  On Oppression, Justice, Advocacy, Neutrality, and Peacebuilding -- Part 2
  • Newsletter 53 - Sept. 21, 2022 - On Oppression, Justice, Advocacy, Neutrality, and Peacebuilding -- Part 1
  • Newsletter 52 - Sept. 16, 2022 - Hyper-Polarization Challenges: Scale, Complexity, and Collaboration
  • Newsletter 51 - Sept. 11, 2022 - Strategies for Revitalizing Democracy in the Post 9/11 Era
  • Newsletter 50 - Sept 7, 2022 - How Can We Reduce Hyper-Polarization? Join BI's Discussion to Share Your Ideas and Learn Others!
  • Newsletter 49 - July 2, 2022 - BI Announcements and Highlighting the work of Search for Common Ground
  • Newsletter 48 - March 6. 2022 - The Ukrainian War — What Happens When You Have a War That Both Sides Absolutely, Positively Can't Afford to Lose?
  • Newsletter 47 - Jan. 26, 2022 - Guy Burgess's answer to The Bridge Alliance's inquiry about priorities for reducing the now alarmingly high social divisiveness and alienation threatening our ability to function as a democratic republic

2021 Newsletters

  • Newsletter 46 - Oct. 29, 2021 - Examining the problem of over-simplification of causes and conflicts to simple "us-verusu-them" narratives.
  • Newsletter 45- Sept 15, 2021  - A reflection on what the U.S. has—and hasn't—learned since Vietnam.
  • Newsletter 44- June 15, 2021 - Reconciliation--Badly Needed or a Misguided Goal?
  • Newsletter 43 - June 2, 2021 - "Bad-Faith" Actors Part 2 -- Sources of Vulnerability
  • Newsletter 42 - May 3, 2021 - "Bad-Faith" Actors Part 1
  • Newsletter 41 - March 30, 2021 - Coming Home...To Terror :  The King Soopers Mass Shooting
  • Newsletter 40 - February 16, 2021 - Positive Thinking
  • Newsletter 39 - February 5, 2021 - The Implications of John Paul Lederach's notion of "the meeting place" of peace, justice, truth, and mercy being reconciliation.
  • Newsletter 38 -Jan. 26, 2021 -  Avoiding the Category 5 Socio-political Hurricane

2020 Newsletters

  • Newsletter 37 - Dec. 16, 2020 - So Where Do We Go Now?! (After the 2020 Election in the U.S.)
  • Newsletter 36 - Oct. 30, 2020 - Taking Stock [of the Construcive Conflict Initiative] and Looking Ahead
  • Newsletter 35 - Sept. 22, 2020 - Continuing Our Examination of Escalation and Polarization
  • Newsletter 34 - August 27, 2020 - An Examination of Escalation
  • Newsletter 33 - August 19, 2020 - COVID, Racism, and Conflict -- More Thoughts
  • Newsletter 32 - June 22, 2020 - COVID, Racism, and Conflict:  How Can We Respond Constructively?
  • Newsletter 31 - May 11, 2020 - Conflict and COVID-19 ...Continued
  • Newsletter 30 - April 2, 2020 - Conflict and COVID-19 
  • Newsletter 29  - January 14, 2020 - Update on Beyond Intractability's activities

 

2019 Newsletters

2018 Newsletters