Beyond Intractability: A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict

Identity Issues
Clashing Identities
	Louis Kriesberg observes that blaming the other side is common, but believes it actually disempowers the blamer.
	Mohammed Abu-Nimer discusses the suspicion Muslims have about Northern and Western peacebuilders, which derives from colonization and occupation.
	Elise Boulding talks about interacting with "others."
	Helen Chauncey explains how fear can interfere with coexistence efforts.
Reconciling Identities
	Helen Chauncey defines "coexistence" in terms of the constructive embracing of identity and diversity.
	Helen Chauncey argues that reaching out to other identities can be constructive.
	Helen Chauncey says intervenors should not be neutral when it comes to identity issues, rather they should be bi-partisan.
	Richard Rubenstein suggests that religious identity plays a special in both the expression of conflict and its resolution.
	Shared identity helps build trust, according to Roy Lewicki.
	Chester Crocker suggests that before approaching a conflict, intervenors should engage in conflict assessment.
Case Examples /td>
	Mari Fitzduff tells a story of heroism in the midst of terrible violence.
	Tamra D'Estree describes a conflict where one side was forced to change his identity in order to achieve personal legitimacy.
	Coexistence is a situation in which people embrace diverse identities constructively. Helen Chauncey explains this notion in the context of Cyprus.
	Indira Kajosevic discusses why a group of Albanian high school teenagers was fighting over colors with the Bloods of the Bronx.
	Helen Chauncey explores the similarities between transformative mediation and their coexistence work.

This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).

Aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war. -- John F. Kennedy

Featured Links
Organizations Making Noteworthy Contributions to Efforts to Promote More Constructive Conflict

peace brigades international

Other Resources from
Beyond Intractability

The Darfur Region of the Sudan
Why doesn't the world stop the violence? What makes the Sudan such an intractable conflict?

Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Willy Brandt
Former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, and 1971 Nobel Peace Laureate

Beyond Intractability Version IV
Copyright © 2003-2010 The Beyond Intractability Project
Beyond Intractability is a Registered Trademark of the University of Colorado
Project Acknowledgements

The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project
Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess, Co-Directors and Editors
c/o Conflict Information Consortium (Formerly Conflict Research Consortium), University of Colorado
Campus Box 580, Boulder, CO 80309
Phone: (303) 492-1635; Fax: (303) 492-2154; Contact