Newsletter #163 — October 13, 2023
Colleague Activities
Highlighting things that our conflict and peacebuilding colleagues are doing that contribute to efforts to address the hyper-polarization problem.
- Overcoming Hate-Mongering Efforts
India Eyes a New Identity — The government’s preoccupation with “Bharat” caps a nativist surge under Modi. Can a country that is bogged down in battling its past ever truly hope to win a better future? - Effective Problem-Solving
Community Mediation--Year 2 — Community mediation, says Chip Hauss, is the "best-kept secret" in the peacebuilding field. - Constructive Communication
Getting to Third Space with Lamar and Tom — This podcast features an exploration of how to talk with one another about significant, even controversial, issues with grace and humor. - Saving Democracy
The Carter Center and Team Democracy Unite to Advance Candidate Principles for Trusted Elections — This strategic alliance aims to strengthen the core values of democracy and electoral integrity as defined in the Candidate Principles for Trusted Elections, a national, cross-partisan effort. - Media Reform
The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) — The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) is an independent global organization dedicated to providing actionable scientific knowledge on threats to our information landscape. - Peacebuilding
U.S. Peacebuilding Digest — A compilation of recent statements, activities, analyses, on more on 16 different topics related to U.S. peacebuilding. - Networking
The Relationships Project — Connecting the dots between organizations focused on relationship-building, the Relationship Project is helping to develop the infrastructure to support a thriving field of relationship-centered practice.
Beyond Intractability in Context
From around the web, more insight into the nature of our conflict problems, limits of business-as-usual thinking, and things people are doing to try to make things better.
- Social Complexity
Tyranny of the Minority — A review and critique of "Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point" -- yet another contribution to efforts to help us understand democracy's difficulties. - Authoritarians (and Wannabes)
All the Little Caesars — A primer on what everybody ought to know about the incendiary, divide-and-conquer politics used by established (and aspiring) authoritarians. - Saving Democracy
How the Supreme Court can limit Congress’s taste for self-diminishment — An analysis of a Supreme Court case that could help force Congress to do a better job of fulfilling its Constitutional responsibilities. - Race / Anti-Racism
Does Your Worth Depend On Your Immutable Characteristics? — An updated argument for judging people on their actions and content of their characte, rather than traits over which they have no control. - Authoritarians (and Wannabes)
Trump’s Open Plot to Break the Federal Government — A preview of the emerging effort to radically alter the role that the federal government plays in US society. - Gender / LBGTQ+
On Marriage, an Economist Bravely States the Obvious — For those concerned about inequality and the deep disadvantages faced by so many people, a look at one controversial, but clearly effective, way of reducing the problem. - Critical Theory
How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement — An overview a new book that explores the complex relationship between social justice elites and the people who have truly been treated unjustly by society. - Gender / LBGTQ+
What Jordan Peterson Can Teach Church Leaders — An introduction to some of the people who have built large followings among young men by trying to help them chart a path toward a positive and fulfilling role in society. - Social Complexity
Why America Has a Long-Term Labor Crisis, in Six Charts — Demography is the one social science that really can predict the future. Six charts predicting what is going to happen to the labor force and thoughts about how that will affect us. - Social Complexity
Christian Strangeness: A Muslim's Faith and Friendships across Deep Differences — An essay that thoughtfully reflects on the multifaceted and complex role that religion plays in both Christian and Muslim societies. - Left / Right Conflict
Why Are Democrats Losing Ground Among Nonwhite Voters? 5 Theories. — For a party that frames itself as the defender of nonwhite voters, Democrats are losing a surprising amount of support among those voters. This article asks why. - Left / Right Conflict
Mitt Romney Has Given Us a Gift — A look at revelations from Mitt Romney's about-to-be-published biography and the rare insight it gives us into the way in which the Senate actually works and senators actually behave. - Left / Right Conflict
Vivek's Ten "Truths"? — Before dismissing Vivek Ramswamy as just another rich, Presidential wannabe, consider an analysis of the deep support that exists within US society for his "10 truths." - Critical Theory
Where Does ‘Wokeness’ Come From? — A look back at the origins of the cluster of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that are now playing such a dominant role in so many institutions.
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