PACS 4500 Senior Seminar in Peace and Conflict Studies Guy Burgess Co-Director Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado UCB 580, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO , (303) Copyright © 2014 Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess

Due Dates Project Topic Questions Project Team Matchmaking?

Neuroscience & Peacebuilding eaceandconflict.org/foru m/topics/an-introduction- to-neuroscience-for- peacebuilders-mari- fitzduff#.VL2ONEfF98E

Think Before You March charlie-hebdo-islamist-terrorism/

Anti-Terror Protests mes.com/2015/01 /14/opinion/thoma s-friedman-we- need-another- giant-protest.html

Information Fads

Information Fads 1/the-year-in- news/

Beyond the Invisible Fist A Very Large-Scale Strategy for Promoting More Constructive Forms of Competition and Conflict The Concept of Intractability Guy Burgess & Heidi Burgess Co-Directors Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado UCB 580, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO , (303) , Copyright © 2014 Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess

Beyond Intractability History

Intractability & The Limits of Resolution Conflict Resolution Consortium Research Information

SPIDR Best Practices

Definition by Example  International: Israel/Palestine, Tibet, Kashmir  Public Policy: Taxes, climate change, homosexual marriage, abortion, affirmative-action, unionization  Interpersonal: Innumerable conflicts between individuals in family, workplace, and community settings

Intractability Continuum Tractable Intractable Individual conflicts all at various points along a continuum from tractable to intractable

Coleman’s Definition: The Five Percent

Attractors  Like a black hole, everything nearby is pulled into them, and escape is very difficult, if not impossible.

No Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA) Party A Winning Outcomes Party B Winning Outcomes Party A Winning Outcomes ZOPA Party B Winning Outcomes Intractable Tractable

Simplified to “Us vs. Them” “Intractability happens,” according to Coleman, “when the many different components of a conflict collapse together into one mass, into one very simple “us versus them” story that effectively resist change.”

Polarization Alliance Formation, Coalition Building Cold War Alliances

Interlocking Issues mobile.html?from=homepage

Mid-East Complexities

Intractable Conflicts / More Tractable Dispute Episodes  Conflicts – underlying, long-running, tensions between the parties based on differing interests with respect to distributional issues, moral questions, status, and identity.  Disputes – episodes within the context of the larger conflict that may be resolved by agreement or various types of legal, political, military or other power contests.

Conflicts and Disputes  The underlying conflict is intractable and cannot be resolved in the near (or even long) term.  Dispute episodes within the context of that conflict are, however, routinely resolved by power contests (or, sometimes, agreement).  The cumulative effect of these resolved disputes determines the “outcome” of the larger conflict for the moment.  The underlying conflict is only “resolved” when there is no significant challenge to the prevailing situation (outcome) for an extended.

The Football Analogy (sort of) Disputes are the plays and conflict is the game with special rules: 1) the game never ends, and 2) the goal is to keep the ball at your end of the field.

Abortion Dispute History A partial list of major abortion-related disputes in the United States and associated shift in aggregate social policies. Pro-ChoicePro-Life Abortion prohibition laws Abortion legalization efforts (state-level) Roe v. Wade GOP decision to focus on the abortion issue Pro-Choice interest group organization Pro-Life interest organization Pro-Life Supreme Court appointments Pro-Choice Supreme Court appointments Threats abortion providers State-level abortion restriction legislation Many other disputes in various arenas

1 st Party / Advocacy Perspective The field’s heroes and heroines are almost always associated with long-term efforts to promote social justice through constructive, nonviolent, confrontation strategies. Compromise / final resolution model virtually never delivers.

The United States Case Similar dynamics doubtless afflict many other countries, however.

Optimal Wealth Distribution Fixing the Inequality Problem: What Will It Take?

Gates Picketty

The Clerisy Democrats as the party of the.1%

Reich: The Truth About the Economy

Pew

Polarization

Pew Typology

Partisan Views on Inequality grown-but-dont-agree-on-why/

Poverty and “Stuff” week-how-americas-poor-can-still-be-rich-in-stuff/

The US Cultural Divide George Lakoff Moral Politics Google Books Link Strict Father / Nurturing Mother

Beyond the Invisible Fist A Very Large-Scale Strategy for Promoting More Constructive Forms of Competition and Conflict The Complexity of the Human Needs Problem (Have/Have Not) Guy Burgess & Heidi Burgess Co-Directors Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado UCB 580, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO , (303) , Copyright © 2014 Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess

Have/Have-Not Complexity Problems at the Top Natural Selection New Class Differences Superstar Effect Money Addiction Boundless Greed Rationalization Zero-Sum Thinking Concentration of Wealth Discrimination Problems at the Bottom Family Disintegration Withdrawal from the Workforce Low Educational Expectations Scarcity Thinking Crime Systemic Problems Prison Industrial Complex Poverty Capitalism Cheating Advantages Automation Technological Advance Kludgeocracy Employer's Market (Fear Economy) Lack of Compassion Underperforming Schools Tax Structure Red Tape Regulations

Problems at the Top

“Assortative Mating” The many reinforcing advantages of the elites and semi- elites

Super Star Effect

Money Addiction money.html?from=opinion

Rationalizing Boundless Greed “Makers” vs. “Takers”

Banking “Ethics”

Zero-Sum Society

Matthew’s Law “To whomsoever hath, to him shall be given” Kenneth Boulding The Concentration of Wealth/Power A.K.A The Golden Rule – “He who has the gold makes the rules.” Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lord Acton

Discrimination Race Gender Religion Color National Origin Physical or Mental Handicaps

Problems at the Bottom

Marriage and Poverty

Family Problems family-matters.html?from=opinion

Low Educational Expectations expectations-are-too-low-in-the-united-states

Scarcity and Thinking city-Having-Little-Means- Much/dp/

Long Term Employment Trends

Criminal Behavior

Systemic Problems

Prison Industrial Complex

The Lance Armstrong Effect In a highly competitive environment, cheating (exploitation of customers, employees, and the environment) is the tie-breaker. The “win” goes to the best cheater. For capitalism to work, government must “level the playing field” by preventing cheating.

Technology / Social Equity opportunity-social-equity

Technological Advance edman-if-i-had-a-hammer.html

Red Tape

Kludgeocracy

The Economy: Employers Market

The Fear Economy on/krugman-the-fear-economy.html Reserve Army of the Unemployed

Economic Stress / Lack of Compassion hardhearted.html?ref=thomasbedsall

Under Performing Schools

Tax / Subsidy Structure

Pew Taxonomy Partisan Anchors 1 -- Steadfast Conservatives – socially conservative populists (the tea party) 2 -- Business Conservatives – Pro Wall Street, pro-immigrant 3 -- Solid Liberals – liberal across-the-board Less Partisan, Less Predictable 4 -- Young Outsiders – conservative views on government, not social issues 5 -- Hard-pressed Skeptics – financially stressed and pessimistic 6 -- Next-generation Left – young, liberal on social issues, less so on social safety net 7 -- Faith and Family Left – racially diverse and religious Bystanders – young, diverse, on the sidelines of politics

Table Numbers Group Assignments Windows Door Screen Front

Have/Have-Not Complexity Problems at the Top Natural Selection New Class Differences Superstar Effect Money Addiction Boundless Greed Rationalization Zero-Sum Thinking Concentration of Wealth Problems at the Bottom Family Disintegration Withdrawal from the Workforce Low Educational Expectations Scarcity Thinking Crime Estimate “Explant Percentage of Explained Variance” associated with each factor. Systemic Problems Prison Complex Cheating Advantages Automation Kludgeocracy Employer's Market Lack of Compassion Underperforming Schools Tax Structure Red Tape Regulations

Discussion Questions  For your group, estimate what the group thinks about the importance of the various causes of inequality. Rank according to truthfulness, impact, and susceptibility to change.  Discuss the differences between your views and the views of other groups.  Think ways in which you might be able to build a working coalition with other groups.  Try to avoid the “51% Hammer” syndrome.

Extra Slides

The Robin Hood Coalition No More Robber Barons Techno-imperialism Takers Don’t Make Reclaim the Wealth No More Corruption (legal and illegal) Innovation for Opportunity Our Own Destiny Protecting the Commons

The Multifaceted Inequality Problem problem.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

The Undeserving Rich

Brooks Response inequality

Technology / Social Equity opportunity-social-equity