PACS 4500 Senior Seminar in Peace and Conflict Studies Section 001 Guy Burgess

Missing Projects  Reading reflections  Project topics

Project Comments  Missing assignments ????  Collective rather than individual comments on projects  Clear acknowledgment of joint projects  Don’t think in terms of traditional term paper. Build your project around the assignment’s to key components:  Conflict map  Concept paper  Advocacy process projects are okay not advocacy position projects  This should not be a policy analysis-type study of a problem  More constructive confrontations is generally a more realistic objective than “resolution”

Project Comments  This is not intended as an exhaustive research project – all you need is a moderate number of good sources – most of your efforts should be focused on creative analysis  Beware of conflicts that are “excuses” for advancing some other, usually hidden and selfish, objective that seeks to exacerbate and exploit a conflict for other “reasons”  If your project revolves around something that you don’t like – don’t just complain and explain why you don’t like it – figure out why the bad thing is happening and a realistic strategy for doing something about it

Project Comments  In many cases, understanding what’s going on will require a kind of impact distribution map to determine the winners and losers who may not be immediately obvious  Several project ideas are pursuing interesting cross- cultural comparisons that come from looking at a familiar conflict in a different cultural context  There are few “borderline” projects that focus on conducting a systems analysis of the social problem. That’s okay as long as you get into the social conflict dynamics that help create the problem (and could provide a solution).  This should not be a conventional historical analysis and evaluation project – though obviously you need to do this for a map and identify intervention options.

Project Comments  In many cases, understanding what’s going on will require a kind of impact distribution map to determine the winners and losers who may not be immediately obvious  Several project ideas are pursuing interesting cross- cultural comparisons that come from looking at a familiar conflict in a different cultural context  There are few “borderline” projects that focus on conducting a systems analysis of the social problem. That’s okay as long as you get into the social conflict dynamics that help create the problem (and could provide a solution).  This should not be a conventional historical analysis and evaluation project – though obviously you need to do this for a map and identify intervention options.

Project Comments  Projects should not just be a chronological history or CIA factbook summary  It is important to avoid the “Platte River” syndrome (a mile wide and an inch deep). Those of you looking at big conflicts need a focal point:  Decision point  Some aspect of the conflict (e.g. conflict minerals, violence against women, child soldiers, human trafficking)

Project Comments  Look at secondary causes – what caused because of the particular conflict problem  Need conflict angle can’t be just an investigation of a health problem for example  You can look at “once removed” issues like the definition of genocide and the tactical use of the genocide “label”  Think in terms of the theoretical frameworks that we discus.  SAT Model  Talk to me about exceptions – I don’t want these rules to be too confining

Next Week  Required Reading to be discussed NEXT WEEK (reading reflections - RR4 - on this material are due noon, Monday Feb. 10.)  Threaded Text narrative – familiarize yourself with the system [Link to be added.]  PACS2500 Review Wehr "Conflict Mapping" "Conflict Mapping"  Shmueli "Conflict Assessment" LinkConflict AssessmentLink  PACS2500 Review Lederach "Levels of Action" (Lederach's triangle)Levels of Action" (Lederach's triangle)  PACS2500 Review Ury "The Third Side" "The Third Side  Framing Questions include: What aspects of the Wehr, Shmueli, Lederach, and Ury readings seem to relate (and be useful) to your conflict (how and why)? What topics in the threaded text seem to be useful for your research -- and why?

Threaded Text I  Introduction  Preliminary Considerations  Distinguishing Conflicts from Disputes  Scale and Complexity  Your Relationship to the Conflict / Dispute  Conflict Assessment and “Mapping”  “Traditional” Conflict Assessment  Graphical Conflict Mapping  Core Substantive Issues in Conflict  Distributional Conflict  Moral Conflict  Status Conflicts  Identity Conflicts  Conflict as the Engine of Social Learning

Threaded Text II  Destructive Conflict Dynamics – And Constructive Responses  Misunderstandings  Destructive, Partisan Framing  Spreading Disinformation  Flawed Fact-Finding, Interpretation, and Utilization  Escalation  Violence  Unrightable Wrongs  Lack of Collective Purpose  Lack of Future Vision  Destructive Competition  Over-Reliance on Coercive Power or “Power Over”  The Profiteer / Spoiler Problem  The Machiavelli Problem

Narrative

Expandable Tree

Virtual Bookshelves

This Week’s Readings

Opportunity Coalition: Systems Thinking Training  Shortcomings of “conventional thinking”  Overview of “systems thinking”  Key/useful ideas  Exercises  Advantages of “systems thinking”  Disadvantages of “systems thinking” / frontiers of the field

Systems Problems  Simple, and widely accepted cause and effect relationships are incorrect  Other, neglected factors influence the behavior of the system  Polarization processes can transform complex realities into simple “us versus them” confrontations focused around a simple issue  Systems can continue accumulating stresses that can result in unpredictable system breaks (both positive and negative)

System Problems  The underlying parameters that determine the behavior of the system are constantly changing  Unintended consequences are common

Systems Thinking Components  Recognizes the possibility of multiple solutions  Benefits from redundancy since no solution is assured  Adaptability  Incremental improvements

Coleman Paradigms

Ricigliano SAT Model  Structures  Attitudes  Transactions

Additional Systems Thinking Insights ?

Add’l Systems Thinking Concepts  Boulding Echo-System  Enlightened self-interest  Thinking “moves ahead” (chess)  Contingency planning “what if…” scenarios  Contingency projects (Ury’s “plans on shelf”)  Probabilistic planning  Time and uncertainty  Downside planning  Humility  Acceptable risk of doing harm?  Prerequisite knowledge  Prerequisite involvement (“skin in the game”)

Innovation Lab

Sheboygan, WI

The Interrupters

Group Facilitation  Select a facilitator  Select a recorder  Record ideas presented/discussed