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

Reading Reflections / D2L Grades  Level of Effort  Number of Points  Evidence of Having Done the Readings  Personal Reflections  Timeliness

Project Ideas?

Coleman’s Definition: The Five Percent  Framing questions for RR2:  Which of Coleman et al ideas seem most useful and why? How do they apply to the "real world?"  Which seem most "whacky" and why?

Advice for the 95%  Know what type of conflict you are in  Not all conflicts are bad  Whenever possible, cooperate  Be flexible  Do not personalize  Listen carefully  Be fair, firm, and friendly

Limits of social science  They compare fluid things to fix things  They think in straight lines  The privilege the short-term  They focus on problems  They marginalize emotions  They are overly simplistic  They are overly complex  They feed the research practice gap  They miss unintended consequences of well-intentioned acts

The Five Percent  Power of history  Complicated but simple  Illusion of free will  Short-term thinking  Resist conflict management strategies

The 57 Essences Domination: a deep desire for power and control of others. 2. Inequity: history of colonialism, racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, or human rights abuses. 3. Gender: situations where men, who are responsible for the vast majority of violence, are in charge. 4. Divide and conquer: high-power groups (HPGs) manipulating low-power groups’ (LPGs’) ethnic differences. 5. Cracks in the facade: conditions where HPGs’ control of historical and cultural meaning through history textbooks, media, official accounts, etc. becomes compromised. 6. Delegitimization of hierarchy-legitimating myths: challenges to ideologies, narratives, and policies that validate hierarchical power arrangements. 7. Structural victimization of LPGs: denial of identity, security, and voice. 8. Structural violence toward LPGs: unequal access to housing, health care, nutrition, education, etc. 9. Lack of awareness: an insulated and inattentive HPG. 10. Accumulation of indignities: pervasive patterns of “civilized oppression” by HPGs against LPGs. 11. Seismic shifts: periods of rapid social change and instability. 12. Tainted infrastructure: compromised institutions, laws, and social norms for conflict regulation. 13. Looking up: changes in LPGs’ aspirations. 14. Power shifts: changes in the balance of power between HPGs and LPGs. 15. Ambiguity of power: unclear relative status of groups in conflict, leading to more volatility. 16. Anarchy: the complete collapse of social order. 17. Dialogic poles: underlying issues rife with consequential trade-offs. 18. Paradoxical dilemmas: issues that, when resolved, create new problems. 19. Intricate interconnections of issues: complex connections among distinct issues. 20. High centrality: issues that have high personal or group-based importance. 21. Truth: issues that revolve around important, basic beliefs. 22. Hub issues: grievances embedded within broad beliefs, ideologies, and basic assumptions. 23. Exclusive structures that keep groups isolated and out of contact from each other. 24. Inescapable relationships: relationships from which it is virtually impossible to exit. 25. Collapsed relationships: relationships damaged beyond repair by conflict. 26. Intense mixed motives: high-stakes conflicts with a mix of cooperative and competitive goals. 27. Intractable core: fundamentally unsolvable issues. 28. Polarized collective identities: group identities based on the negation and destruction of the “other.” 29. Conflict identities: group identities organized around an ongoing conflict. 30. Monolithic and exclusive identities: all different aspects of in-groups and out-groups collapse into single entities. 31. Frozen identities: personal and group identities become rigid and unresponsive to change. 32. Unconscious needs and defenses: motives that are operative but difficult to identify and address. 33. Intragroup divisions and factions: internal group divisions drive intergroup conflict. 34. Hidden agendas: covert or criminal objectives that drive the overt conflict. 35. Emotional contagion: the pervasive spread of toxic emotions such as humiliation, deprivation, loss, and rage. 36. Memorialized conflict: conflict driven by a sense of duty and loyalty to those harmed in the past.

The Frame Problem  The object problem  The subjectivity problem  A set of two data processing problems  The problem of dynamism  Promotion to destruction  Concrete abstract  Objectivity to subjectivity  Long-term the short-term

Coleman The Mathematics of Middle East Conflict and Peace“  Capitalize on current regional instability  Decouple the conflict.  Work from the bottom up.  Stop making peace.  Identify and support indigenous repellers for violence

Fractals Is all conflict is local?

Complicated vs. Complex Systems

Complicated Systems Mechanical Metaphor- based

Complicated Systems

Chaos

Directed from Washington Model

Complicated “Chain of Command”

The Alternative, Complexity-Oriented Peacebuilding Organic Metaphor- based Recognizing that the course of conflict results from the cumulative decisions of millions of individuals.

Mermeration

Non-Human Eco-Systems

Human Eco-Systems

Individual vs. Ecosystem-Centric

Ecodynamics Biogenetics vs. Noogenetics

Darwin and Smith

Ecodynamics  Mutation  Selection  Niche  Relationships  Mutualism  Commensalism  Amensalism  Competition  Antagonism (Predation, Parasitism)  Neutralism

Eco-System Betterment?  Draft “mission statement” of an organization devoted to improving the biological ecosystem.  Draft “mission statement” of an organization devoted to improving the social ecosystem.  Focus on the entire ecosystem not just the welfare of particular species or individuals.

Complicated vs. Complex Systems I Complicated Engineering View System Consciously Designed by Humans Complete Plans of the System Are Available Unified Command-and- control Structure Deterministic Complex Medical View System Evolved Through Processes of Natural and Social Selection No Plans Exist—Only Observational Studies and Theories Decentralized, Multiple Independent Actors Adaptive / Chaotic

Complicated vs. Complex Systems II Complicated Workings of all system components are understood Complete repair possible Applies to simpler, designed systems Space shuttle Computers Complex Workings of only some system components understood Only incremental fixes/improvements Applies to complex, real-world systems Medicine, Ecosystem management, Internet, Economy, Social conflict

Complicated vs. Complex Systems III Complicated All malfunctions can be troubleshooted and repaired (given sufficient funds and political will) Complex Some problems (pathologies/diseases) can be diagnosed and treated, others cannot— treatment varies from: Complete Cure Symptomatic Relief No Successful Treatment -- Chronic Condition -- “Live with It” No Successful Treatment -- “Terminal” Focus on the most threatening pathologies

General Systems Theory Levels of Systems Kenneth Boulding, “Skeleton of Science”  Framework  Clockwork  Throughput  Feedback  Cellular  Botanical  Zoological  Psychological  Social Engineered Systems Evolutionary Systems

Metaphors: Herding Cats? 7yqlTMvp8 Moving Food Bowls?

Conductor vs. Improvisation Orchestra Model Jazz Band Model

Strategic Corporal

The E-Bay vs. Unity of Effort

Specialization, Division of Labor Massively Parallel Peacebuilding

Micro, Meso, Macro Peacebuilding Fractals

Remediality, Incrementalism Herbert Simon Charles Lindblom