Colleague and Context Posts for the Week of January 7, 2023
Newsletter #192 — January 7, 2024
Reader Suggested Links
Highlighting links suggested by our readers. Please send us links to things that you find useful.
Israel / Hamas War
Journalistic Duty in Israel Palestine News — An excellent analysis of the difficult moral questions that journalists covering the Israeli/Palestinian conflict have been struggling with in the decades leading up to today's war.Israel / Hamas War
Finding moral clarity on campus about the Hamas-Israeli War — Robert Reich's thoughts on the grotesque and staggering levels of violence surrounding the Israeli / Hamas war and a call for us all to help find a way to put an end to this violence.Israel / Hamas War
In the Shadow of the Holocaust — From Masha Gessen, an analysis of how the politics of memory in Europe obscures what we see in Israel and Gaza today.Israel / Hamas War
10 thoughts on what is happening in Israel. — As we try to decide what we think about conflict in Israel and Gaza, reflections on 10 aspects of the conflict worth considering.Israel / Hamas War
Matti Friedman: The Wisdom of Hamas — A thoughtful argument that the opinions that many in the West have about the war between Israel and Hamas are based on serious misunderstandings.Israel / Hamas War
Win-Win? — Israel could claim victory in Gaza but so, too, could Hamas. It depends on how they each define "success."Israel / Hamas War
How ‘Antiracism’ Becomes Antisemitism — An essay reflecting on one of the big surprises following Hamas' October 7 attack -- the degree to which this conflict has become a focal point in the domestic US struggle against racism.
Colleague Activities
Highlighting things that our conflict and peacebuilding colleagues are doing that contribute to efforts to address the hyper-polarization problem.
System Thinking Strategies
The Rondine Method — A blog post from our friend Chip Hauss about innovative ways we can all copy this deep Italian approach to conflict resolution and apply it in our own lives.Psychological Complexity
Americans do talk about peace − just not the same way people do in other countries — A reminder that different societies with different cultural perspectives think about peace in different ways.Leadership
The Leadership Lab — The Leadership Lab does "deep canvasing" work in an effort to re-engage infrequent voters to increase voting and force representatives to better reflect their constituencies' interests.Civic Education
Faces of Civity — Short videos in which people who have attended Civity Workshops reflect on their workshop experience, what "civity" means to them, and how they have incorporated civity in their own work.Escalation & Violence Limiting Projects
Addressing Chronic Violence from a Gendered Prespective: Fostering People-Centered Approaches at the National Level — This report argues for reconceptualizing violence based on feminist conceptions, recognizing that societal structures, systemic discrimination and even pervasive cultural norms can be sources of violence.Saving Democracy
Designing Resistance: Democratic Institutions and the Threat of Backsliding — This report examines democratic backsliding, detailing strategies and actions taken affecting the core institutions of democracy offers recommendations to make democracy more resilient.Leadership
National Leadership Network — NLN is a collaboration between the 700,000+ alumni of more than 800 US Community Leadership Programs. Many operate locally, but we know – now more than ever – we could be stronger together.
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.
Intersectional Left
Why liberalism and leftism are increasingly at odds — A really thoughtful analysis of the increasingly significant conflict that is emerging between social justice progressives and traditional liberals.Family / Gender / LBGTQ+
Why I'm Increasingly Worried About Boys, Too — From Jonathan Haidt, an important article looking at the tough challenges facing boys and young men, plus thoughtful ideas about how we might best respond.Social Complexity
Fertility Free-Fall — An analysis of ongoing demographic changes that, for those concerned about social sustainability, are deeply worrying.Race / Anti-Racism
Higher Ed Has Become a Threat to America — A critical and undoubtedly controversial look at the impact of DEI programs on the ability of universities to fulfill their core missions.Terror
Aiding Terror: How Terrorists Exploit Humanitarian Organizations — A timely and important look at the at the ways in which terrorist organizations have been able to exploit humanitarian aid providers (and fund the continuing cycle of violence).Superpower Conflict
What Happens When the U.S. Overestimates Its Power — Americans tend to think of themselves as all-powerful, either as an exceptional beacon of freedom or the most exploitive of the colonial powers. This article asks whether the US is really that powerful.Race / Anti-Racism
Making Race Skin Deep — An article about race that demonstrates the value of looking at such an important concept from the perspective of multiple cultures (and not just assuming that our way is the only way).Developing a Unifying Vision
Humanism and Its Discontents — A review and summary of an important new book looking at the evolution of humanistic philosophy and the difficult struggle to build societies based on that idea.Communication Complexity
How Social Media Is Turning Into Old-Fashioned Broadcast Media — Just when we were starting to think that we had social media figured out, important news that it is transforming itself (and its social impact) once again.Climate Change
Bone-Chilling — The story about how important it is that we maintain our infrastructure in ways that allow it to cope with extreme events.Race / Anti-Racism
Inside Ohio State’s DEI Factory — Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request, we now have a rare window into how universities actually use DEI criteria in their internal deliberations.Social Complexity
Where Does Religion Come From? — Amid the Mideast's ongoing collision over religious beliefs, thoughtful reflections on the origins of these beliefs.Saving Democracy
It’s Time to Fix America’s Most Dangerous Law — A persuasive plea for Congress to clarify the 1792 law that contains loopholes that could give an unscrupulous President the power to mobilize the federal government against his political rivals.
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