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From April - September 2021, the Alliance for Peacebuilding and the U.S. Peace, Justice, and Democracy Working Group hosted a series of weekly webinars, Preventing and Reducing Conflict and Instability in the United States: Shaping What Comes Next, with leading peacebuilding and conflict prevention experts, donors, and policymakers from across the country.

The series focused on the conflict dynamics driving instability, extremism, and toxic polarization, and more importantly, the political and policy changes needed to build a society that is just, secure, and fair for all Americans.

 

Past webinars

From April - September 2021, AfP presented a weekly discussion with policymakers and conflict and peacebuilding experts on Preventing and Reducing Conflict and Instability in the United States. In the final discussion of this series, experts reviewed what is working and not working to address the most urgent conflict drivers. They also discussed near and long-term recommendations to address increasing instability trends and how to build sustainable peace in the United States.

Speakers

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The United States is polarizing faster than any other democracy. How is the left contributing to toxic polarization and how is the left part of working to help build social cohesion? The discussion will focus on the problems, challenges, and solutions and the need for intragroup work on the left.

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This session engaged movement leaders and practitioners in efforts to address systemic racism in the United States by establishing a Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation. The session also explored what this effort looks like at the local and national levels.

Speakers:

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U.S. officials are struggling to respond to the arrival of displaced people at the southern U.S. border. The challenges at the border are exacerbating perceptions inside the United States of immigrants and immigration as being a threat, which is fueling xenophobia, racism, animosity, and polarization. This perception has galvanized the anti-immigrant movement and made life substantially more difficult for all immigrants and the communities that welcome them.

This session explored the complex issue of immigration, starting with what is the state of our immigration system, what is happening at the border, why and how the issue is being weaponized and turned into a wedge issue that is fueling divisions in the country, and what immigrant rights groups are doing to change the narrative and address these divisions, while ensuring that immigrant communities in the United States can live in safety and peace.

Speakers:

  • Saurav Upadhyay (Moderator), Research Manager - Learning & Evaluation, Alliance for Peacebuilding

  • Josh Leach, Public Policy and Communications Strategist for The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee 

  • Oscar Hernandez Ortiz, Dreamer and Activist

  • Peniel Ibe, Policy Engagement Coordinator, American Friends Service Committee

  • Jordyne Krumroy, Southern Regional Manager, Welcoming America

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Education can be a driver of conflict that fuels grievances, xenophobia, and misinformation, or it can address conflict dynamics in the United States and contribute to peacebuilding. Join the Alliance for Peacebuilding on July 28th in a discussion about working with educators and state and city governments to align the U.S. history curriculum with a peacebuilding approach. We will present Kate English and Patricia Shafer whose organizations provide peace education to young people, including training, mentoring, and teaching conflict history and prevention. 

We will also engage in a discussion of the recent bill introduced by Senators Chris Coons and John Cornyn, the “Civics Secures Democracy Act”, which aims to restore the importance placed on civics education in American classrooms and expand access to civics and history education.

Speakers:

  • Liz Hume (Moderator), Acting President and CEO, Alliance for Peacebuilding

  • Patricia Shafer, Executive Director, NewGen Peacebuilders

  • Kate English, Executive Director, Educators’ Institute for Human Rights

Exclusive Interview!

Exclusive Interview with Maria Stephan on her recent piece, America’s Democracy Moment

American democracy is in decline and conflict dynamics are driving instability across the country. Join us for a discussion on the critical steps needed to rebuild and secure U.S. democracy and prevent and reduce increasing instability and build sustainable peace for all Americans.

Resources

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No webinar this week

July 14, 2021

Many scholars and reporters noted the overt symbols of Christian Nationalism on display at the January 6th Capitol insurrection. The events brought into sharp focus the role of Christian nationalism on divisions and polarization in the United States. This session will explore Christian nationalism (and Christian nationalists) and their role in driving divisions and toxic polarization. The session will also address what Christian groups are doing to address these divisions and build peace.

Speakers:

  • Saurav Upadhyay (Moderator), Research Manager - Learning & Evaluation, Alliance for Peacebuilding

  • Christy Vines, President and CEO, Ideos

  • Brian Zahnd, Founder and Lead Pastor, Word of Life Church

  • Martin Brooks, President, Peace Catalyst International

  • David P Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University and Chair of Christian Social Ethics at Vrije Universiteit (“Free University”) Amsterdam/IBTS

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Our brains are hard-wired for antagonism and strong emotion. Social discord can seem inevitable, and often leads to social conflict. Fortunately, there are practices for meaningful communication, behavior change, and emotion and bias management available to all. This conversation discussed the neuroscience of conflict and approaches for its management. Our panelists presented on the science of breaking cycles of animosity, while offering practices for developing effective communication strategies and fostering relationships.  

Speakers:

  • Liz Hume (Moderator), Acting President and CEO, Alliance for Peacebuilding

  • Mari Fitzduff, Professor Emerita, Heller School, Brandeis University and author of Our Brains at War: The Neuroscience of Conflict and Peacebuilding

  • Lisa Swallow, Executive Director of Crossing Party Lines, Inc and author of Yes, You CAN Talk Politics: A Workbook for Talking Across Party Lines

  • Michelle Barsa, Program Director, Democracy & Social Identity, Beyond Conflict

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This webinar featured a discussion on applying an atrocities prevention frame to conflict drivers in the United States. What steps should we take to prevent mass violence? And what can we learn from partners and communities from the global south?

Speakers:

  • Theo Sitther (Moderator), Senior Fellow, Alliance for Peacebuilding

  • Max Pensky, Co-Director, Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP), Binghamton University

  • Sadia Hameed, Founder and Executive Director, Thought Partnerships

 

Session 1: The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization

Surveys show that Americans have become more fearful and hateful of supporters of the opposing political party and imagine that they hold much more extreme views than they actually do. How can we loosen the grip of this toxic polarization and start working on our most pressing problems?

Join AfP on June 16th to hear from social psychologist Peter T. Coleman as he discusses ideas from his new book, The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization. Coleman will explore how conflict resolution and complexity science provide guidance for dealing with seemingly intractable political differences and discuss principles and practices for navigating and healing the difficult divides in our homes, workplaces, and communities to better our lives, relationships, and country.

Speakers

  • Liz Hume (Moderator), Acting President and CEO, Alliance for Peacebuilding

  • Peter T. Coleman, Social Psychologist and Author of The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization

 

Session 2: Want Free and Fair Elections in the U.S.? It’s Not Just About Election Day

Preventing election violence requires a holistic perspective, which includes mobilizing community leaders, utilizing law enforcement effectively, and structuring the election laws to discourage hyperpolarization. Join AfP on June 16th to hear from our panelists who will examine various initiatives that sought to prevent election violence in 2020 and discuss what more needs to be done moving forward.

Speakers

  • Larry Garber (Moderator), Independent Election Consultant and Senior Fellow, Alliance for Peacebuilding

  • Alexandra Chandler, Policy Advocate, Protect Democracy and Coordinator of the National Task Force on Election Crises

  • Kevin Johnson, Executive Director, Election Reformers Network

  • Nathan Stock, Political Violence Mitigation Manager, The Carter Center

Resources

 
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On June 9th, 2021, AfP held an exciting conversation with Amanda Ripley, New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist, as she discussed her newly published book, High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out. Amanda Ripley investigates how good people get captured by high conflict—and how they break free.

People in dramatically different situations can be drawn into high conflict by similar forces. But ultimately, we can transform high conflict into something good, something that makes us better people. Individuals—even entire communities—can short-circuit the feedback loops of outrage and blame, if they want to. This is a mind-opening new way to think about conflict that will transform how we do peacebuilding work at home and abroad.

Our panelists participated in the inaugural 2020-2021 Uniting for Action: America cohort, a diverse group of 33 Americans from different communities with political views across the ideological spectrum, who worked together to take action on challenges relating to the economy, food waste, race, media, and education. What did they learn about communicating and engaging with people across divides? What advice do they have for their fellow Americans concerned about conflict dynamics in the United States? This session dived in to learn more about how community members in the U.S. are taking action to bridge divides.

Speakers:

  • Joseph Bubman (Moderator), Executive Director, Urban Rural Action

  • Shenée Simon, Memphis, TN

  • Brian Rubin, Bowie, MD

  • Michele Jansen, Chambersburg, PA

  • Kristy Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

Resources

Americans are increasingly reluctant to talk across the political divide. What does the research say about how conservatives and liberals experience communicating across the political divide? Findings from a study show that actual cross-divide conversations occurred only rarely, as participants avoided them out of fear of jeopardizing relationships or reputation. When participants did interact across the divide, the interactions tended to be highly emotional assertions of identity and values rather than rational policy-oriented discussions.

In an already divided context, these interactions contribute to escalating conflict dynamics. This conversation discussed when we should and shouldn’t talk across the divide and when we do talk across the divide, what makes it successful and how we ensure we do no harm.

Speakers:

Resources

The conflict context in the United States must include an analysis of rural communities, including the urban/rural divide and rural resident views on state and federal government investments (or lack thereof) in their communities. During this session, we heard from leaders of economic development and opportunity initiatives in rural communities as they discussed the challenges facing rural communities and described how support for entrepreneurs and workers in rural communities contributes to a more just and peaceful society.

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With the current discourse on reimagining public safety and policing, the question is: How do we really get there? 

This lively discussion took a deep dive into hot issues in public safety from the standpoint of widely diverse views: police practices, police culture change, and how racism shapes public safety in America.  At the panel’s conclusion, participants heard innovative, practical ideas for immediate and systemic change which can help transform your community.

Speakers:

 
 

Narrative engagement has become an essential competency for all social change leaders. What is the essence of the stories that underpin how we and others are making sense of the issues we care about? And how can we communicate more effectively about our values, and incorporate others’ values to galvanize collective action for change? While democracy is alarmingly under threat around the world and in the U.S., many activists are urgently re-thinking the narrative strategies we should be deploying to build broader constituencies and powerful, winning movements for inclusive and pluralistic democratic societies. This webinar discussed both the theory and practice that can help us re-think these democracy narratives, and how we might draw upon sacred values (our own and others) to identify and align around effective democracy narratives.

The Horizons Project, together with Over Zero, Beyond Conflict, and the Hudson Institute shared recent research, practice, and insights to help lead this discussion.

Speakers:

  • Julia Roig (Moderator), President, PartnersGlobal; Chair of the Board, Alliance for Peacebuilding

  • Michelle Barsa, Program Director, Democracy & Social Identity, Beyond Conflict

  • Nichole Argo, PhD, Director of Research and Field Advancement, Over Zero

  • Tod Lindberg, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

Resources

Definitions

Organization’s Resources

Additional articles and reports

This session aimed to identify and unpack what is driving violent extremism in the United States. We explored what programs are already working in the United States and the challenges and successes in developing prevention programming here at home. More importantly, we addressed how to create better programs and policies by putting best practices and the latest research from local and international programs into action.

Speakers:

  • Shamil Idriss (Moderator), CEO, Search for Common Ground

  • Theo Sitther (Co-Moderator and panelist), Senior Fellow, Alliance for Peacebuilding

  • Jesse Morton, Founder and Executive Director, Parallel Networks

  • Pastor Bob Roberts, Senior Global Pastor of Northwood Church and Founder of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network

  • Shannon Foley Martinez, Anti-Hate Activist and Former Neo-Nazi

  • Hala Furst, Associate Director of Strategic Engagement at the Office of Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Resources

Addressing and dismantling structural racism and systemic injustice is an essential part of preventing violent conflict, instability, and extremism in the United States. This webinar discussed how structural racism contributes to the current state of affairs in our country and how we can move toward justice, peace, and reconciliation.

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Resources

Session 1: Bringing a Conflict Analysis Lens to the U.S.

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Session 2: How Corporations and Businesses Can Be Agents of Peace

Speakers:

  • Jenny Vaughan, Human Rights Director, Business for Social Responsibility

  • Alan Fitts, Executive Director of International Government Relations, JP Morgan Chase & Co.

  • Angela Baker, Head of Corporate Responsibility, Qualcomm

Resources

Bridging Divides Initiative

Poor People’s Campaign