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International Online Training Program On Intractable Conflict |
Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, USA |
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International Online Training Program On Intractable Conflict |
Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, USA |
A paper prepared for Peaceworks describing theory behind this training program.
by
Guy Burgess
Heidi Burgess
Paul Wehr
October 30, 1998
The International Online Training Program on Intractable Conflict provides a variety of distance learning options for people interested in more constructive approaches to difficult and intractable conflicts. Created by the University of Colorado Conflict Research Consortium with support from the United States Institute of Peace and the Hewlett Foundation, this program is available to Internet users world-wide at:
http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace
The training program provides an economical alternative or supplement to travel-based training for disputants and intermediaries. The program provides information on basic conflict management strategies as well as more advanced techniques for dealing with intractable conflicts. Materials can be used independently for self study or as a supplementary resource which contributes to more conventional face-to-face training and education programs. The program is written in simple language (with an online glossary) so that it is appropriate for people with a limited knowledge of English. While it emphasizes intractable conflict problems in the developing democracies and elsewhere in the "two-thirds" world, this program is useful for anyone facing difficult conflict.
Designed for people with limited access to the academic or professional literature, the system contains over 1000 pages of full-text material with analyses of 100 common conflict problems and 200 strategies for limiting those problems. Summaries of 200 articles and books and links to another 200 web-accessible documents provide a theoretical background for and illustrations of the ideas presented. The program also permits dialogue among users, and encourages other conflict research, education, and training organizations to join the project as collaborators.
Our approach to resolution-resistant conflicts draws heavily from conflict resolution practice and peace and conflict scholarship. It also incorporates ideas from specialists in advocacy, community organization, and nonviolent direct action. Unlike those who seek resolution for its own sake, we seek justice, fairness, good decisions, and wise solutions. Sometimes this means working to resolve a conflict, while at other times, it means continuing the conflict, but in a more constructive way.
Another important element of our approach is that we use a smaller unit of analysis than is common. Rather than looking at the conflict as a whole, we look at each aspect of the conflict to see what is working well and what is not-and thus, what needs to be changed. The approach suggested is different for each conflict situation-we do not try to apply one standard approach to all situations. Our goal is to help users fix as many of the incremental problems as possible, and reduce the magnitude of the remainder, thus allowing users to pursue their goals in more positive ways, even before the conflict is resolved.
Although many of our "treatments" require cooperation between contending parties, (often through intermediaries), others can be implemented unilaterally. Similarly, some treatments are relatively easy for the parties to implement, while others require that they develop new dispute-handling skills or secure the assistance of conflict professionals.
Unlike other forms of dispute resolution, this incremental approach can work in situations where resolution-based approaches cannot. It is also appropriate where major changes in dispute-handling processes or decision-making institutions are unlikely. In addition to providing support for people in third-party, intermediary roles, the program also highlights steps which disputants can take without third party intervention or assistance.
While there are no proven strategies for resolving intractable conflicts, the field's growing knowledge base offers a rich array of ideas for handling inevitable confrontations more constructively. While some ideas were developed specifically for this program, many more were drawn from the knowledge, experience, and writing of others.
The problems, solutions, and examples given by no means exhaust the approaches for dealing with intractable conflicts. Rather, we see the program as a starting point, which is intended to stimulate users to think of new approaches to their own problems. A principal advantage of this problem/treatment approach is its adaptability to the special circumstances of particular users. No single approach can be expected to work in all conflict situations. Each presents a different combination of problems, requiring a different set of treatments.
The training program has five major sections: (1) a set of common conflict problems; (2) a set of possible treatments for those problems, (3) a set of examples of problems and treatments, (4) a group of background theoretical essays and (5) a number of resources and support services.
The core of the system is made up of the two problem lists (one for core conflict problems and one for "complicating factors") and two matched treatment lists. By clicking on a problem or a treatment, users are taken to an essay describing that topic in more detail. They can then follow links to examples of the problem or treatment, or they can read about related problems and/or treatments. They can also link to theoretical essays, and to articles on other web sites. The resources and support services section contains a glossary of specialized terms, a list of references (books and articles), online discussion groups, information on how to reach and download material at low cost, and hints for efficiently using the training program with different kinds of Internet connections.
There are several ways to use this training program. Users who want quick answers to specific questions can scan the problem and treatment lists for items that address their specific needs. They can then follow links to lessons and related topics of interest. All of the information on the web site is available free of charge, so they can use as much or as little as they wish.
Students who want to gain an in-depth understanding of intractable conflicts and constructive confrontation have two online course options. The work for both options is the same: students are asked to read the theoretical background material, the problem and treatment essays, and many of the examples. They then write a series of papers applying ideas in the materials to their own situations or experiences. They are also encouraged to critically compare their ways of dealing with conflict situations with those presented in the training program. Thus, the program becomes elicitive as well as prescriptive. In addition to providing instructor feedback and interaction, we also encourage online dialogue between students in different parts of the world, thereby enhancing the cross-cultural value of the course. For about $300, students who complete the course satisfactorily can receive formal university credit for a 3 semester hour course. Those who do not need credit can obtain a Consortium Certificate of Completion for $100. (We have also established a scholarship program for users who cannot afford these charges.)
The primary program users will be people with access to the Internet who are interested in alternative approaches to difficult conflict: government people, university faculty and other teachers, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the mass media, business executives, and others. While many potential users do not yet have access to computers and the web, such access is expanding rapidly throughout the world.
There is a much larger secondary audience--people in contact with organizations which have Internet access. For example, conflict research, training, and education organizations can make the program available to their students, dispute resolution practitioners to their clients, and advocacy groups to their constituents. Government agencies can use the program for employee training.
At this early stage of audience development, we really do not know how large our user group will be, but we expect it to grow quickly as more people become aware of the program's availability. Unlike conventional, face-to-face training which is limited by trainer resources and trainee time and money, copies of this program can be distributed instantly and at virtually no cost. Users need not hire trainers, buy new materials, or pay for travel expenses. The cost of online instruction is much less than comparable face-to-face training, since the economies of Internet teaching permit a single instructor to serve more students. Instructors can also be recruited from all over the world and the online character of the program allows them to fit the work into their normal schedule.
Despite the advantages of this system, it has limitations. First is the lack of face-to-face communication. At this point, all interaction is by written word-through the essays users read, papers they write, and online dialogues between instructors and students, and among students. This limits the speed of interaction, the depth and richness of face-to-face exchange, and the use of interactive exercises, role-plays, and simulations. We hope to devise ways to overcome this limit in the near future.
A second constraint is limited access. Not all potential users have Internet access. Yet many do, and the number of people with such access is growing constantly.
A third limit is the cultural bias the program now has. This system was written in the U.S. and thus presents a U.S. orientation toward problem solving. People from other cultures may be unfamiliar with this approach or find it difficult to apply in their societies. We hope that such users, rather than dismissing the system, will contribute, through feedback, alternative ways of defining problems and seeking solutions. As users from other societies and cultures do this, the system can become much more cross-cultural.
The Online Training Program on Intractable Conflict is a comprehensive and versatile learning resource which provides users with easy access to a great deal of useful information which was previously much more difficult to obtain. It is our hope that disputants and third parties will turn to this resource when they feel "stuck" in a conflict situation they don't know how to handle, or one that seems to be going from good to bad. If each of the thousands of users we anticipate takes away one or two new ideas about addressing their conflict problems in more constructive ways, the program is likely to have a significant impact. Beyond such incremental impact, we hope the program will lead users to see intractable conflicts in a new way, allowing them to reframe their problems and develop approaches to them that are more constructive.
The completion of our work under the USIP grant does not signal the end of this project. Rather, it represents a step in our long-term effort to improve web-based conflict training and education. We are excited about the program's ability to incorporate ideas from users and from conflict organizations which join the project as partners. By collaborating with colleagues and users around the world, we hope to increase the quality of the system significantly. We are also beginning to add exercises and roleplays, which should add to the interest and elicitive nature of the program. We expect the program's impact to grow substantially as we continue to refine the system and as the reach of the Internet continues to expand.
Copyright ©1998 Conflict Research Consortium -- Contact: crc@colorado.edu