democracy

Reducing partisan animosity and anti-democratic attitudes with Jan Gerrit Voelkel [Ep. 09]

In this episode Laura interviews Jan Gerrit Voelkel, who is a Ph.D. Student in Sociology at Stanford University. Jan's research studies intergroup and interpersonal relationships with two guiding research questions. First, what causes people's willingness to harm others and defend inequalities? And second, how can personal or societal change be achieved that increases equality and/or reduces harm? Jan has developed interventions that increase support for policies that aim to reduce economic inequality or increase opportunity for immigrants. Jan has also led the Strengthening Democracy Challenge, a megastudy that tested 25 crowdsourced interventions for reducing anti-democratic attitudes and partisan animosity.
Jan's academic page: https://sociology.stanford.edu/people/jan-gerrit-voelkel
Jan's twitter: https://twitter.com/jgvoelkel
Project: https://www.strengtheningdemocracychallenge.org/
Lab twitter: https://twitter.com/pascl_stanford

Mediating peace with Dr. Juan Diaz-Prinz [Ep. 04]

In this episode Laura interviews Dr. Juan Diaz-Prinz, senior expert on mediation and dialogue at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Juan is a mediator, trainer, and facilitator who has dedicated his career to bridging the gap between theory and practice in mediation. He started his career in the Office of the International Mediator in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1998-2004) and then co-founded the CSSP: Berlin Center for Integrative Mediation. He served as its director and senior mediator between 2005 and 2013. He later supported the founding of the European Institute of Peace for mediatEUr: the European Forum for International Mediation and Dialogue. Before joining USIP, he was working on developing the Conflict Management Space as an online platform for developing simple innovative training material for practitioners working in the field.

Convergence with Rob Fersh and Monika Glowacki [Ep. 02]

Step into the world of consensus building and collective action as Laura speaks with Rob Fersh and Monica Glowacki from the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution in the US, which is all about bringing diverse voices together to tackle critical national issues. From education to gun violence, they've seen it all! But what sets them apart is their secret sauce: the magic of co-creation and empathetic listening. Get ready to dive into this first full episode of the Conflict Tipping podcast, where Rob and Monika spill the beans on their successes, failures, and the transformative power of consensus building.
In this episode, you'll discover:
The fascinating stories behind Convergence's projects, like how they brought gun control activists and Second Amendment enthusiasts together, and the impact they've made on the Affordable Care Act.
The nitty-gritty of consensus building and why it leads to higher quality and more innovative solutions by incorporating diverse perspectives.
How co-creation can transform adversarial interactions into cooperative problem-solving sessions, where all voices are heard and respected.
The early successes that paved the way for Convergence's groundbreaking work, including their involvement in healthcare reform.
The innovative project on digital disinformation, where they're bringing together tech platforms, media, academia, and more to combat the harmful effects of false information in our society.
The challenges of power imbalances and disparities that they grapple with while striving for consensus and how they navigate those complexities.
So, if you're ready to explore the unexpected connections and transformative potential of consensus building, tune in to hear from Rob Fersh and Monica Glowacki as they take you on a journey of co-creation, collective action, and the pursuit of common ground.
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About the guests:
Prior to co-founding Convergence, Rob served as the United States country director for Search for Common Ground, an international conflict resolution organization. While at SFCG, he directed national policy consensus projects on health care coverage for the uninsured and U.S.-Muslim relations. In the 1986-98 period, Rob served as president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), a leading NGO working to alleviate hunger in the United States. Rob also served on the staffs of three Congressional committees, working for U.S. Representative Leon Panetta and for Senators Patrick Leahy and Edmund Muskie. While a Congressional staff member and at FRAC, he was deeply involved in shepherding passage of bipartisan legislation to reduce hunger in the United States.
Monika is the Director of the initiative on Digital Disinformation at Convergence, where she will bring together people across differences to explore the root causes of problems with online information and media systems, and pathways towards a more equitable vision for the future of the internet. Monika has worked in research and analysis exploring the intersection of technology, people, politics and power. She is interested in critical analysis of the impact of technology on our lives, societies and economies, as well as how technology can be reimagined to serve the public interest and our wellbeing.
Learn more at http://convergencepolicy.org
 
About the host:Laura is a facilitator, people and culture director, and former Executive Director of the International Mediation Institute.  Her doctoral research asked “in what ways does blame make villains in politics” and covered the gamut from literature studies and linguistics to psychology and neuroscience, victimology to political science.  Her expertise includes emotions, polarization, blame, and international politics.  Feel free to connect with her on  LinkedIn or ResearchGate—or even both!