Running head: ELICITING KNOWLEDGE FOR WORK WITH INTRACTABLE CONFLICTS What We Don’t Know Can Help Us: Eliciting Out-of-Discipline Knowledge for Work with Intractable Conflicts Jennifer S. Goldman Columbia University Peter T. Coleman Columbia University Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to Jennifer S. Goldman or Peter T. Coleman at the following address: Box 53, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th St., New York, NY 10027, Phone: (212) 678-3402, Fax: (212) 678-4048. Electronic mail may be sent to Jennifer S. Goldman at
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[email protected] Eliciting Knowledge for Work with Intractable Conflicts 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………….3 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..9 Method…………………………………………………………………………………….9 Findings……………………...…………………………………………………………..10 Methodological Learnings / Recommendations………………………………………....49 References………………………………………………………………………………..52 Appendices……………………………………………………………………………….53 Eliciting Knowledge for Work with Intractable Conflicts 3 What We Don’t Know Can Help Us: Eliciting Out-of-Discipline Knowledge for Work with Intractable Conflicts Jennifer Goldman Columbia University & Peter T. Coleman Columbia University Executive Summary The current state of theory, research, and practice on protracted, intractable conflict is robust but limited; although much progress has been made, our understanding is bounded by discipline, culture, role-in-conflict (expert versus disputant), and social class. This pilot project, funded through a mini-grant from the Intractable Conflict Knowledge Base (ICKB), elicited alternative ways-of-knowing and engaging with the phenomenon of intractable social conflict that are typically excluded from the dominant discourse in this area. A professionally and culturally diverse group of scholar- practitioners were identified through the ICKB network as potential participants, and nine (9) pilot interviews were conducted for this study.