Focus

Interviews on global affairs and daily life

Monday thru Friday, 10 am to noon on WILL-AM 580

Interview Archives: Conflict Resolution

Thursday February 02, 2012, 10:06 AM

The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts

Peter T. Coleman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology and Education, Department of Social-Organizational Psychology; Director of the International Center for Coooperation and Conflict Resolution, Teachers College, Columbia University

Host: David Inge

Most conflicts, whether global or interpersonal, end up being resolved peacefully. Yet one of every 20 ends up in a stalemate, with the two sides locked in to their positions. These disputes rarely go away. Often they get worse, escalating to the point of violence. Peter Coleman says the only solution is to see these conflicts in a new way. Coleman, director of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution, offers a new strategy for resolving stubborn arguments, the subject of his book "The Five Percent."