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Welcome to the Web site for the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (CNCR). The Center is part of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, located at Civic Square, New Brunswick, New Jersey. CNCR is at the forefront of a movement that believes disputes can be settled by constructive negotiation and consensus-building and problem-solving approaches instead of by force or adversarial argument.
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An Israeli and a Palestinian making a genuine effort to narrow the divide by appealing to their common humanity, through a rap video that has gone viral, and it's having a significant impact. One observer had this to say: "I've been waiting for someone to make this video for a long time. How can we fight each other when we are more like brothers than we will admit to ourselves? change won't come before we let go of the hate."
A Rap Song Lays Bare Israel’s Jewish-Arab Fracture — and Goes Viral
www.nytimes.com
A Jew and a Palestinian sling slurs at each other, giving voice to hidden prejudice with the aim of overcoming it.
Religious peacemaking in Israel and Palestine is given a boost by the efforts of a rabbi and an imam. They are fighting to restore momentum to a formal peace process that petered out in 2014. Part of the "back story" is here. The story of religious and secular elements on the front lines of peacemaking, expanding, as they say, "the sense of a peace" that is possible.
As Secular Peace Effort Stutters in Israel, Religious Mediators Hope to Step In
www.nytimes.com
The inclusion of an Islamist party in Israel’s government has spurred a group of imams and rabbis hoping to build a religious-based peace movement.
The widely respected Alexander Vindman makes some convincing points in today's op/ed in the New York Times but there is one observation that bears further thought. Vindman is concerned about Biden's treating Putin as a worthy adversary, as a global leader, preferring that he view Putin as President Obama did, a regional, not a global power. That designation riles the Russian leader and, reportedly, is not well received by the Russian people. ![]()
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Diminishing your adversary is hardly an effective negotiating strategy, especially when what you seek is improved communications on cybersecurity, nuclear weapons, and human rights, and a stable relationship, one in which you can pursue your interests, advocate your positions, and, at the same time, maintain peace. Biden loses nothing by approaching the Russian leader as the head of nation with which the U.S. desires improved relations, in fact he gains, focusing on what matters, and allowing the Russian leader to do the same.
Opinion | We’ve Come a Long Way Since Trump. Putin Is Still Winning.
www.nytimes.com
The overriding U.S. foreign policy aim must be to prevent an existential confrontation with Russia.
In a world as challenged as this one, with pressing needs, it's a remarkably good move by President Biden to appoint the talented and passionate Samantha Power, not as an ambassador, or to a high position in the State Department, but to the U.S.A.I.D.. At the same time, she will serve on the National Security Council. By her presence there, she signals that aid and diplomacy are certainly as important to the U.S. as are our military and security interests. She is among equals there. By doing this, Biden signals that diplomacy is the priority of his administration, and that he want so deploy American 'know how,' not merely rhetoric, to meet the needs of other nations to the extent that we can and must. Once again, we can seek to gain the place in the world that many citizens of the world want us to have.
Opinion | Samantha Power Still Believes America Can Help Save the World
www.nytimes.com
Can the new head of U.S. foreign aid make America good again?
Paying attention to Tzipi Livni, former vice Prime Minister of Israel, is always worth it. Here she analyzes the fraught conflict and offers a fresh perspective, concluding that a two-state solution remains the only viable option, and despite repeated disappointments with efforts to get there, people shouldn't give up on it. "The solution," she says, "must reflect both sides' legitimate rights, aspirations and interests, with compromises that allow both to fulfill legitimate national aspirations and live side-by-side in peace and security. An agreement will be possible when pragmatic leaders on both sides understand that the price of not having an agreement for their people is far higher than the price of compromise."
Opinion | There Is a Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
www.nytimes.com
A two-state solution remains our only viable option.