State of conflict conference 2024

Here you can find the report with reflections on this year’s edition. Below you’ll find the movie recap, and the original conference description.

What was the SoC 2024 about?

Public policy controversies are generally highly emotive. As societal tensions increase, the need to better understand emotions becomes more important. Emotions set all sort of things in motion – they either bring groups together, reinforce divisions, or fuel escalation. In the fabric of democratic life, emotions are woven into every political decision, public debate, and civic action. Considering the omnipresence of emotions, they have not received quite the attention they deserve. A stronger grasp of emotions is even more important given the increasingly participatory character of democratic governance. When public officials, administrators, politicians, and citizens interact, different emotional vocabularies meet – and smooth translation is not a given.

At the 7th State of Conflict conference, we will explore how we, as professionals, can gain insight from emotions and work with them. We will explore what happens when we treat emotions not just as ‘background noise.’ What if we consider them a crucial influence on how people make sense of policies and institutions, and ultimately, how we engage in democracy itself?

We hope that a better understanding of the emotions present in our practices might help mitigate the all-too-familiar cycles of doubt, fear, and defensive reasoning. This understanding could foster constructive patterns of reflection and dialogue, deliberative learning, and negotiation.

You can now buy your ticket to the 7th State of Conflict conference and join us in exploring the theme of Emotional Democracy. As every year, we will organize small working sessions that allow for in-dept reflection. The detailed program will follow soon, but will be centered around a couple of key questions such as:  

• How do emotions intersect with values, identities, and beliefs in practice?
• What emotions do we as practitioners bring to the table and how do they interact with emotions present in the public? 
• How can we distinguish between emotions that strengthen democratic participation and those that undermine it? 
• What can we say about the conditions in which emotions coalesce in meaningful collective action? 
• What role can anger, hope, fear, and solidarity play in fostering legitimate democratic change, rather than perpetuating division and mistrust?

The program

We are very happy to share that Dr. Sara Cobb will be our opening speaker at this year’s State of Conflict conference. Sara Cobb is the professor emerita of Conflict Resolution at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. She has been the director of the Center Conflict for Narrative and Conflict, and was the executive director of the The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law school. We learned a lot from her over the years, as one of the leading voices in the fields of negotiation and conflict resolution studies. Sara teaches and conducts research on the relationship between narrative and violent conflict. She wrote the book “Speaking of Violence: The Politics and Poetics of Narrative in Conflict Resolution”, in which she offers a narrative perspective on both conflict analysis and conflict resolution. This perspective presumes that conflict is a struggle over meaning, anchored in – and by – the stories we tell. She will open the morning of the conference and talk about the connection between narratives and emotion in conflict. We are very excited to hear her perspectives on this years theme ‘Emotional Democracy’.

As every year we organise small working sessions that are rooted in practical experience. The goal is to learn through interactions with each other. The sessions are facilitated by practitioners to maximize opportunities for reflection and exchange. Please note that 4/8 sessions are in Dutch.  We also open pre-registration for the session of your choice.

Morning sessions (11:00-12:45)

1. Als het stof is neergedaald [Dutch]

Een crisis komt altijd onverwacht en wordt door iedereen anders ervaren. Bij heftige onverwachte gebeurtenissen in een buurt kan dit pijnlijk zichtbaar worden. We merken dat de recente explosies bij woonhuizen in Amsterdam veel teweegbrengt. Meestal is het onduidelijk wat de aanleiding is en al helemaal wat het doel van de actie is. De gemeente heeft een rol in de nafase en probeert er zoveel mogelijk te zijn om de rust weder te laten keren en waar mogelijk de veiligheid te vergroten. Zeker in de eerste dagen als nog veel onduidelijk is en er geen snelle, makkelijke, oplossingen zijn, kunnen de emoties van alle betrokkenen in een negatieve spiraal raken. Hoe ga je om met de emoties van alle betrokkenen en maak je ze constructief? Organiseer je een bewonersbijeenkomst of ga je huis-aan-huis langs? Hoe ga je om met verwijten in de buurt, de politie die geen informatie mag delen, verwachtingen waar je niet aan kan voldoen? En hoe ga je om met je eigen emoties als ambtenaar als daar weinig ruimte voor lijkt te bestaan in het publieke domein?Facilitated by Justus Vermeulen, Bouchra El Morabete (Gemeente Amsterdam) and Martien Kuitenbrouwer (Public Mediation)

2.  Making space for emotions and working with uncertainty: transformative tools for dialogue [English]

This joint working session by Michelle Parlevliet and Dagmar Punter explores some transformative tools that help to make space for strong, stuck, or unexpressed emotions in conflict dialogue. Through the shared themes of working with uncertainty, futures-thinking, and imagination, we connect examples from the dialogue interview method in transformative scenarios processes (TSP) and creative visualisation like drawings and collages. Inspiration for the session is drawn from Michelle’s work with TSPs in Cyprus and the South Caucasus for Reos Partners and Conciliation Resources, and Dagmar’s PhD cross-national peace research ‘What does peace mean to you?’ which aims to understand how peace perceptions are shaped, including creative methods. This session seeks to dive deeper into the mechanisms of these methods together with participants, and jointly explore what makes them constructive tools for parties in dialogue – in part by providing participants with a practical experience thereof. Altogether, we discuss the potential of stakeholders ‘stepping into’ uncertainty and use imagination and alternative scenarios as possible vital elements to loosen up emotional impasses or make tangible what’s hard to express. Facilitated by Michelle Parlevliet (independent practitioner) and Dagmar Punter (Tilburg University) 

3. Emotions as Pathways to Justice: From Injustice to Collective Healing [English]

In this working session, we explore how emotional reactions to state-sanctioned or societal injustice serve as powerful indicators of moral and emotional injury and societal failure and can serve as a call for reimagining justice responses that focus on restoration and healing. Drawing on interviews held with those harmed by the “The Child Benefit Affair” in the Netherlands, by tapping into the emotional landscape of those affected by injustice —whether anger, grief, shame or indignation—this exploration envisions a future where justice is centered on a need for repair, healing relationships, collective accountability and addressing systemic harms. By recognizing emotions as vital components of justice instead of obstacles and through a deeper understanding of these emotional dynamics, we can reimagine responses that emphasize repair and social transformation. Facilitated by Brunilda Pali (University of Amsterdam, European Forum for Restorative Justice)

4. Omgaan met emoties en manieren van de-escalatie tijdens protestacties [Dutch]

Uit onderzoek blijkt dat er in Nederland steeds meer demonstraties worden georganiseerd. Ook zien we veel andere vormen van protest, ontregelende acties, en burgerlijke ongehoorzaamheid. Dit soort activiteiten wordt gekenmerkt door sterke, en vaak hoog oplopende emoties—niet alleen bij de demonstranten en activisten, maar ook bij omstanders en publiek. Daarnaast hebben veel politici sterke gevoelens en meningen over protest, zowel over de redenen als de vorm, waardoor de mensen die gebruik willen maken van hun democratische recht om te demonstreren, maar ook de mensen die deze acties in goede banen moeten leiden, onder een vergrootglas van media en politiek liggen. Hoe gaan ordehandhavers en activisten in dit complexe krachtenveld om met de sterke emoties tijdens demonstraties en acties? We praten met agenten van de Vredeseenheid van de politie en “de-escalatoren” van activistengroepen over hoe zij emoties proberen te reguleren. Wat kunnen we leren van emotiemanagement in situaties waarin sterk conflicterende belangen centraal staan, en waarin het oproepen van sterke emoties, wrijving en spanning juist een van de belangrijkste middelen is? Facilitated by Femke Rosser and de ‘Vredeseenheid’ (Dutch Police) and Martijn Dekker (University of Amsterdam)

Afternoon sessions (13:45-15:30)

5. ‘Ontwapenen’; disarming in conflict [English]

The common meaning of ‘ontwapenen’ (disarming) in conflicts refers to efforts to organize a process in which armed groups give up their weapons.  The meaning of disarming isn’t limited to such efforts, however.  People come to conflict armed in many ways. Disarming also refers to behaviors that address the suspicions, hostility, anger, and defensiveness that groups bring to action in such settings.  In this session, we will build on the double meaning that disarming has and work to develop it into a practical account of behaviors that lower hostility and make others feel less angry and suspicious than they were initially.  This may also involve us in exploring how anger, hostility, and suspicion are sustained through other forms of behavior. We will start with a few practical exemplars of disarming behavior and then explore practical examples drawn from participants’ work to develop insights into how disarming works in practice.  We will conclude with a joint effort to sketch a working theory of the role and impact that disarming behavior can have in settings in which the stakes are high, suspicion and hostility abound, and those involved seem stuck in defensive habits and commitments to aggressive behavior. Facilitated by David Laws (University of Amsterdam), Zeineb Al-Itejawi (Public Mediation) and Fleur Ravensbergen (independent practitioner) 

6. Taking emotions seriously in policymaking: dramatic and religious repertoires [English]

From India to the US, from cultural relations to climate change; politics is emotionally charged and increasingly polarized. Belief in linear progress towards a fair society now seems woefully naïve. Still, we must learn to address disputes, create new aspirations and, in the best cases, find ways to collaborate toward a brighter future. Policymakers often seek to meet these ambitions in processes of public engagement. This is no easy task. Public officials and mediators regularly encounter deeply entrenched divides and sometimes deadlocked situations. So how might public engagement be reconfigured to reinvigorate democracy? Pushing through ‘rational’ choice approaches to conflict resolution, this session explores the role of emotions in undermining and enabling effective public engagement. And delving further still into themes deemed uncouth or unsafe by secular, ‘rational’ institutions, we explore the role of dramatic and religious repertoires in fostering alternative emotional outcomes. Facilitated by Christina Klubert and Timothy Stacey (Urban Futures Studio).

7. “Zij willen niet meedoen”: de invloed van percepties op de emoties van ‘de ander’ [Dutch]

De zorgen over burgers die als “afgehaakt” worden bestempeld, zijn zowel in Nederland als wereldwijd groot. Tegelijkertijd bestaat er ook bezorgdheid over overheden die als “ongevoelig” worden gezien voor het leed van (delen van) hun bevolking. Maar zijn de burgers die als “afgehaakt” worden omschreven, wel daadwerkelijk afgehaakt? En welke invloed heeft het op een conflict wanneer gevoelens van apathie en lethargie op “de ander” worden geprojecteerd? Aan de hand van de casus “Stadsrand Tilburg Noord”—een gebiedsontwikkelingsproject aan de rand van Tilburg, grenzend aan enkele kwetsbare wijken—onderzoeken we de percepties die we zijn tegengekomen rondom de emoties, of de afwezigheid van emoties, van “de ander.” Samen reflecteren we op hoe we deze beelden moeten interpreteren en wat ze met conflict doen. Facilitated by Eva Wolf and Barbara Koole (Tilburg University) 

8. Beleid en belevenis, dialoog over de wolf in Nederland[Dutch]

De terugkeer van de wolf in Nederland brengt veel teweeg. Het maatschappelijke debat en de toon in de media zijn fel. De RDA kreeg het verzoek om advies uit te brengen over de positie van de wolf in Nederland. Daarbij wilden zij hun inhoudelijke advies verrijken met een maatschappelijke dialoog. Maar hoe richt je een dialoog in zodat die alle sentimenten en emoties in de maatschappij echt goed vangt? Hoe krijg je diepere belevenissen boven tafel als belangenbehartigers lijnrecht tegenover elkaar staan, of deelnemers angst ervaren om zich uit te spreken over zo’n gepolariseerd onderwerp? In deze werksessie nemen wij jullie mee in hoe wij de brede maatschappelijke dialoog uitvoerden om inzicht te verkrijgen in de verschillende gevoelens, meningen en ideeën bij professionele partijen, actiegroepen én bewoners van wolvengebieden. Facilitated by Frithjof de Haan and Boris de Jong (De Maatschap voor Communicatie)

We hope to see you in Amsterdam on November 7, 2024, at the UvA University Library (Singel 425, Doelenzaal). If you have any questions about the conference, please contact Amber: amber@public-mediation.nl. 

Best wishes, 

David Laws (Public Mediation Programme), Martijn Dekker (UvA), Martien Kuitenbrouwer, Marc Rijnveld, and the rest of the Public Mediation team.