Assingment
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CMNS333Week7LargeScaleConflict-2.ppt
Conflict and Communication
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This weeks objectives
- What are the sources of large scale conflict?
- What has this looked like over time?
Primordial and intractable or solvable?
- How do people become engaged in big issues and addressing conflict?
- What are the broader issues in encouraging engagement?
Safe space/ defensive listening/ partnerships
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Explore this through the lens of current political trends
-nationalism,
-zenophobia, refugees
-Climate and environmental problems
-extreme leadership
-world financial system
-gender parity
-closing borders
What are large scale conflicts?
- Occurs on a national level
- Between cultural groups in a society
- Based on resources, values, ideologies
- Eg.
Civil rights (Women’s, LGBTQ)
Environmental
Democracy Movements
Asymmetrical Warfare
Engineered by the government targeting unarmed civilians to secure resources
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Identify a large scale conflict…
Think of a large scale conflict that has grabbed your attention.
Identify why this conflict needs urgent attention.
Share your identified conflict with others and state your case.
Decide if you will maintain support for your cause or join another classmate in theirs.
Identify as many like-minded classmates as possible.
Be ready to share your conflict and its need for support with the class
Sources of contention…
- Harold Lasswell (1950) asked
“Who gets what, when, and how?”
- How are the things a society values distributed between it’s members?
- Determines power, status, wealth
- Created by and reinforces cultural values…
Politics is about the distribution of resources among people and who have access to power and decision making
How this question is answered has a lot to do with the weakness or strength of the government
Eg. Financial wealth – land, resources (coal, diamonds, oil, sugar)
Power/ autonomy – your religion, cultural practices, language, ability to make decisions and respect, freedom from persecution (intangibles)
Colonialism is the policy of a nation seeking to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories, generally with the aim of developing or exploiting them to the benefit of the colonizing country and helping the colonies modernize in terms defined by the colonizers, especially in economics, religion and health.
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Colonialism
- Settler colonialism
large-scale immigration with the intention of replaceing the original population.
- Exploitation colonialism
focuses on the exploitation of natural resources or population as labour,
includes trading posts and slave trade
- Justified by ”Othering”
the creation of those who discriminate, to distinguish, label, categorize those who do not fit in the societal norm.
the process of identifying another cultural, religious or ethnic group as separate and lesser in order to justify exploitation
The European colonial period was the era from the 15th century to 1914 when Spain, Portugal, Britain, Russia, France, the Netherlands, Germany and several smaller European countries established colonies outside Europe. It has been estimated that by 1914, Europeans "had gained control of 84% of the globe” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonialism
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Sources of contention…
- Early Civilization
Food, shelter, security, status
Determined by values in society
Egalitarian (archaic societies; communal)
Nonegalitarian (some more worthy than others)
Mixed (balance to quell social unrest)
Values that maintained monarchies, aristocracies, military power, divine rights
Politics is about the distribution of resources among people and who have access to power and decision making
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Sources of contention…
- Pre-industrialization
Wealth accrued through agriculture, mining, forestry, crafts, trade, plunder
Political systems maintained power through social privilege not merit
Primary need for food, shelter, security
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Sources of contention…
- Post-industrialization
Conflict between social classes
Welfare state with basic social services and education emerges
Labour movement result in decline in strikes and work stoppages
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Sources of contention…
- Post Depression and WW2
Where was the social turmoil of the 1960’s coming from?
Concern shifting from survival, security family values, hard work to individual rights, social justice, peace, women’s rights, environment.
Core survival needs were met; better education meant focus shifts to values and individuality
Politics is about the distribution of resources among people and who have access to power and decision making
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Sources of contention…
- Return of traditional “survival” concerns
Economic difficulties
Perceived threats from immigration and globalization
Erosion of the middle class
Mixing-up – individual rights vs. nationalism
Politics is about the distribution of resources among people and who have access to power and decision making
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Sources of contention…
- Conflict in developing economies
Rapid urbanization, ethnic & religious conflict, military rulers along with concern about status of women, environment, minority rights
Economies often driven by needs of other colonizing nations
Ripple effects (Greece & Europe)
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One-sided Violent Engagement
- When a state or powerful insurgent group uses force to intimidate and punish potential opponents who are not organized as a fighting force
- Slight increase in incidents between 1989-2005
Better reporting of events
Increased incidents of massacres of unarmed people (Sudan, Congo)
Military abuse, massive imprisionment of oppenents, ethnic cleansing and massacres
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Armed Conflict
- Low intensity
less than 1,000 deaths during entire period of fighting
Assasinations, riots, feuds
- Medium intensity
More than 1,000 deaths
Revolts, insurrections, terrorist acts
- High intensity
More than 1,000 deaths a year
Civil warfare
Military abuse, massive imprisionment of oppenents, ethnic cleansing and massacres
½ are nonstate government driven; religious groups, intercaste
State is often too weak to manage conflict
Often a result of decolonization processes and rise of democracy; newly acquired resources; lack of skill and experience
*People less likely to take up arms if their basic needs are met. Most prefer holding a modest job in a stable and peaceful society over gambling for gains by conquest.
Work skills, family connections and education distance people from lives of soldiers
Low intensity conflict (LIC) is the use of military forces applied selectively and with restraint to enforce compliance with the policies or objectives of the political body controlling the military force. The term can be used to describe conflicts where at least one or both of the opposing parties operate along such lines. (Burma)
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Complexity of large scale conflict
- We are all connected.
Environmental issues involve economic development, technological innovation, business interests, political rights, the common good, social justice
Whose job is cut? What industries are impacted? Who goes without? Who is impacted “down stream”
Politics is about the distribution of resources among people and who have access to power and decision making
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Complexity of large scale conflict
- Democracy is complicated
Endless consultation, contestation, negotiation?
Minor issues seem to be inflated
Relies on appreciating low term vs. short term benefits
Whose interests are being served?
World Bank/ Citizens/ Big Business
Politics is about the distribution of resources among people and who have access to power and decision making
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We are an argument culture
- Agonism
a warlike stance pervades our discourse
Black or white thinking results in adversarial discussions
Middle ground (where solutions lie) not as easily recognized
Not always two sides to every issue
Support/ kindness neglected
Deborah Tannen
All or nothing thinking - - System one – reaction vs. evaluation
Blame, What happened, facts vs. emotions means we don’t get to solutions… we don’t get curious… we don’t learn about the other’s story… we don’t see contributions (system two)
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Barriers to Engagement in Large Scale Conflict
- It’s too much work.
- Apathy squelches enthusiasm.
- It won’t make a difference.
- It costs too much.
- Internet Slacktivism.
Parks and Rec Video here
“Just three things” approach
Make it easy “The Wandering Farmer”
Start small; encourage personal F2F involvment
Show connections on a bigger scale – African Grandmothers
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Examples of Canadian Large Scale Conflict - Residential Schools
Ongoing impacts faced by intergenerational survivors include;
1. Alcohol and drug abuse
2. Sexual, physical, psychological and emotional abuse
3. Dysfunctional families and interpersonal relationships
4. Toxic communication — backbiting, gossip, criticism, put downs, personal attacks, sarcasm, secrets, etc
5. Educational blocks — aversions to formal learning programs that seem “too much like school,” fear of failure, self-sabotage, psychologically-based learning disabilities
6. Suicide
7. Destruction of social support networks (the cultural safety net) that individuals and families in trouble could rely upon
8. Voicelessness — entailing a passive acceptance of powerlessness within community life and a loss of traditional governance processes that enabled individuals to have a significant influence in shaping community affairs
http://reconciliationcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ReconciliationCanada_Dialogue_workshop-guide.pdf
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Examples of Canadian Large Scale Conflict – Chinese Head Tax
Significant Chinese immigration to Canada began in 1858 in response to the gold rush in British Columbia (BC), increasing dramatically in 1881 with the exten- sion of the Canadian Pacific Railway into BC. When the railway was completed in 1885, BC coincidentally experienced an economic recession and high unemployment. Fear spread that the now unemployed Chinese workers would take jobs from the white labour force, and the BC government encouraged the Federal Government to halt further Chinese immigration.
The Government of Canada responded by implementing the Chinese Immigration Act / Exclusion Act, that required every Chinese worker or immigrant to pay a $50 head tax to enter Canada. In 1903, the tax was raised to $500, and in 1923, Canada passed a new Chinese Immigration Act that stopped Chinese immigration completely until the repeal of the act in 1947. As a result, many Chinese immigrants experi- enced long separations from their families, and some were never reunited. It wasn’t until 1967 that Chinese immigrants were admitted under the same point system as immigrants from other nations.
http://reconciliationcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ReconciliationCanada_Dialogue_workshop-guide.pdf
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Examples of Canadian Large Scale Conflict – Japanese-Canadian Internment
Within days of the Japanese Government attacking Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, Canadian Pacific Railways fired most of its Japanese workers and the Canadian government seized Japanese fishing boats, forcing fishermen to stay in port. This persecu- tion escalated on December 18, 1941 when Japanese Government forces attacked Hong Kong and imprisoned or killed many Canadian soldiers.
Canada’s senior military officials and the RCMP opposed action against Japanese-Canadians and believed this community posed no threat to the west coast of Canada. Still, a 100-mile wide strip on the west coast was designated a “restricted area” under the War Measures
Act and all Japanese males between the ages of 18 and 45 were removed and sent to road camps in the inte- rior of British Columbia. By March
of 1942, all Japanese-Canadians were asked to leave the area and women and children were sent to live in holding facilities in livestock barns at Hastings Park.
In order to stay together, manyfamilies agreed to move to Alberta or Manitoba to fill labour shortages.
In 1943, the confiscated property of interned Japanese-Canadians was sold to pay for their own internment, leaving most with ittle more than a suitcase of personal belongings. With the end of WWII, Japanese-Canadians were given a choice to move east of the Rockies or return to Japan to be repatriated. An estimated 4,000 Japanese- Canadians were exiled to Japan by 1946. It was not until April 1, 1949 that Japanese-Canadians were again allowed to freely move across Canada.
http://reconciliationcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ReconciliationCanada_Dialogue_workshop-guide.pdf
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Examples of Canadian Large Scale Conflict –Komagata Maru Incident
Canada’s Continuous Passage Act was enacted in 1908 in an effort to prevent immigration from India.
The Act stated that immigrants must “come from the country of their birth, or citizenship, by a continuous journey and on through tickets purchased before leaving the country of their birth, or citizenship.” Additionally, if an Indian immigrant was able to make the continuous journey, he or she was required to have $200 on his or her person to enter British Columbia.
On May 23rd 1914, the Komagata Maru arrived
near Vancouver’s present-day Stanley Park carrying 376 hopeful immigrants who had chartered the ship to sail from one port of the British Empire, Hong Kong, to another in Vancouver, Canada. Passengers, mostly from Punjab in British-occupied India, understood that their journey would act as a direct challenge to the Continuous Passage Act but asserted the right to free passage within the British Empire.
Upon the arrival of the Komagata Maru in Vancouver, the ship was met with hostility and resistance from Canadian authorities, who reiterated that the ship had not adhered to the Continuous Passage Act. Showing support for the Komagata Maru was the Khalsa Diwan Society, established in 1906, and other members from Vancouver’s South Asian community. These supporters helped provide relief to the passengers and raised money for provisions and legal aid. Two months passed while the ship stayed docked in Burrard Inlet until the court of appeal upheld the anti-Asian order-in-council.
Following a failed forceful attempt to remove the ship from the Inlet, the Prime Minister gave permission to allow the Royal Canadian Navy Rainbow to escort the Komagata Maru from the shores of BC.
Before that could happen, an agreement was reached where the government sent provisions to the ship in return for its voluntary deportation. The ship left Vancouver on July 23, 1914. Upon its return to Indian shores,
the Komagata Maru was met by British officials and a confrontation occurred that left twenty passengers dead and many more injured.
http://reconciliationcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ReconciliationCanada_Dialogue_workshop-guide.pdf
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Engaging in large scale conflict…
- What causes are you involved in, or considering involvement in?
- Why this issue?
- What level of involvement would you consider?
- How might you engage others in this cause?
Engagement – Determinants of involvement
- How people become involved
Relevance, emotional response
- Level of involvement
High or low levels of interest, investment
- Role of persuasive CMNS
Techniques and approaches
- Facilitation – keeping it constructive
Involvement in issues is determined by..
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Engaging Canadians in Truth and Reconciliation Canada
What do we know about Truth and Reconcilliation?
https://vimeo.com/25389165
Eg. How to develop community resources (community plan for recreational/ year round communities
Aboriginal vs. Commercial Fishing
Taxations processes (GST/ HST)
Health Services – level of care (maternal/ tertiary/ emerg
Refugee resettlement
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Community Engagement
and Reconciliation
“A planned process with the specific purpose of working with identified groups of people, whether they are connected by geographic location, special interest, or affiliation or identify to address issues affecting their well-being.”
Eg. How to develop community resources (community plan for recreational/ year round communities
Aboriginal vs. Commercial Fishing
Taxations processes (GST/ HST)
Health Services – level of care (maternal/ tertiary/ emerg
Refugee resettlement
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Truth and Reconciliation Canada
The commission’s work
Comprehensive report on policies and operation of residential schools
Events promoting education and awareness
Providing support to survivors and their families
Honoring and paying tribute to those who were lost
6,000 deaths of children – 4,000 directly and 2,000 indirectly associated with residential schools
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Truth and Reconciliation Canada
What it means to participants…
Recognizing and honouring treaties
Learning about what happened and sharing knowledge with others
Healing by having stories heard and pain acknowledged
Self determination and respect
Reclaiming identity and sense of pride
Recognizing our role – how we benefited
6,000 deaths of children – 4,000 directly and 2,000 indirectly associated with residential schools
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T&R Challenging the Myths
With a partner, read one of the top misperceptions about Aboriginal peoples in Canada from the Assembly of First Nations.
What is the misperception?
Where do you think this misperception finds it’s source?
How does this misperception stigmatize First Nations people?
What is the reality?
What question does this lead me to ask?
6,000 deaths of children – 4,000 directly and 2,000 indirectly associated with residential schools
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How do we get people to care about large scale conflict?
In groups of four, brainstorm strategies for getting people engaged in T&R or other large scale conflicts.
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How do we get people to care?
- Make the impact of those affected, and the nature of their suffering clear
- Experiencing compassion fatigue? Overwhelmed? Prioritize what you can actively care about at the local and global level
You can’t take action on all issues – pick your battles
- Link local with global
How can I act here to support others – immigrants
Half a million Rohingya have fled Bangladesh as of Oct’17
More than 70% of those do not have adequate shelter
50% have no safe drinking water
Humanitarian crisis on an epic scale
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How do we get people to care?
- Watch our propensity to “other”
“they are not like us; their needs are different; they don’t need to be treated in the same way as we treat ourselves.”
- Value diversity
See others as an opportunity to learn and enjoy new experiences
- Respect people and respect and understand human rights
- Recognize your own cultural uniqueness and value
Half a million Rohingya have fled Bangladesh as of Oct’17
More than 70% of those do not have adequate shelter
50% have no safe drinking water
Humanitarian crisis on an epic scale
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Acts of Reconciliation 3-2-1
1. Use the ArchiveHistory.ca History Matters article to identify one act of reconciliation that you could undertake with a friend or family member who is not engaged in the historical conflict between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal people in Canada. You can also identify an act of reconciliation on your own.
2. Then identify two reasons that you will use to convince them why Truth and Reconciliation is essential to our well being as individuals, communities and a country.
3. Finally, identify, from the class power points or the book “Difficult Conversations” three conflict management skills or strategies that you will need to successfully accomplish this task, including successfully engaging that person in the task.
Success Story – Refugee Resettlement
Video here
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Community Engagement
Strategies
- Creating Alliances and Partnerships
builds trust and mechanisms for joint action
- Asset Mapping
identifies to mobilize action
- Surveying
- Town Hall/ Community Forums
- Focus Groups
- Capacity Building
Literacy Community Plans – “stakeholders” working together
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Community Engagement
Strategies
Informed – This is how we came to the decision we did
Asked – These are our options/ help us decide
Commenting on Decisions – This is what we decided – tell us what you think
Developing Solutions – How can we fix this – what are the options?
Delivering Services – How can we work together to fix this?
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How we talk about issues
- Why it’s important to create a safe space
- Every time we communicate, we offer definitions of ourselves and respond to the perceived definitions of the other(s). However, since these perceptions are always subjective, and therefore inherently distorted, communication often leads to misunderstandings and bad feelings -- causing people to shut down.
http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/safe-spaces
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Think of a time when someone has said something to you that you found was personally offensive because it was an attack on who you are as a person - something that made you feel disrespected, not valued, or mocked.
Why it’s important to create a
safe space
Defensive Communication
speakers spending a good portion of their time defending themselves, thinking about how to win, dominate, and impress the other, how to escape punishment and/or how to mitigate an anticipated attack.
Gibb, J.R. (1961). "Defensive Communication." Journal of Communication, 11 (3): 141-148.
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Agnostic Communication
Why it’s important to create a
safe space
| Defensive Listening producing postural, facial, and verbal cues that raise the defenses of the partner in communication. Defensive Interactional climates are characterized by pervasive evaluation and control; the feeling that one is a pawn in another's strategy; that the other is neutral, having no real concern for the other's welfare; that the other feels superior in power, position, or other ways; and that the partner is dogmatic, certain that they have all of the answers. |
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Why it’s important to create a
safe space
| Defensive Interactional climates create… blame, anger, and fear deindividuation and dehumanization and inflexible and extremely negative stereotypes of the "enemy," autistic communication -- a state in which there is virtually no communication between the sides and each group becomes even more entrenched in its prejudices and preconceptions concerning the other, leading to a vicious cycle of inter-group silence and recriminations. |
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What is a safe space?
| “A place where anyone can relax and be fully self-expressed, without fear of being made to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe on account of biological sex, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, cultural background, age, or physical or mental ability; a place where the rules guard each person's self-respect and dignity and strongly encourage everyone to respect others.” Advocates for Youth Glossary. Retrieved 24 March 2012. |
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How to create a safe space?
- No coercion to participate
- No manipulation
- Openness and honesty
- Awareness of asymmetry in power and commitment to equality
- No interrupting; equal opportunities to speak without pressure
- Refraining from judgmental and caustic responses
- Ground rules established through group consensus
- Empathetic and active listening
- Peaceful silences
- “I” statements
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Ouch and Oops
If I say something that I subsequently wish I could take back, I am encouraged to say, “Oops”.
If I am hurt, offended or in any way negatively impacted by something someone else says or does, I let it be known not by screaming, pointing or demanding an immediate letter of resignation but rather respond, “Ouch”.
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Voice and Silence
- Spiral of Silence
the process through which cultural exclusion and manipulation of cultural identity is carried out in everyday communication.
occurs when people who perceive that their opinions are popular express them, and those who do not think their opinions are popular remain quiet.
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- Not just about being on the bandwagon, but also avoiding being isolated from the group
- media contributes to this by espousing views that are popular - simple to understand; particular topics
- Cumulitive - doesn’t come up in popular discourse; not covered on the news; not brought up in popular discourse
Voice and Silence
- A person's individual reluctance to express his or her opinion, simply based on perceptions of what everyone else thinks, has important implications at the social level
- Vocal minority - people who are highly educated, or who have greater affluence, and the few other cavalier individuals who do not fear isolation, are likely to speak out regardless of public opinion
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German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann.
As one opinion gains the interest of the majority, the minority faces threat and fear of isolation from society.
As the opinion gains momentum by the majority, the minority continues to be threatened and falls deeper into their silence.
It continues until the minority no longer speaks out against it, and the opinion of the perceived majority ultimately becomes a social norm
Voice and Silence
- Silencing of Voice: An Act of Structural Violence: Urban Aboriginal Women Speak Out About Their Experiences with Health Care
Kurtz, Nyberg, Van Den Tillaart, Mills, The Okanagan Urban Aboriginal Health Research Collective (OUAHRC). Journal of Aboriginal Health, January 2008
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There exist huge differences between both the level of health and the access to health services between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Canadians
-infant mortality in Aboriginal pop’ns is 16% higher and
-life expectancy for Aboriginal women is 5.2 years less than Non-Aboriginal women and Aboriginal men 7.4 years less than Non-Aboriginal men
- significantly higher rates of diseases like diabetes, heart disease and higher rates of injury, suicide, obesity
Research confirms that these statistics are due it social and economic inequities including poor and crowded housing, poverty and the impact of colonialism - residential schools which systematically destroyed patterns of life and family structures that are necessary to support health and healthy living
Many throughout the health and education system working with Aboriginal people to try and address these problems and how they might be addressed.
One approach is to look at barriers - what gets in the way of people seeking out and getting good health care so health problems don’t escalate.
And one huge barrier is not having culturally appropriate services - forcing Aboriginal people into a health system that doesn’t take their needs into account (systemic)
Another (mico level) is how cultural insensitivity and racism impacts individual’s visits to health care providers. What is the experience when an Aboriginal woman goes to the doctor and what influences the success of the visit, and if she goes back?
This study does in-depth interviews with 13 Aboriginal women as part of a participatory research study (observing and implementing strategies to make change) and the women interviewed give many examples of how they felt powerless to ask questions, to explain their situation, give basic health information because of the way they were treated by health care providers. Assumptions about abuse of children, drug and alcohol use, they way they are spoken to, how their way of living is questioned and belittled .
-As a result - didn’t seek medical care for themselves or their families
-In addition to looking at ethical standards of treatment, and cultural awareness and sensitivity - look at the communication patterns that the existing problems create - patients are silenced in a way that does them direct harm.
Create a setting where they feel safe to speak out, but also address the conditions that rob people of their self esteem and courage to advocate for themselves and their families.
