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International Online Training Program On Intractable
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Conflict Research Consortium, University
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Stereotype-Breaking Actions
Glossary | Menu Shortcut Page
Stereotype breaking actions are actions that one party can take to prove to their
opponents that they are better in character than the opponent assumes. For example, one
party may visit the opponent personally, and be more reasonable, more friendly, more
agreeable, or more helpful than the opponent expected. When this happens, they are likely
to revise their enemy image at least a little bit, concluding that some members of the
opposition are reasonable people, or even that the opponents, in general, are more
reasonable than they thought they were. Anwar Sadat's first trip to Jerusalem was a
stereotype-breaking action. No one in Israel thought he would come at all, and when he
did, he was much more reasonable, and much more personable than most Israelis expected.
The same was true of Mikhail Gorbachev's first visit to the United States. Gorbachev was
very warm and friendly toward the American people, and they were very much captivated by
him. This effectively broke down many people's stereotypes of Russians as hostile, cold,
and aggressive, and replaced those images with an image much more friendly and open.
In addition to making trips to the opposing country or group, other stereotype breaking
actions are possible as well. One must simply determine what the other side thinks of you
or expects of you, and then do the opposite. If you are expected to be closed to new
ideas, express and interest in listening to new approaches to the problem. If you are
expected to be selfish and aggressive, take a nonassertive stance and make a small
concession that demonstrates good will and a willingness to cooperate with the other side.
The goal is simply to contradict the negative images that people usually have of their
opponents, and begin to replace these negative images with more positive ones.
Links to Examples of such Stereotype-Breaking Actions:
- J. William Breslin-- Breaking Away from Subtle
Biases
- This article gives examples of common stereotypes and discusses ways they can be avoided
or altered.
- Dennis Sandole and Hugo van der Merwe
--Brezhnev visits West Germany
- This short anecdote tells about a moment of reconciliation between Soviet Premier
Brezhnev and West German Chancellor Schmidt. Though not as dramatic, perhaps, as
Gorbachev's visit to the United States or Sadat's trip to Jerusalem, it did change the
nature of the relationship between the two men.
- Stephen Ryan--Peace-Building and Conflict
Transformation
- Ryan discusses a variety of stereotype breaking actions that can be used to encourage
peace-building and conflict transformation.
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- Robert Karl Manoff--The Media's Role in
Preventing and Moderating Conflict
- Just as the media can contribute toward negative stereotypes, they can also do much to
help break down such stereotypes and moderate escalated conflicts.
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- Paul Wehr--Reality Reconstruction Workshops
- These workshops focused on breaking negative stereotypes of the
opponent.
Links to Outside Examples of Approaches to Breaking Down Stereotypes
- Creating Systemic Interventions
for the Sociopolitical Arena - by Richard Chasin and Margaret Herzig of the Public
Conversations Project
- This article describes in detail several workshops they have held to break down
stereotypes in a variety of international and national sociopolitical conflicts.
Both the theory and methods of their interventions are described, and information is given
about replicating their process in other settings.
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- Facilitating Problem Solving in
Internationalized Conflicts by AJR Groom in the New Zealand Institute for Dispute
Resolution Archives
- This article shows how problem solving can be extremely useful in breaking down
stereotypes.
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- David Little and Paul
Mojzes--Religion and the Future of Intercommunal Relations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the
Former Yugoslavia
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Links to Related Solutions:
Links to Related Problems:
Copyright ©1998 Conflict Research Consortium -- Contact: crc@colorado.edu