Root Narrative Theory and Conflict Resolution

Engaging Conflict History and Memory Across the Taiwan Strait: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Conflict Timelines from Interactive Conflict Resolution (ICR) Dialogues

“…Metaphorically, this challenge is similar to sea fish trying to imagine what it would be like to live in fresh water. An important first step in making such a cognitive jump is to acknowledge that there exist alternative mnemonic structures and patterns (Galtung 2014;Simmons 2020). This is precisely the step that the Chinese participants took to recognize the Taiwanese mnemonic reasoning for February 28, and that the Taiwanese participants took to recognize the Chinese mnemonic reasoning for the 1992 Consensus.…”

Pashtuns and Pakistan Army: A Proposal for Equitable Collaboration

“…The case of Pakistan's tribal areas is sensitive in terms of underdevelopment, insecurity, and violent narratives. If we apply the root narrative theory (Simmons, 2020), the situation in tribal areas of Pakistan stands between the stories of political and military powers. The region has complex political interests for the military to sustain its influence in neighboring Afghanistan.…”

Peace is possible: The role of strategic narratives in peacebuilding

“…Noting the potential for face-to-face storytelling interventions to re-traumatize participants, or even to reactivate conflict-related frames (Oberpfalzerová et al, 2019), Bar-On's (2006) concept of a 'good enough story' recognizes that stories might be imperfect but that they are good enough if they generate inter-group empathy and support reconciliation without alienating or hurting other participants. Various narrative scholars agree that, while simplified stories are drivers of conflict, complex narratives are enablers of peace (Cobb, 2013a(Cobb, , 2013bFederman, 2016;Federman and Niezen, 2022;IFIT, 2021;Roig, 2019;Simmons, 2020). Cobb (2013a: 117) designates that 'better formed' stories which transform conflict develop complexity through various dimensions: more complex plots, with more events and a circulating logic that connects past, present and future; rounded characters that show both their good and dark sides; and a moral order that is multi-modal rather than binary.…”

“…Anchored in the moral agency of their characters, 'better formed' stories firstly restructure the past conflict so that all parties are acknowledged and accept some responsibility for its creation, and secondly allow for the construction of new identities for everyone involved (Cobb, 2013b). In the post-conflict space, narratives blur the boundaries between fixed categories of victim, perpetrator and hero, showing actors as whole people, with different layers that work to 'thicken the story' (IFIT, 2021) and ask for reflection and recalibration (Simmons, 2020). They encourage people to re-shape the ways they relate to each other, building new forms of affiliation while respecting autonomy.…”

“…Various narrative thinkers point to Cobb's (2013a) notion of narrative braiding as a means to create better-formed stories by weaving together the strands of the conflicting narratives into larger wholes in which all sides are represented and have legitimate roles to play (IFIT, 2021;Roig, 2019;Simmons, 2020). Such story weaving creates a narrative web that produces the conditions for public deliberation that can transform conflicts (Cobb, 2013b).…”