Political Violence

This is the second of two episodes in my doubleheader kickoff to Season 2, which is starting in the wake of the Capitol riot, the second impeachment of outgoing US President Donald Trump, and ongoing tensions in the US and elsewhere.

This is a very timely conversation with Nathan Stock. Nathan is a Conflict Resolution Program Consultant at the Carter Center, a non-profit typically known for its work on peace-building and election monitoring overseas, especially in countries dealing with conflict or division.

In the past year though, the Center started focusing on the US, on preventing violence during and after the November elections. Nathan has been working on that project, meeting with local community leaders to help recognise deepening divisions, defuse tensions, and build resilience to potential violence. We discuss the potential but also the challenges and limitations of those efforts, and the extent to which lessons from other divided societies might apply to the US today.

Book recommendation: The Upswing, by Robert Putnam & Shaylyn Romney Garrett