Beyond Intractability is a very large knowledge base focused on making people more aware of the threat posed by destructive conflict and options for limiting such conflicts and threats.

The knowledge base contains over 400 core articles (called “essays”) and over 100 hours of audio interviews contributed by several hundred scholars and practitioners.

The essays cover both the theory relating to causes and effects of intractability, and practice guidelines regarding effective or at least promising ways of addressing them. Conflicts are so varied, complex, and difficult that nothing can be promised to be “effective” in all cases, but the essays generally present what was considered at the time they were written to be the best-available ideas and strategies both for understanding how these kinds of conflicts develop, and what can be done to address them most constructively.

In the interviews, leaders of the field to talk about their most important discoveries and insights regarding intractable conflict—experiences they have had and ideas they have developed, that they think it is most useful for other people to know. These interviews are available in both audio and text form.

In addition, BI contains profiles of leading peacebuilders, personal reflections of peacebuilders regarding their own practices, over 100 case studies of particular conflicts and/or interventions, and over 600 summaries of conflict resolution and peacebuilding  books and articles. There is also information about education and training in the field, funding opportunities, and teaching materials.

All of this is available from the browse page and from the search page.