By Loretta B Manele
Not being self-aware can contribute to difficulty in resolving conflicts.
Johanna Podlesak, Director of Pacific Programmes for South-East Asia and Pacific, Conciliation Resources talked about this at the recent 2-day “Peacebuilding and Security Dialogue” session held last month.
Initially, she said in terms of “cognitive drivers” of conflict, this could be the misinterpretations of a policy, doctrine or culture.
“It means that a lack of open dialogue where you’re able to share those differences in understandings or interpretations can escalate into conflicts.”
She stated that if we are not self-aware it will be very difficult to resolve conflicts.
“And part of becoming an adult and growing up is learning to question yourself and everything that you’ve been taught.”
She mentioned that we all have preconceived notions or negative stereotypes that can contribute to discrimination and hostility.
Moreover, Podlesak stressed that the way we perceive things can also be influenced by the families that we grow up with or the societies that we grow up in.
Henceforth, she said different perceptions are common in every society so groups of people may have entirely different versions and perceptions of reality, history or the causes of a problem which can then lead to disagreements and conflict.
“So, for example, you’ll see just how polarised this is in the United States at the moment. Societies there have become so polarised that they can’t even have a rational conversation anymore about how to live together in harmony in the US.”
She stated that this is an example of “cognitive drivers” of conflict in other words, an example of how we think of things can contribute to conflict.
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