Stopping the Cycle of Violence: A Self-Organizing Approach

Yale S. Wishnick and T. Kathleen Wishnick


DOI: 10.2190/BDVY-E9JF-VX89-Y0J6

Abstract

This article argues that traditional approaches to controlling and managing the spread of violence are flawed and that insights from new science thinking can help us find novel ways of creating safe communities. Too often elected repre-sentatives, along with members of various agencies and groups, have failed to understand the interconnected nature and complexity of violent behavior. It is precisely here where the metaphor and logic of self-organizing practices are able to provide a new lens for reexamining the nature of violence and possible solutions. This study suggests that, through self-organizing methods such as the future search process, citizens are motivated to return to their communities and assume a direct, more responsive role for stopping the cycle of violence.

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