How to overcome fear and political chaos

Description

Using the lens of innate human needs to help resolve social and political conflicts, undermine terror agendas and promote peace

The world is becoming an increasingly unstable and dangerous place. More than ever before, anyone trying to tackle society’s problems, or help the traumatised victims of corruption and war, needs a greater understanding of the fundamental unit of society – the human being.

There is a lot here that can be unpacked further... concepts that can be useful in the conflict resolution field. The whole thing about how to manage emotions in a dialogue process when you’re working in conflict situations, is fundamental. It’s a discussion we need to have.ROXANNA CRISTESCU, CRISIS MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE (FINLAND)

This unique online course, run in association with The Conciliators Guild, focuses on how to improve politics by involving a greater understanding of psychology in domestic and international relations.

You will gain an increased awareness of what war, terrorism and bullying reveal about the human psyche and an improved ability to see through political and cultural assumptions, by recognising the underlying emotional dynamics driving behaviour.

You will also discover the most accurate explanations available about the root causes of extremism in politics, radicalization, the refugee crisis and the growth of authoritarianism, due to the ease with which mass hypnosis is used throughout the world today.

The Middle East serves as the primary case study – but the implications of the material covered are universal and provide powerful new directions for a way out of the chaos we currently find ourselves in.

The course facilitators are John Bell and Ivan Tyrrell.

I really find this course extremely important for acquiring knowledge of human givens principles and practical tips for how to implement them in my daily life as a diplomat… using the knowledge for improving the policies and the structures in which we work.EVA HORELOVA, POLICY OFFICER FOR SYRIAN AFFAIRS AT THE EUROPEAN UNION

Waves of unease are sweeping the world. Our political life is reeling. The rise of ISIS, intractable disputes like the civil war in Syria, the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Turkish Kurd war and the looming dangers from Africa, America, Asia and the Far East are volcanic and affecting us all.

But we are so conditioned that we resort to the same old habits to address these matters: exerting financial or military power; exhibiting paranoia towards outsiders or adopting technological solutions as if they were panaceas. However, experience tells us, with our track record of political failure in peace making and fighting corruption, that we are most likely looking in the wrong direction…

The reason dire problems remain unresolved and continue to grow more complex is because we are not directing our attention to the main cause they arise from: the ignorance and mismanagement of basic human needs in society – especially those related to our natural emotional states.

Changing economics, political structures or power balances will not curb the cruel violence or spread of terrorist actions whilst the people operating in those systems remain greedy, needy, and opportunistic.

To find workable solutions we urgently need to take into account what lies behind our political and social problems – our innate human motivations and needs. To think otherwise is a tragic misdiagnosis.

This course is dedicated to developing a process of long-term education about how to improve politics by involving greater psychological understanding in domestic and international relations – the only source of hope for the future.

We invite you to participate in this endeavour.

John Bell is the Director of the Middle East & Mediterranean Programme at the Toledo International Centre for Peace.

Read more

Ivan Tyrrell worked for many years as a psychotherapist and now spends most of his time lecturing and writing.

Read more

This course derives from a workshop presented by The Conciliators Guild and Human Givens College in Westminster, London.

The attendees came from 13 countries and included diplomats, civil servants and conflict negotiators, plus practitioners of the HG approach working in education and psychotherapy.

This online version is split into four modules which are broken down further into different sections containing films of the lectures given in English by the facilitators, John Bell and Ivan Tyrrell along with questions from the audience and contributions from attendees.

Each film is followed by a short series of multiple choice questions which are designed to help you absorb and think about the material and ideas covered.