unRival Network
We connect, accompany, and amplify peacebuilders across the globe who long to see an end to cycles of violence and rivalry.
Rivalry & Violence
Peacebuilding is like mountain-climbing—beautiful and treacherous work. Gravity always threatens to trigger an avalanche of violence which destroys life, drains economies, cripples politics, and crushes human resilience. What is this gravity that pulls on us?
Us vs Them
Very few people identify as enemies of peace yet we are all pulled to see others as obstacles to be overcome—perhaps more force, or better weapons, are the route to peace? As we dig in on us-vs-them thinking, suspicions rise among neighbors, outsiders loom as existential threats, violence becomes inevitable, and bystanders suffer.
Our Vision
In order to plot a nonviolent route, we first cultivate an unRivalrous community, knowing we will summit this mountaintop together or not at all. We nurture one another with spiritual, mental, and emotional resources; bearing fruit in nonviolent and inclusive communities covering the Earth.
Stories
Pessimism & Hope
Humans are always looking for a model —sometimes consciously, usually unconsciously. In conflict situations, it is easy to fall into narratives of violent heroism and the alluring simplicity of good versus bad. I recently spoke with a scholar and activist in the Balkans who lamented that there are two museums dedicated to war in her country, one using sensory immersion to introduce a new generation to the fear of others that led to war. “Where,” she asks, “is the museum of...
A Crisis of Legitimacy: America’s Capitol Riot and the Danger She Faces Now
For an external observer—say, a Canadian living in Japan—what happened at the American Capitol on...
Who is Out to Get Us? Examining Our Oppositional Identities
I hate babies—especially my own. When I was still very...
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of conflict.
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