Constructive conflict.
Sustainable peace.

I study why conflicts become destructive and intractable—and how leaders, institutions, and societies can shift them toward cooperation, learning, and durable peace. My work blends psychological science, complexity thinking, and real-world practice across workplaces, universities, communities, and societies.

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Professor, Columbia University Director, MD-ICCCR Executive Director, AC4 Author (Columbia University Press)

About

I’m a Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University. I direct the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR), lead Columbia’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4), and I’ve served as Special Advisor to Columbia’s President and Provost on community.

Current focus

Conflict intelligence & systemic wisdom

Meta-competencies for engaging difference constructively across levels—from families to nations.

Practice

Mediation, advising, consulting

Tools for leaders and institutions working through high-stakes disagreement, polarization, and change.

Approach

Science × complexity × real-world application

Research-driven insights with field-tested methods you can actually use.

Columbia SPS

Faculty profile

Appointments, leadership roles, and teaching.

AC4

Research & complexity work

Conflict, cooperation, and complexity initiatives.

Signature work

A few interlocking themes run through my research, writing, and applied work—each aimed at helping people engage conflict in ways that strengthen relationships, institutions, and societies over time.

Framework

Conflict intelligence

Skills and mindsets for staying truthful, effective, and humane under pressure—especially when stakes and identity run high.

Societal challenge

Toxic polarization → the way out

How societies get trapped in escalating cycles—and practical pathways for moving from “us vs. them” to workable coexistence.

Hard cases

The “five percent” problem

Why a small subset of conflicts become seemingly impossible—and how to change the underlying dynamics.

Complex systems

Conflict dynamics & leverage points

Using complexity thinking to identify tipping points, attractors, and durable interventions.

Books

Selected books and major edited volumes. (This section is intentionally clean—add cover images later.)

Columbia University Press

The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization

A practical roadmap for escaping escalatory political conflict.

Intractable conflict

The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts

Why the hardest conflicts persist—and what changes them.

Organizations

Making Conflict Work

Harnessing disagreement productively up and down organizations.

Media & press

A curated set of highlights—plus full press pages for deeper browsing.

The Way Out

Press coverage (high-profile features)

Interviews, podcasts, articles, and talks.

The Five Percent

Media page

Coverage, references, and related work.

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Writing

Opinion essays and public scholarship—where I translate research into usable ideas.

Medium

Essays & experiments

A running lab notebook for conflict, leadership, and peace.

Psychology Today

Articles

Applied insights on conflict and coexistence.

Suggested starting point

A short story of my life’s work

A narrative overview of the arc and intent behind my work.

Speaking & consulting

Keynotes, workshops, executive education, and advisory work for organizations facing high-stakes disagreement, polarization, culture conflict, and complex change.

Popular talks

Topics

• Conflict-intelligent leadership
• Escaping toxic polarization
• Turning “impossible” conflicts into tractable problems
• Building cultures of constructive disagreement (campus & workplace)
• Negotiation & mediation under pressure

Formats

How we can work together

Keynote (45–75 min) • Workshop (half/full day) • Multi-session programs • Advisory support • Custom engagements

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Research & initiatives

Selected institutional homes and cross-disciplinary collaborations.

MD-ICCCR

Morton Deutsch International Center

Cooperation, conflict resolution, and applied peace research.

AC4

Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict & Complexity

Complex systems approaches to cooperation and conflict.

Teachers College

Faculty page & CV

Appointments, publications, and academic record.

Contact

For speaking, consulting, media inquiries, or collaborations.

pc84@tc.columbia.edu

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