High Conflict

High Conflict by Amanda Ripley delves into the intricate world of human discord, exploring the depths of what happens when disagreements spiral into intractable and polarising battles. This highly engaging book, praised as “insightful and enthralling” by The New York Times Book Review, examines how healthy, productive friction can devolve into destructive high conflict. The narrative is both compelling and enlightening, offering a thorough investigation into the causes and solutions of high conflict. When we find ourselves bewildered by the actions and beliefs of the "other side"—whether in politics, at work, or within our own families—it is often because we fail to recognise how the conflict itself has dominated the situation. This phenomenon, a distinct departure from the beneficial friction of constructive disagreement, is what Ripley calls high conflict. Unlike the friction that can forge new understanding and growth, high conflict traps us in a binary mindset of good versus evil, us versus them. In this state, our brains operate differently, compelling us to believe in our own righteousness while every attempt to resolve the situation only entrenches the divide further. Paradoxically, we may even start to mimic the hostile behaviours of our adversaries, undermining our deepest values. Ripley’s book begins in California with a world-renowned conflict expert who finds himself ensnared in a political feud, despite his extensive knowledge. The journey continues to Chicago, where a gang leader’s life dedicated to a vendetta eventually leads him to question the very foundations of the conflict that defined his existence. From there, Ripley transports us to Colombia, investigating whether it's possible to shift thousands out of high conflict on a large scale. The final leg of the journey brings readers back to the United States, where Manhattan Jews and Michigan corrections officers choose to live in each other’s homes to gain mutual understanding, despite their deep-seated disagreements. Each story, drawn from dramatically varied contexts, reveals common threads. These include the roles of conflict entrepreneurs, the impact of humiliation, and the false binaries that often underpin high conflict. However, none of these obstacles are insurmountable. Ripley shows how these individuals managed to transform their entrenched conflicts into healthy disagreements, ultimately becoming better, more understanding people in the process. They achieved this by rehumanising and recategorising their opponents, and by reigniting curiosity and a sense of wonder, even while continuing to stand firm in their beliefs. High Conflict is not just a study of how conflict can consume us, but also a hopeful guide on how we can escape its grasp. Amanda Ripley’s research and reporting reveal that people and even entire communities can break free from the cycles of outrage and blame. Through personal stories and social science, Ripley offers a transformative way to view and manage conflict, potentially altering how we engage with the world and those we oppose. This “compulsively readable” work reminds us that conflict can indeed be constructive, and offers practical strategies for making it so.