Research & Theory

Professor Peter Coleman's workgroup

Our scholarship and research focus primarily on the intractability of two related problems: 1) systems of violent, enduring conflict and, 2) systems of dominance and oppression. These phenomena can manifest themselves in families, schools and other organizations, communities, and nations. They tend to be extremely complex, long-lasting, and difficult to work with, and thus are relatively understudied by contemporary social scientists. Our approach to this research is to develop basic conceptual models that address gaps in existing theory, often through eliciting insights from informed participants (local stakeholders and practitioners), and then to empirically test the models using a variety of methods. Our applied scholarship bridges the theory-practice gap by bringing new insights from research to bear on important technical and social problems. This scholarship is primarily oriented to scholar-practitioners, leaders, and policy makers working to ameliorate protracted problems such as ethnopolitical conflicts within and between nations, polarized community conflicts over race relations, and ongoing patterns of violence and discrimination in schools. Our work on such problems has required us to integrate theory and research from different disciplines, and to employ multiple methods in our scholarship.

PETER T. COLEMAN, Ph.D.
ICCCR Director; Associate Professor
Dr. Peter T. Coleman holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Social/Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BA in Communications from The University of Iowa. He is currently Associate Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and teaches courses in Conflict Resolution, Social Psychology, and Social Science Research. Dr. Coleman is Director of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) at Teachers College, Columbia University, and an affiliate scholar of the International Center for Complexity and Conflict (ICCC) at The Warsaw School for Social Psychology in Warsaw, Poland. He has conducted research on ingroup/outgroup formation, the mediation of inter-ethnic conflict, intractable conflict, identity formation, moral emotions, and on the conditions and processes which foster the constructive use of social power. In 2003, he became the first recipient of the Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association, Division 48: Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence. Dr. Coleman co-edited The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (2000; 2nd edition 2006), and has authored over forty journal articles and chapters. He is also a New York State certified mediator and experienced consultant.

Vesel Memedi, Ph.D.
Dr. Vesel Memedi holds a Ph.D., M.Phil. in Speech Communication and Argumentation Studies from University of Amsterdam, a Msc. in Qualitative Psychology from University of Leeds, and a Bsc. from the University of Malaysia, majoring in psychology. He is currently an Assistant Professor at State University of Tetovo, Macedonia, and chair of the psychology department. He was awarded by the State Department a Fulbright Scholarship to do research at Columbia University on the topic of intractable conflicts.

KATHARINA KUGLER, Ph.D. student
Katharina Kugler is a doctoral student in psychology at the University of Munich, Germany. Currently she holds a Fellowship in Complexity and Conflict from the ICCCR to study at Teachers College and to work as a Research Assistant for Professor Coleman at the ICCCR. Katharina Kugler received her “Diplom” (combined B.A. and M.A.) in Psychology of the University of Munich, Germany. During her graduate studies she studied for one year at Teachers College, holding a Fulbright Scholarship. Her main research interest is in the role of emotions in conflicts. She contributed previously to a series of studies, which elaborated on how the experience of humiliation fuels intractable conflicts. Currently her research concentrates on conflicts within organizations, employing the dynamical systems theory approach.

NAIRA MUSALLAM, Ph.D. student
Naira Musallam received her B.A. in Psychology and Journalism from Tel Aviv University in 2000. She has held various positions in Israel/Palestine including working with the Adler Research Center for Child Welfare and Protection, where she conducted research assessing the psychological impact of ethnopolitical conflict on various sects of the Palestinian and Israeli populations, has worked with the Mar Elias Educational Institutions dedicated to building peace through education, and has worked with Amnesty International. She was awarded by the U.S. State Department the Israeli-Arab Scholarship to earn her Master’s degree in the United States. Ms. Musallam has completed her M.A. in Psychology and Education with a concentration in Conflict Resolution at Teachers College, Columbia University. Ms. Musallam served as the Vice President of the Educational Society for Middle East and North Africa at Columbia University and has interned with the International Center for Transitional Justice and the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution.

Adam Mitchison, Ph.D. student

Adam is in the Social/Organizational Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. He holds a BA in Psychology from Hartwick College, New York, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2007. At Hartwick Adam was named a faculty scholar in Psychology and was the recipient of the Outstanding Scholar/Athlete award after captaining Hartwick’s Division 1 soccer program for 2 years. As an undergraduate Adam received funding to complete his thesis research on the impact of non-verbal cues in sports on self efficacy, outcome expectancies and performance. His current research interests include group formation and the development of group identity, and the role attributions play in maintaining and escalating conflict.

Rafi Nets-Zehngut, Ph.D. student

Rafi is in his final year in the Political Science department at Tel Aviv University, Israel. His research interests focus on conflicts: mostly collective memory of conflicts as well as reconciliation and healing of the aftermath of collective intractable conflicts. He has been and is involved in various Israeli and international activities and research projects that deal with peace and co-existence. He has authored or edited about 20 publications and is also an Israeli certified lawyer.

Christine Chung, Ph.D. student

Christine Chung is in the Social-Organizational Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University.  She received her B.A. at Dartmouth College and went on to work on a number of research initiatives in clinical psychology and organizational behavior.  These experiences helped to clarify her interests in intergroup conflict and the cross-cultural elements that influence these dynamics.  To study these themes further, she pursued an M.A. in Social-Organizational Psychology at Teachers College and began working towards a Certificate in Conflict Resolution and Community Mediation through the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR).  She also interned at the Intercultural Communications Institute (ICI), where she trained in the use of the Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory and is working towards a Certificate in Intercultural Foundations.  Christine is currently assisting in research on a dynamical model of cross-cultural negotiations and a study on the effects of power on conflict dynamics.

Chris Foster M.A. student

Chris is currently in his second year of study at Teachers College, Columbia University, and is working toward a M.A. in the Social-Organizational Psychology program. He graduated with distinction from Nebraska Wesleyan University with a B.A. in psychology and theatre arts, and presented senior research on how role-playing, specifically acting, stimulates empathy. Chris has also worked in a community counseling center with adolescent sex offenders and with a number of inter/national NGOs organizing events to promote peace-building and reconciliation in areas of inter-ethnic conflict. Currently he works as a leadership development project consultant/role-player for a boutique consulting firm in Brooklyn. His research interests are in social and restorative justice, intractable conflict, and human rights.

Jesse Kluver, M.A. student

Jesse is a product of the philosophy and psychology departments at the University of Minnesota––Twin Cities. He took his bachelors degrees in philosophy and psychology while assisting in psychological research under the umbrella of the Industrial/Organizational program.  Being a multidisciplinary student, he participated in a doctoral seminar in philosophical psychology co-taught by William Grove and Paul Meehl (posthumously). His interests were couched in the philosophy of science. He focused primarily on meta-theoretical and epistemological considerations and issues related to human (as opposed to quantitative) judgment.  Broadly, his research interests regarding intractable conflict involve the use of the dynamical systems model to understand the emergence, organization, and polarization of identity groups and moral communities. He is currently completing his M.A. in social-organizational psychology and would like to continue doing theoretical and empirical work related to ethno-religious and political systems. He is interested in applying the group’s work to the development of methods that may assist grassroots style "movements" in dissolving violent conflict, dissipating social tension, modifying the structure of organizations, or reshaping intractable ideologies.