Understand the differences; act on the commonalities - by John Marks

Understand the differences; act on the commonalities - by John Marks


I was 22 years old in 1966 when I joined the US Foreign Service. I anticipated a diplomatic career which, to me, meant a life of negotiating treaties, driving a sports car around Europe, and becoming an ambassador. My first assignment, however, was Vietnam in the midst of war, and I spent 18 months working as a civilian advisor in the pacification programme. This experience definitely knocked me off my linear career path, as I became convinced that American policy was wrong. In 1970, after the US invasion of Cambodia, I resigned in protest.

I found a job as the principal assistant for foreign policy to a US Senator who opposed continuation of the American war. For three years, my main task was to help pass legislation that would end direct US involvement in the war. Next, I co-authored a best-selling book that explored the workings of US intelligence agencies, and then I wrote myself an award-winning book on the secret connections between American intelligence and the behavioural sciences.
I had become an advocate for reform and social change. At the same time, I realised that I was increasingly defined by what I opposed. I came to see another possibility: Namely, that I could live my life and do my work from a place, not of being against the old system, but of being for a new one. In 1982, I founded Search for Common Ground, a non-governmental organization (NGO) with a lofty vision: To shift the way the world deals with conflict – away from adversarial, win-lose approaches, toward non-adversarial solutions.
I saw myself as a social entrepreneur. Unlike a business entrepreneur, my bottom line is not to acquire wealth, but to change the world. Search for Common Ground provides the organisational base – the place to stand – from which to do this work.
When I started, I had one co-worker, a handful of supporters, and a miniscule budget. With the Cold War raging, we focused on building bridges between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the early 1990s, as global conflict became more diffuse, so did our search for common ground.
We began working closely with governments and multi-lateral organisations, as we expanded our work into the Middle East, the Balkans, Africa, Indonesia and the United States. We currently have a staff of about 375 people, operating out of headquarters in Washington and Brussels and field offices in 11 countries. Thousands of people participate directly in our programmes, and we reach millions more through media projects.
We try to carry out work on a realistic scale – one step at a time. Indeed, we strive to be incrementally transformational. We appreciate that people and nations will act, as they always have, in their perceived best interest. We believe, however, that everyone’s best interest is served by solutions that maximise the gain of those with a stake in the outcome. Current problems – whether ethnic, environmental or economic – are simply too complex and interconnected to be settled on an adversarial basis. The earth is running out of space, resources and recuperative capacity to deal with wasteful conflict.
The methods we use vary as greatly as the places where we work. However, our methodology is based on the one basic operating principle: Understand the differences; act on the commonalities. Within this framework, we have developed a diverse toolbox for conflict prevention and transformation. It includes such well-known techniques as mediation, facilitation and training, along with less traditional ones like TV production, radio soap opera, back-channel negotiations and mobilising women and youth.
Above all, we do our work because we believe it makes a difference. For example, in Burundi, we apply our toolbox across an entire country. In order to promote peace and national reconciliation, we produce 15 hours a week of original radio programming that reaches 90% of the population; we work directly with hundreds of women’s associations to empower women as peacemakers; we sponsor numerous projects to reintegrate youth who have been involved in violence; and we make wide use of music and culture to try to heal ethnic differences.
Not surprisingly, we have also had our share of setbacks. We have worked for 13 years in the Middle East – where we have held scores of workshops for Arabs, Israelis and Iranians, produced several TV series and a radio soap opera, operated a weekly news service and sponsored the Middle East Consortium for Infectious Disease Surveillance. Yet, despite our best efforts – and those of many other would-be peacemakers – the conflict has escalated. In Liberia in 2003, looters ransacked and destroyed our radio studio. Still, we remain engaged for the long haul – in Liberia, in the Middle East and everywhere else we work. We believe that our work represents hope for the future.

Although the world is overly polarized and violent behavior is much too prevalent, we remain essentially optimistic. Our view is that, despite numerous setbacks, history and human consciousness are moving in positive directions. Failures in peacemaking do not cause us to give up. Rather, they convince us that we – and the world – must do much better.
The challenge is extraordinary, and I consider myself immensely privileged to be able to do the work that I do.

John Marks is founder and president of Search for Common Ground in Washington, D.C., and the office in Brussels. He is also a best-selling, award-winning book author, and has produced numerous television series and programs