"In the tradition of bestselling explainers like The Tipping Point, the first popular book based on cutting edge science that breaks down the idea of extreme conflict, the kind that paralyzes people and places, and then shows how to escape it"-- High conflict is what happens when discord distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud, the kind with an us and a them. The normal rules of engagement no longer apply: we feel increasingly certain of our own superiority and, at the same time, more and more mystified by the other side. Ripley investigates how good people get captured by high conflict-- and how they break free. She interviews people who were drawn into high conflict, and shows how they found ways to rehumanize and recategorize their opponents, even as they continued to fight for what they knew was right. -- adapted from jacket Provided by publisher.

Into conflict. The understory of conflict ; The power of the binary ; The fire starters -- Out of conflict. Buying time ; Making space ; Reverse engineering ; Complicating the narrative -- Author's note -- Appendix I: how to recognize high conflict in the world -- Appendix II: how to recognize high conflict in yourself -- Appendix III: how to prevent high conflict.