4. Can we really talk about the war? Discussing geopolitical and social conflict in organizations and our social lives (with Bijan Khajehpour & Regine Scholz from IDI)

How can we engage in social dialogue on geopolitical or social conflict, such as the war in Gaza or Ukraine? How can we have a meaningful dialogue beyond polarization or political correctness? Why are we psychologically mobilized to fight, even when we are not directly linked to these conflicts and why are we impacted in our ability to think, talk, and act? We are joined by Bijan Khajehpour & Regine Scholz from the International Dialogue Initiative. They explain Vamik Volkan's theory of large group identity and collective trauma to understand how we are mobilized psychologically during a crisis or war. We explore how the dynamics of polarization and political correctness work and what we can practically do, to engage in meaningful dialogue. We finally discuss what organizations and management can do when their workforce is directly or indirectly affected by geopolitical conflict. 

The Lateral Dialogues are hosted by Warden Hoffman and Petros Oratis, managing partners at The Lateral Space http://www.thelateralspace.com/