Crossing the Divide

11

Leadership for Enhancing Coexistence

Promoting Social Cohesion Among Groups in Pluralistic Societies

Alan B. Slifka Co-chairman, Halcyon Asset Management, LLC

ACCORDING TO the World Health Organization, someone dies in a war every one hundred seconds. Some 310,000 people died in wars in 2000 alone. In all, 191 million people—half of them civilians—perished as a result of warfare in the twentieth century. Enhancing social cohesion and coexistence between populations of difference is one of the most important challenges of our time. We must develop the knowledge and skills we need to live together more peacefully.

Although it is critical to improve relationships between countries, a growing number of conflicts begin within countries before ...