Is It Possible for Humanity to Create a Peaceful World with Religion in it?

[The Grand Nudger]

I have observed that plenty of people can manage conflict quite well on an individual level however, when conflicts approach the group/global level, constructive conflict management is not as common.  I'm curious to know why this is, and if possible, what we can do about it. As things approach a broader, global scale, is destructive conflict management more like a natural law that we ultimately have no control over; or, is this destructive conflict management solely dictated by our mindset and choices?

I don't think that the way we manage conflict changes as the number of people involved increases, I do think that the complexity of the situation..and thus the practical reality of what solutions are available and will be effective changes with scale.  We mediate at the group/global level on a near constant basis...that's all diplomacy is, and we do that when we can and when it will be effective (and sometimes we do it when it wont).  

I don't think it's scale of conflict, in and of itself, that makes things more destructive and pernicious...but type.  Perhaps constructive conflict management is not as common as the scale of a problem increases because the scale of a problem is directly related to it's type (an easier problem is more likely to go away before it reaches point where millions are involved)...and the type determines what conflict management strategies most effectively address the problem at hand.

We may not appreciate the ideology of hitting someone over the head with a brick...for access to water, for example, but we have to respect it's effectiveness and that brick throwers -need- for that access. You can work that all the way up from 1 guy with 1 brick to 100k with assualt rifles, and all the way back down again.

It appears that I presented mediation poorly here.  Many parties who voluntarily want to participate in mediation are usually entrenched in their positions and see the other party as the source of the problem; they are usually far from peaceful and understanding toward the other. As a result, mediation is specifically designed to help conflicting parties, especially those who are managing their conflict poorly/destructively, resolve their differences. 

All well and good.....but poorly and destructively are not remotely synonymous in any practical sense.  They are ideological synonyms, or ideological peripherals... and I do not share that ideology.  That's probably a good portion, though clearly not all, of our disconnect on this issue.  

The success of mediation ultimately depends on the parties; if they don't want to participate in the process, then mediation will not be effective.  In addition, if mediation is imposed onto people ( court-based mediation is one example of this), then the mediator might become more of a settler/fixer than a neutral intermediary; thus, the resolution of the conflict could end up belonging to the mediator, which could result in the parties agreeing to an incomplete, short-term resolution in order to get out of the mediation and look good in front of the mediator.  Hence, if the resolution does not belong to the parties, then they will ultimately find holes in it and create new ways to resume their conflict in the future. 

I can only say that this sounds like a relatively peaceful sort of conflict you have in mind, juxtaposed against the sorts of conflicts -I- think would need to be resolved to make the world more peaceful in any meaningful sense.  

Overall, IMO, conflict is dynamic. Therefore, in order to effectively resolve it, people need to be educated in and practice many constructive conflict resolution techniques; they cannot rely on any individual approach.

During my studies, I came across school programs (after school conflict resolution clubs)  aimed at teaching youth constructive conflict resolution methods, such as those discussed in this thread (and the peacemaking thread too) along with teaching them how to effectively negotiate and mediate.    Do you think this is a good idea?

Sure, why not?  We do it at every level of our lives anyway...from the time we're children appealing to our parents to the time we're spouses appealing to friends and counselors, to the time we're diplomats appealing to a trusted third party within or outside of a political alliance.  May as well learn the theory and specifics. I'm sure we'd all learn a useful thing or three. Having programs like that (and ofc collegiate areas of study like that) certainly seems better than hoping that luck will grant us with enough people with the natural talents for either to handle all the jobs we already have for them in both of those tasks.