Must We Fight?

William L. Ury is director of the Project on Preventing War at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and a member of its steering committee. He is the coauthor of the best-selling Getting to Yes and author of Getting Past No.

Ury, co-author of the bestselling Getting to Yes and a director at Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation, observes that, in most cases, conflict between two parties involves a "third side"-"the community in which the combatants, and their dispute, are embedded." Whether the conflict takes place in inner-city Boston, between Hindus and Muslims in India or in apartheid South Mrica, Ury argues that the solution to "containing, resolving, and preventing" violence lies in activating this third group, whether it means involving independent witnesses, having "community talks" or mobilizing the media and the clergy. Two other writers from different fields contribute to the book's attempt to debunk the commonly held belief that violence and war are part of our primate and prehistoric heritage. Frans de Waal, a Jeading primatoJogist, argues that aggression in primates occurs in a social context and that mechanisms for cooperation are as natural as aggression. Brian Ferguson, an anthropologist of war, asserts that archeological evidence shows a history of limited flare-ups of carefully planned violence that benefit elites rather than a regular constant pattern of violent conflict. While the authors make a strong, persuasive case, arguing for more open societies and community involvement rather than increased policing, the format of the book is disappointing and will limit its audience to academe. The book consists of edited transcripts (including question-and-answer sessions) of two symposia held at Harvard in 1999 and 2000 and one "workbook" section in which readers are asked to put themselves in the place of an administrator faced with a simulated racial incident at a school. (Jan.) (Publishers Weekly)

• Primate behavior and human aggression / Frans de Waal The history of war: fact vs. fiction / R. Brian FergusonThe power of the "third side": community roles in conflict resolution / William L. UryReducing youth violence in Boston : lessons from the 1990s / Christopher WinshipReducing Hindu-Muslim violence in Indian towns : community initiatives / Steven WilkinsonContaining, resolving, and preventing violent conflict : activating the third side in urban communities / William L. UryQuestions, comments, answersSanford High race riot: opportunities and choices for the third side / Joshua Weiss, Brian Blancke, and Chang In Shin