Most of the trouble spots of the world, those disputes most likely to escalate into major wars, begin as ethnic conflicts. In recent years the U.S. has participated in the devastating conflict in the Balkans and in Iraq where ethnic battles have taken place for centuries. On September 11^th the US itself became vulnerable to ethnic and religious hatreds fomenting in the Middle East. Moreover, we are constantly reminded of the ethnic basis for the sporadic violence in Northern Ireland, in Israel, and in its most horrifying forms in Rwanda and other African and Indonesian nations.

Previously we held the hope that time and tenacious diplomacy would resolve these continuing conflicts. Today, in response to September 11^th, we escalated again to military action, this time with much wider warfare contemplated. So far we are without evidence that such efforts are reducing the dangers of ethnic conflict. Indeed, they may even be increasing. Given the long history of those conflicts, however, it may be wiser to think of them not as resolvable, at least in the short run, but as possibly manageable. Perhaps ways can be found to enable the antagonists to cope with their differences without the overwhelming tensions and frequent escalations to violence.

Here again, it may be possible to use the power of the Internet, in conjunction with other media, to improve relations among the participants in these ethic conflicts. WBSI has long been interested in working with groups and organizations to enhance communication and build relationships. Much of that work has involved the use of mass media. WBSI Communications Director Bill McGaw, an Oscar and Peabody award winner, produced and directed a television program, The Steel Shutter, which brought together into an intensive small group discussion, representatives of the opposing elements in the Northern Ireland conflict. This program demonstrated how a "shadow group" of participants in the conflict, but not its formal leaders, could discuss, without open hostility, their differences and their hopes, and in the process come to discover their mutual goals and common humanity.

McGaw is now leading a WBSI effort to develop an approach to the management of ethnic conflict using a combination of documentary filming, newspaper articles, live television discussions involving "shadow groups" augmented by telephonic and email interactions, simulations and interactive gaming and the building of managed and continuing Internet communities of interest to sustain any advances made as a result of the live telecast. The island country of Fiji, which has recently erupted into ethnic conflict between the indigenous Fijians and the immigrant Indians, is being considered as a test site for the design of an approach that could be used in many other troubled settings.