3S Stories and Case Studies

Stories are powerful tools to bring to life the experience of the Third Side. Stories can transform one's understanding and even at times provide guidance and inspiration to those in conflict. These stories are a few of the many 3S stories that are being shared around the world. The stories here are grouped into general stories, and stories emphasizing each of the nine thirdside roles.

To view stories posted by other Thirdsiders and share your own 3S stories please visit the Idea Exchange: Share 3S Stories . You can also email stories to us at info@thirdside.org.

General 3S Stories
• GANG WARFARE: MOTHERS AS THIRDSIDERS
• PREVENT, RESOLVE, CONTAIN: A STORY OF THREE BROTHERS
• THE THIRD SIDE: COLLABORATING TO DEAL WITH AN ESCALATING SCHOOL PROBLEM
• THE THIRD SIDE UNITED: THE NOT IN OUR TOWN MOVEMENT
• THE EPITOME OF THE THIRD SIDE: THE VILLAGE OF LE CHAMBON
• PERSUASION: THE THIRD SIDE WAY
• WHAT THEY DIDN'T TELL YOU IN SCHOOL: AN INNER RESISTENCE TO VIOLENCE

  Provider

• MEETING NEEDS TO SAVE A CHILD
• HELPING PEOPLE LIFT THEMSELVES UP
• PREVENTION EFFORTS LEAD TO A REVITALIZATION

  Teacher

• TEACHING THROUGH ACTIONS...WALKING IN PEACE
• FISHING IN SIERRA LEONE
• HEAVY'S TRANSFORMATION
• RESPECT IN LUCKNOW

  Bridge Builder

• SISTERHOOD UNDER FIRE
• FISH HOOKS AND TRUST
• SEEING THINGS DIFFERENTLY

  Mediator

• CRUSHING GRAPES AND NARROWING RIFTS
• A FAMILY FEUD SETTLED

  Equalizer

• STOPPING DOMESTIC ABUSE

  Healer

• HOLDING PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE IN ORDER TO MOVE FORWARD
• FORGIVING A TORTURER
• REPLACING ROAD RAGE
• THE POWER OF AN APOLOGY
• MOVING AN ENTIRE NATION
• NO STING OF BITTERNESS

  Witness

• SPEAKING OUT FOR LOVE

  Referee

• THE NONOFFENSIVE COUNTRY
• RULES FOR FAIR FIGHTING IN MARRIAGE

  Peacekeeper

• HALTING A MURDER
• RISKING LIFE TO SAVE LIFE
• A SIMPLE BUT POWERFUL GESTURE

Case Studies of the Third Side in Action
A number of case studies have been developed to exhibit: 1. how the Third Side gets mobilized and becomes active; and 2. what the most significant barriers to the Third Side's emergence are and why these have proven so difficult to overcome. These case studies are excellent resources for teachers, study groups, or others interested in the Third Side in actual conflict situations.

• Tuzla, The Third Side, and the Bosnian War
  By Joshua N. Weiss, Ph.D.
  Download case study (PDF)
  
  
• The Role of Third Side in Peace Talk: Toward Effective Means of Dispute Resolution By Chang In Shin, Ph.D.
  Download case study (PDF)
  
  
• Privatization in Germany: Lessons from a Third Side Case Study By Mark Young
  Download case study (PDF)
  
  
• "Whose Land Is It Anyway?" The Third Side's Response to Indian Land Claim Conflicts in Upstate New York
  By Brian Blancke and Bianca Wulff
  Download case study (PDF)
  
  
• TB in Peru: How the Third Side Mobilized a Global Response to a Burgeoning Health Crisis By Rebecca J. Wolfe
  Download case study (PDF)
  
  

Audio 3S Stories
The following are a series of radio programs featuring the Third Side in a number of different conflicts around the world. These shows aired on the show "A World of Possibilities", which is hosted by Mark Sommer and produced by the Mainstream Media Project.

• Will the Center Hold? Taming the Terror in Northern Ireland
  Show date August 24, 2004
  Click to play audio
  
  
• Negotiating Apartheid's End: South Africa's Turbulent Transition
  Show date January 25, 2005
  Click to play audio
  
  
• Making Peace in Venezuela
  Show date February 1, 2005
  Click to play audio
  
  
• Crossfire to Cease Fire: Moving the Media from Slash and Burn to Listen and Learn
  Show date February 15, 2005
  Click to play audio