Breaking the Cycle of Political Violence: Drivers, Off‑Ramps, What Works | CNN2.0

🧠 Carnegie’s Rachel Kleinfeld explains how high‑stakes political realignments, zero‑sum rules, and fear‑based “defensive” mindsets normalize violence—and why it spreads once legitimized.
📉 Risk factors cluster in isolated, unstable individuals seeking belonging and meaning who then absorb hodgepodge ideologies amplified by social media incentives and outrage algorithms.
🗣️ Leaders matter: clear, cross‑partisan statements rejecting violence reduce it on both sides by lowering in‑group permission and out‑group fear, according to research cited in the discussion.
🌍 Paths out: history points to two routes—painful “fever break” after escalation (e.g., Northern Ireland) or community‑led de‑escalation networks (e.g., northern Kenya) that preempt retaliatory spirals.
🧩 What citizens can do: reduce isolation, build local cross‑group ties, reward de‑escalatory leadership, and resist black‑and‑white thinking that increases support for violence, especially among youth.

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