The Polarisation Compass
A tool for reading the relationship beneath tension, recognising thresholds where it shifts, and choosing what the situation needs
A Version for the Radix Project involving peace workers and youth leaders.
The Polarisation Compass
Wherever people see the same thing differently, there is tension. Tension is neither good nor bad in itself: it is the energy of difference, and it can strengthen a relationship or tear it apart. What decides which is not how much tension there is, but the quality of the relationship carrying it — whether people stay in contact and keep recognising one another, or lose both. The Compass reads that quality. It shows where a situation stands, marks the thresholds where it changes character, and helps you choose what the moment needs. It runs both ways: relationships come apart, and they recover — and the earlier you can read where you are, the more you can do. A relationship can come apart in two ways — loudly, through conflict, or quietly, through separation — and the Compass reads both.
An overview of the stages of tension from constructive to destructive
Hover over the zones for a summary of the signs or markers for that zone. You will find more detail on the Zones Page after which you can read the advice for the zone you find yourself on the Advice pages.
DARK RED
This is war
GREEN - Tension held
"We see things differently — but we're still talking."
What marks this zone is not how calm or how heated things are, but that contact and recognition are still intact.
LIGHT BLUE - Honesty withdraws
"People are complaining — but not to each other."
What marks this zone is not whether the room is calm or prickly, but that the honest conversation has quietly left the shared space.
BLUE - Sides forming
"It's become us and them."
What marks this zone is not whether the sides clash loudly or simply drift apart, but that the field has sorted into camps, and the ground between them is emptying.
RED - The other side no longer counts
The other is no longer someone to whom anything is owed, and harm has become permissible. It arrives two ways: by striking out, or by turning away.
PURPLE - Loyalty hardens
"You're either with us or against us."
Past the break, the conflict has become an identity. Loyalty hardens — and it hardens two ways: toward the fight, or behind the wall.
INDIGO - The break
"They don't come to shared spaces anymore."
What marks this zone is not how quiet the separation has become, but that contact itself has been lost. This is the break — from here the conflict can turn hot or cold, and a quiet drift now is no promise of a quiet future.
Next you can explore which zone your situation most resembles.
About the Polarisation Compass
What is the Dialogue Compass?
Right now it is a framework for the development of a tool to assist practitioners (youth workers and peace workers working with young people) to understand the nature of the conflict they are facing and to provide them with assistance in choosing an appropriate response – both in the short term and the long term.
Its origins and development
The Compass is inspired by the Resistance Line, created by Myrna Lewis, a Deep Democracy practitioner and teacher. Dialogues has developed the original version and, within the Radix context, expanded it from its original three levels to seven. We have also added descriptions and guidance and generally adapted it for use in complex problems. The Polarisation Compass is, in many ways, an emerging new version of a tool that can support youth workers.
The development of the Compass for each of the regions (should there be interest in this) must happen in collaboration with youth work participants in our programmes. It cannot be an outside-in tool with generalised advice. Rather, it must serve the users where they are, with both problems they can recognise and strategic guidance that comes from the field and is useful. Tools and methods that might be added later may be excellent in certain contexts, but they should preferably be tested by youth workers in the field.
Who it is for
Right now it is for the Radix Team and for those who have contributed to its development – participants who have contributed to its strategic guidance sections. Later it will be made available to a larger user base.
Right now, the intention is to focus on groups. You will, however, notice that many of the zones can be interpreted (with some adjustments) for interpersonal, societal and transnational conflicts.
Its form
At first glance, the Compass is a segmented line. It can be straight or curved. It consists of zones, each with its own colour. Movement towards the right along the line signifies conflict escalation, while shifts towards the left signify de-escalation. However, movement in both directions does not always occur zone by zone but can leap over several zones.
The logic behind the Compass
While it resembles similar conflict escalation scales, such as Friedrich Glasl’s conflict escalation model, it is based on its own logic. Glasl’s scale has its roots in Anthroposophy and, according to his own account, was originally developed to describe the movement towards war.
The Compass also differs from many other such scales in that it takes account of two kinds of conflict. Hot conflict that ends in violence is dramatic and often obvious. Cold conflict has a different character, and the absence of violence or aggression does not indicate peace. A cold conflict can easily flip into a hot, more aggressive form.
The line is called the Polarisation Compass and describes shifts away from a constructive polarity – where tension can be held by sides that recognise or are open towards each other. The distance that arises in polarisation is not the sides moving away from each other (although that happens in a cold conflict), but rather the progressive receding of recognition of the other’s humanity and the diminishing of openness. This is often accompanied by a loss of clarity. (Clarity and openness are the two indicators of escalating conflict used by Transformative Mediation.)
The different parts of the Compass
The Compass has at least three different parts:
- A zoned guide to sort and understand different types of conflict, which extends beyond words such as polarisation, radicalisation and extremism (although these can be assigned to different zones). Once the type of conflict has been determined, there will be a link to the next section.
- A deeper exploration of the conflict and suggestions for strategic interventions. This section contains descriptions of the transitions from one zone to the next – both towards escalation and towards de-escalation. There are also suggestions as to which interventions or responses could be appropriate to shift towards the less destructive (more constructive) side of the spectrum.
- A future development could create space for context-specific skills, methods and tools – a localised bank of useful links and other information.
The zones and the markers
The zones start with Green, progress through different shades of Blue and then transition into Purple and Red. At Indigo, the darkest blue zone, the line splits into a cold and a hot track. You can read more about these on the webpages for the Polarisation Compass.
Each zone contains different markers or indicators. I have also created questions that make it easier to analyse a situation. The markers indicate situations where groups of more or less equal power experience tension. There is also a section in each zone that contains markers for unequal or asymmetric power relations – for example, when the conflict is with an authority that has more institutionalised power than a civil society group, or between employees and their leadership.
The foundations
There is a section on the foundations of the Compass on the website. Briefly, the line is based on the following sources of inspiration (those who have inspired our work with conflict over the past 35 years):
- David Bohm and his thoughts on fragmentation as a cause of conflict.
- Arnold Mindell and Myrna Lewis (Deep Democracy and Process Work) and their view that marginalisation contributes to conflict escalation.
- Baruch Bush and Joseph Folger (Transformative Mediation) and their views on the effects of the deterioration of communication when conflict arises, as well as their views on polarity.
- Barry Johnson and his thoughts on polarity.
- Kai Alhanen and his take on dialogue (inspired by, among others, John Dewey and David Bohm).
Future development
As a useful tool in the future (not just a framework), our experience with Finnish youth work and peace practitioners has already led to a simpler entry point and excellent advice for the Finnish context. Each national context could, however, contribute to a unique form of the Compass.
I intend to develop a generic version for the Swedish/Scandinavian context, a version for interpersonal conflict and perhaps one for intrapersonal conflict (at which point I will need the help of a psychologist). We envisage the Compass being adapted for specific groups in the same way that the current embryo is aimed at the field of youth work and peace work with young people.
I would be happy for the tool to be developed to suit specific contexts. If there is interest in this, I would like to be involved in such development and especially in any changes to the structure and form.