Mari Fitzduff is the founding director of the international Master of Arts Programs in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence at the Heller School at Brandeis University. Previously, she was the founding chief executive of the Community Relations Council (CRC), the prime conflict resolution agency in Northern Ireland. From 1997–2003, Fitzduff held a chair of conflict studies at the University of Ulster, where she was director of a United Nations University researching peacebuilding program development around the world. She has also worked on programs on conflict issues in the Basque Country, the Caucasus, Sri Lanka, Middle East, Indonesia, Russia, Crimea, Cameroon, Philippines, Peru, and Colombia. Her publications include An Introduction to Neuroscience for Peacebuilders; The Psychology of Resolving Global Conflicts: From War to Peace, coedited with Chris Stout; Beyond Violence: Conflict Resolution in Northern Ireland; NGOs at the Table: Strategies for Influencing Policy in Areas of Conflict, coedited with Cheyanne Church; and Public Policy for Shared Societies.
Reviews
"Each essay plumbs the methods humans use to select leaders. This collection is heavy on the psychology of leadership selection. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty."—Choice
Endorsements
"Rejecting easy explanations for an event that took most political pundits by surprise—the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president in 2016—Why Irrational Politics Appeals searches for and finds a compelling explanation for Trump's success in the social science of leadership. Many were shocked by Mr. Trump's victory, but not the experts who offer one prescient insight after another in an even-handed, but imminently well-informed, analysis of a political outcome that left so many others befuddled. Anyone who is bewildered—astounded, stunned, or even frightened—by Mr. Trump's rise to political fame has much to learn from this book's insights."—Donelson R. Forsyth, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond
"American politics has arguably been turned on its head with the controversial election of Donald Trump. How prescient Dr. Fitzduff's book has thus become—comprised of a collection of chapters contributed by a wonderfully diverse group of international experts and academics—who examine in an unvarnished and frank exposition of how this can be, as well as what may result. This volume is a wonderful mix of politics and political science, sociology, psychology, history, ideology, business, media, society, and community, blended with a variety of perspectives. It is a must-read regardless of political orientation, for those seeking to gain a better understanding of the current weltbild of American politics, if not society."—Dr. Chris Stout, Managing Director, Center for Global Initiatives
"Mari Fitzduff is a pioneer in the challenge to deepen our knowledge and understanding of using neuroscience for peacebuilding. Recent developments in the USA and in Europe, with the rise of Trumpism, Brexit, and the possible fragmentation of the EU, show how important it is to engage creatively with the challenge. This groundbreaking collection is an invaluable and timely resource for all who wish to understand how to navigate the dangerous forces of irrationality which threaten global well-being."—Tom Woodhouse, Emeritus Professor, Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, University of Bradford, UK