Podcast with Margarita Tadesvoyan discussing her co-edited book:

Podcast Focus: Functional Coexistence in Socio-Political Conflict: Enabling Social Change Across Decades

This podcast explores Functional Coexistence in Socio-Political Conflict: Enabling Social Change Across Decades, edited by Tatsushi Arai and Margarita Tadevosyan (2025), published by Routledge in New York and Abingdon, UK.

Conflict and contradiction exist at many levels of human interaction. In this episode, Professor Margarita Tadevosyan of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University summarizes many of the core ideas presented in Functional Coexistence in Socio-Political Conflict: Enabling Social Change Across Decades.

The editors, Tatsushi Arai of Ohio State University and Margarita Tadevosyan, expand the traditional concepts of negative and positive peace by presenting peace as a continuum encompassing a range of conditions and states. Drawing on examples from protracted conflicts that have fluctuated between physical and non-physical forms of violence over extended periods, the book examines practical and viable steps that have been taken to improve social and political interactions and address everyday challenges.

The researchers analyze several case studies, including Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Cambodia, and Armenia–Turkey relations, to identify key elements that contribute to functional coexistence. Together, these elements build upon one another to create a temporary but meaningful state of coexistence that can gradually strengthen and evolve over time.

One concept highlighted in this podcast is the idea of Minimally Livable Social Spaces (MLSS). This framework serves as an example of the lessons and practical insights that can help communities navigate conflict and foster functional coexistence, even in deeply divided societies.