Resolving Public Disputes: Policy Framing and Problem Definition

Public conflicts often stall not because stakeholders disagree on solutions, but because they define the underlying problem in fundamentally different ways. To resolve these disputes, you must first understand how they are constructed. This text-only course teaches you how to deconstruct public disputes by analyzing the symbols, numbers, and narratives that stakeholders use to frame policy issues. You will learn to: Understand the foundational concepts of public dispute resolution and stakeholder interests; Analyze how public problems are defined, structured, and communicated to the public; Deconstruct the use of symbols, metaphors, and statistics in policy debates; Identify causal stories that assign blame and responsibility in community conflicts; Apply modern collaborative governance and interest-based negotiation frameworks; Evaluate public disputes systematically to find pathways toward consensus. The course begins with core definitions of public disputes and policy framing, progresses to analyzing narrative structures and data, and concludes with modern collaborative resolution strategies. Designed for beginners in public policy, urban planning, community organizing, or public administration, this course requires no prior experience. Start reading to master the art of analyzing and resolving complex public disputes.