This theme would include successful and failed efforts at the resolution of conflict and the creation of cooperation between individuals, groups and organizations at the local and national level, and between groups and nations on the international stage. This theme explores such essential questions as: What is legitimate authority? Why are there conflicts in the world? How interdependent are peoples? How rules and laws made and what are the differences in their usage?
When we try and understand why there is conflict and cooperation, a good example is to think about your best friend. Surely there are reasons that you two started to get along so well in the first place. Maybe it’s because you’re both good at the same sport, or have a similar sense of humor, or even have the same sense of style or taste in music. It could be just because a teacher sat the two of you next to each other years ago, and you just hit it off. Now think about someone you don’t like so much. Maybe it’s an obnoxious person in class, or a bratty sibling, or even a politician. Again, you just didn’t decide one day to not get along or like this person. Something must have happened. We can apply these same tendencies between people to looking at countries. States can either choose to have conflict or cooperation over a variety of issues, many of which are on a much larger scale than personal relations.
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