10.2190/BDVY-E9JF-VX89-Y0J6 BDVYE9JFVX89Y0J6 69 Stopping the Cycle of Violence: A Self-Organizing Approach 69 87 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 BDVYE9JFVX89Y0J6.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=BDVYE9JFVX89Y0J6 1 Yale S. Wishnick and T. Kathleen Wishnick This article argues that traditional approaches to controlling and managing the spread of violence are flawed and that insights from new science thinking can help us find novel ways of creating safe communities. Too often elected repre-sentatives, along with members of various agencies and groups, have failed to understand the interconnected nature and complexity of violent behavior. It is precisely here where the metaphor and logic of self-organizing practices are able to provide a new lens for reexamining the nature of violence and possible solutions. This study suggests that, through self-organizing methods such as the future search process, citizens are motivated to return to their communities and assume a direct, more responsive role for stopping the cycle of violence.