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Conflict Analysis
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CONFLICT ANALYSIS & RESOLUTION – STUDY GUIDE 20201. THE NATURE OF CONFLICT
- Is a natural outcome of human interaction that begins when 2 or more social entities come in contact with one
another in attaining their objectives.
- Arises when interest is seen as incompatible.
- Is inevitable among humans
It tends to be seen as something negative, it stimulates discussion and debate. The key is how to manage it.
- Morton Deutsch (1949,1973) distinguished between “destructive” and “constructive” conflict, the former was to be
avoided but the latter was a necessary and valuable aspect of human creativity.
- Conflict resolution was born in the 1950s.
WHAT IS CONFLICT?
“Inconsistencies in the motions, sentiments, purposes, or claims of entities, and the process of resolving these
inconsistencies.” (Wright, 1951).
- Action is not required to have conflict, conflict needs a “matter”
- Conflict is considered as situation of competition in which the parties are aware of the incompatibility of potential
future positions and in which the party wishes to occupy a position that is incompatible with the wishes of the other.
- Conflict does not need to be based on facts, but rather on perceptions
WAR IS LITTLE MORE THAN A CONFLICT RESOLUTION METHOD
THE NATURE OF CONFLICT
> Parties: The conflict may involve 2 or more parties; they may act separately or coalesce in alliance.
- They might be individuals, nations, alliances…
> Matter: Opposing interests between parties involved. Existence of divergent interests does not bring up a conflict.
> Perception: Conflict involves beliefs. The difference between both is perceived, and it translates into a conflict. The
existence of an inconsistency between both, if not perceived, might not lead to conflict.
> Actions: Sometimes actions are not necessary to have a conflict. Inaction can also be considered a form of action.
DYNAMICS OF CONFLICT
Conflict occurs when one or more social entity: - possesses attitudes, values, skills and goals that are salient in
directing one’s behavior but that are perceived to be exclusive of the attitudes, values, skills and goals held by the
others.
If there is no management, conflict may escalate. the process of escalation is complex and unpredictable
CAUSES OF CONFLICT
Conflict is a dynamic reality moving between 2 dimensions: rational (objective) and emotional (subjective). The main
initiators are:
•Behavioral Causes: - Values - Biases (religion, race…) - Viewpoints - Frustration - Inconsistency individual-group
goals-needs
•Communicational Causes: - Noise - Excess/Lack of Information - Distorted Information
•Structural Causes: - Size of the Organization - Participation in decision-making - Role ambiguity - Poor info Flow
and coordination - Competition for scarce resources
FRAMEWORKS OF CONFLICT ANALYSIS
> GALTUNG´S MODEL
,- Analytical framework is not perfect, they fail to faithfully represent reality.
UNDERSTANDING is the first step to master it and solve it.
- In the late 1960s Johan Galtung proposed an influential model of conflict, it could be viewed as a triangle, with
contradiction (C), attitude (A), and behavior (B)
- The three elements have to be present to have a full conflict.
- Conflict is dynamic with the three elements of the triangle interacting with and influencing one another.
- Triangle of Direct violence (children are murdered), structural violence (children dire through poverty); and cultural
violence (whatever blinds us to this or tries to justify it)
> THE TREE MODEL
The tree model puts the emphasis on the controversy which is the TRUNK of the tree.
TYPES OF CONFLICT
> Affective conflict: 2 interacting social entities, while trying to solve a problem together become aware that their
feelings and emotions regarding some issues are incompatible.
> Substantive conflict: 2 organizational members disagree on their task
> Conflict of values: 2 social entities differ in their values or ideologies on certain issues.
> Realistic versus Non-Realistic conflict
> Retributive conflict: the conflicting entities feel the need for a drawn-out conflict to punish to opponent
> Misattributed Conflict
> Displaced Conflict
APPROACHES TO CONFLICT
Give very high priority to defending one’s own interests
Parties to conflict are usually inclined to see their interests as diametrically opposed. as a “zerosum game” in which
one countender’s win is another one’s loss. conflict resolutions try to persuade conflicts that there are non-zerosums
solutions.
CONFLICT IN IR
Hobbes and Locke→ purpose of the gov. was to establish order in social relations. humans, if left to their “states of
nature” would engage in violence.
IR CONFLICT ANALYSIS
Conflict analysis is the systematic study of the profile, causes, actors, and dynamics of conflict.
the analysis must look into: profile, causes, actors and their dynamics.
CONFLICT PREVENTION, MANAGEMENT & RESOLUTION
from point of view of an external actor, conflicts may be approached in different ways, there are 2 basic possibilities:
intervening or not.
If you intervene there are three possibilities:
1. Conflict Prevention: set of instruments used to prevent or solve disputes
2. Conflict Management: is a theoretical concept focusing on the limitation, mitigation
3. Conflict Resolution: measures attempting to resolves the underlying causes of the conflict
, 2. WAR AND ARMED CONFLICT
INTRODUCTION
-Ultimate manifestation of conflict is war but is also a conflict resolving mechanism
-War is a human phenomenon, all wars are a manifestation of conflict
WHY STUDYING WAR?
1. -It is a human reality we cannot wish away
-Is a reality in our daily life, in today’s world of instant and worldwide communications
-Is present historically in the formation of our nations
-Not all wars are negative, have positive things→ only way to settle a conflict forever, some wars are fundamental to
fight evil, a matter of survival or to defend a community that has been attacked, produce benefits at a larger stage.
-During XIX and XX some philosophers defend that war is a purifying activity.
- Hegel→ war preserves ethical health of people, an element of change citizens subordinated and preservation of
common entity.
- Von Treischue→ only remedy for ailing nations.
- E.H.Carr→ is the midwife of change.
Ian Morris→ war has a positive effect of making mankind safer.
-Fighting wars will make people organized societies which reduce their risks of violently deaths.
2. We may abhor and dislike war but some others don’t. Position of disadvantage with respect ones that use violence
to achieve political objectives. War is here to stay (Obama)
3. Studying war and its causes is more than an academic exercise. Different understandings on what causes war to
different policy recommendations to avoid or eradicate it.
4. Nations-states have several instruments to achieve their objectives in international area (hard and soft power) →
diplomatic, informational, military and economic
War is an instrument in international relations.
WHAT IS WAR?
War is nothing more than a dual at a big scale, an act of force to compel an enemy to do our will→ seems to be more
referring to the concept of battle. Is about power and about imposing our will on an opponent.
POSSIBLE ELEMENTS
→ Violence: real/potential→ military, economic, cybernetic…
→ Casualties: produces by wars, but not necessary.
→ Political ends: nature of war, a political objective.
→ Among entities politically organized: not necessary nation-states.
→ Time: duration is relative.
→ Legal and ethical limits: moral and legal limits to restrict the damage it produces. Not everything is permissible.
There’re no 2 identical wars→ what is really a war? Some elements always present, other not.
Issue of the nature and character of war, permanent elements: what constitutes its nature, the rest elements would
conform different characters war can adopt.
ELEMENTS
● War is a political phenomenon and always follow a political end: strategic, operational and tactical.
● War entails violence
● Conduct and outcome are always uncertain
, ● Friction is inherent to war
● War has a trinitarian nature
● Moral forces play a role in war
CHARACTER OF WAR
-Not only war among states with large armies clashing in open unpopulated areas, could be a non-state actor with
irregular tactics in fronts not well-defined war amongst the people.
-Difference between nature (essential and present in wars) and character (external face).
-War might be: total or limited, conventional or nuclear, regular or irregular, revolutionary, preventive, terrorism, civil,
regional or global, economic and hybrid.
INNATE OR LEARNT? → key question
a. If war is an innate tendency among humans, not possible to eradicate the phenomenon, only dissuasion and
deterrence.
b. If it is a behavioral issue, it can be altered through education.
war exist since prehistoric times→ aggressiveness is embedded in instinct of humans.
-Human beings are moral animals with a capacity to tell good from bad and adjust their behavior to this conscience.
WHAT INDUCES WAR?
Possibility of war to solve conflicts is always there.
Just one among other options.
Why policymakers choose war→ more psychologically induced than based on a rational calculation. Emotions play an
important role.
● Frustration: aggressiveness. War instead other conflict-solving mechanism.
● Miscalculation: balance of forces
● Misperception: over an enemy’s intentions→ more international cooperation and confidence-building measures to
gain knowledge.
● Collectivism: believe in our superiority. We dare within the collective.
Some factors contribute for a polis→ the existence of weapons/ the absence of other instruments of national power/
the chaotic nature of international order→ relationship between nation-states is based on power.
CAUSES FOR WAR (POLEMOLOGICAL AGENTS)
-3 levels→ immediate/proximate, intermediate, remote/underlying.
Important to understand conflict. Some conflicts may be undertaken against all odds.
-Categories or combination thereof:
● Economic→ material resources. History was understood in terms of class struggle for means of production.
Capitalism has seen as an agent generator of war.
● Ideology→ ideology-motivated wars.
● Religion→ subset of ideologically-motivated wars. Keep a group together/wars of religion or Islamic.
● Political→ objectives like: nation building/buttress or boost, an actor as power/force a political status quo aggressor/
maintain or reestablish a balance of power.
→ impulses and feelings, deeply ingrained in human nature.
-Fear: to other states´ power that threatens our own or the power equilibrium.
-Honor: Prestige, main power status
-Interest: present in all conflicts, we always fight for a purpose.
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