Understanding Conflict and Conflict Analysis

281 Pages·2008·1.12 MB·English

by  Ho-Won Jeong

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Understanding Conflict
and Conflict Analysis
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Understanding Conflict
and Conflict Analysis
Ho-Won Jeong
SAGE
Los Angeles (cid:127) London (cid:127) New Delhi (cid:127) Singapore
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© Ho-Won Jeong 2008
First published 2008
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Contents
Preface ix
Part I Concepts and Analysis 1
1 Approaches to Understanding Conflict 3
The nature of conflict 5
The context of defining conflict 6
Socio-psychological dynamics 9
Conflict situations 10
Intractable conflict 12
Constructive versus destructive conflict 13
Root causes of conflict 15
Levels of analysis 16
Overview 18
2 Conflict Analysis Framework 20
Focus and elements of analysis 21
Parties 22
Goals 24
Issues 25
Interests 26
Value differences 27
Human needs 28
Strategies, tactics, and culture 29
Conflict-coping styles and orientations 30
Conditions for conflict 34
The phases of conflict 36
A conflict context 38
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Conflict intervention 38
The principles of conflict resolution 39
Part II Sources and Situations 41
3 Sources of Conflict 43
Realistic versus non-realistic conflict 43
The roots of conflict 44
Internal psychology and Freud 46
Frustration and aggression 48
Relative deprivation 49
Human needs 51
Functional and dysfunctional conflict 52
Social change 53
Identity formation 55
Politicization of identity 57
Nationalism and the state 57
A contemporary state system 59
Terrorism 62
4 Conflict Situations and Behaviour 64
Socio-psychological approaches to conflict 65
Cooperative and competitive relationships 66
Mixed motives 67
Irrevocable commitments 71
Features of decision making 74
Attributional distortion and stereotypes 75
Images 76
Psychology of dehumanization 78
Cognitive consistency 79
Schema and information processing 82
Group decision making 84
Factional and bureaucratic politics 86
Part III Process and Structure 89
5 Process of Conflict 91
The transformation of latent to manifest conflict 91
Overall conflict stages 97
Variation patterns of conflict phases 100
The nexus of escalation, de-escalation, and re-escalation 104
A curvilinear path of a large conflict system 106
The nature of conflict movements 109
Regulating potential 112
A tipping point 113
Forces of change: agency versus structure 115
vi CONTENTS
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6 Interlinkage and Context 117
The intricate web of conflict dynamics 118
Interlocking of actors: patterns of vertical alliance 120
External and internal relational contexts 121
Interlocking issues: convergence and divergence 122
Temporal links 123
Embedded conflict 126
Superimposed conflict 128
Focal conflict 129
Diffuse conflict 130
Part IV Dynamics and Escalation 133
7 A System of Conflict Dynamics 135
System perspectives 135
Action–reaction functions 137
The modes of interaction 139
A threat mode of action 142
Behavioural, psychological, and organizational dimensions 144
Internal, external, and contextual variables 147
Intra-party dynamics 150
8 Escalation and Entrapment 154
Dynamics of escalation 154
Psychological and behavioural aspects 157
A malignant interaction 158
A crisis mode of escalation 162
Escalation and deterrence 164
Strategies for controlled escalation 166
Entrapment 167
Self-perpetuating decision-making rules 170
Internal politics and group dynamics 171
The impact of group radicalization 174
Part V De-escalation and Termination 177
9 De-escalation Dynamics 179
What is de-escalation? 179
De-escalation process 181
The conditions for de-escalation 184
Ripeness and timing 189
Third-party intervention 194
Politics of de-escalation 196
The art of coalition building 198
The role of a moderate coalition 202
CONTENTS vii
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10 Conciliation Strategies 205
Interaction patterns 206
Step-by-step de-escalation 208
Conciliatory actions 212
Response to conciliatory gestures 215
Politics for accommodation 219
The role of communication 220
Communication patterns in negotiation 223
11 Ending Conflict 225
The nature of conflict termination 226
Types of conflict ending 228
The end state of conflict 231
Maintaining the status quo 233
Establishing new relations and institutions 234
An outcome matrix 236
Factors affecting conflict outcomes 238
Post-conflict relationship building 241
Preventive strategies 241
Ethos of conflict resolution and transformation 243
References 245
viii CONTENTS
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Preface
In International Relations (IR), there is a long tradition of research studying
inter-state behavior with a focus on decision making behavior. Back in the 1960s
and 1970s, many IR scholars adopted advanced theories developed in various
fields of the social sciences to enrich our understanding of foreign policy
makers’ behavior in a crisis and other inter-state conflict situations. In illustrat-
ing international conflict, our attention has been expanded to the analysis of
inert-group dynamics, actor motivations and external constraints beyond inter-
state rivalry and governmental decision making. There has been a growing
demand for new knowledge about the emergence and dynamics of many con-
flicts embedded in a complex environment of national and international politics.
While many of these studies respond to the necessity of reducing the risks of
unnecessary catastrophic wars, we have observed complex conflict phenomena
at various settings along with the major changes in the international system.
Even before conflict studies were well recognized by scholars in mainstream IR,
new theories and conceptual thinking about structural, psychological, commu-
nicative and behavioral aspects of a conflict process were developed by
Chadwick F. Alger, John W. Burton, David J. Singer, Johan Galtung, Theodore
Lentz, Paul Smoker, Marc Ross, Milton Esman, Anatol Rapaport, Christopher
Mitchell, Janice Stein, Kenneth Boulding, Nazli Choucri, Ronald Fisher, Dean
Pruitt, Glen Paige, James Rosenau, Charles F. Hermann, Herbert Kelman,
Morton Deutsche, Louis Kriesberg, Jurgen Dedring, and many other prominent
scholars. In order to develop a major textbook in conflict studies, it is necessary
for us to assess the current status of our knowledge about the topic with
recognition of the existing intellectual traditions.
My aim in this book is to provide a solid, elaborate conceptual knowledge
base that helps students be better orientated toward the analysis of contempo-
rary conflict phenomena, ranging from ethnic and other inter-group conflict,
international terrorism, and inter-state disputes. In doing so, it identifies major