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Content: Types of Conflict
Conflict types can be categorised in different ways. Here, two alternatives shall be introduced: Types of conflict according to LEVELS and types of conflict according to ISSUES.
a) Levels of conflict
1) Intra-personal conflict refers to conflicts occuring within a person. Usually people need to work on their own inner struggles and issues in order to be constructive in social conflicts. For example, in South Africa, Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk experienced personal transformations before they successfully negotiated political change.
2) Interpersonal conflict refers to conflicts occuring between individuals or small groups of people. Returning to our example from South Africa, Mandela and de Klerk had to engage with each other and overcome any conflicts between themselves before negotiating broader social change.
3) Intra-group conflict refers to those conflicts that happen within a particular group, whether it is a religious, ethnic, political or other type of identity group. It is important to be able to manage the conflicts within you own group, and be able to communicate with others within your own group in order to build support for long-term peace processes. Mandela had to work with multiple groups including the African National Congress, the Xhosa tribe, and the Liberation Movement in order to build up support amongst black South Africans for the new political system and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Similarly, de Klerk needed to work with members of the National Party, Dutch Reformed Church, and Afrikaners more generally to build support amongst white South Africans for political change.
4) Inter-group conflict refers to conflicts between large organised social or identity groups.
[This is taken - with slight adaptions - from Neufeldt, R., Fast, L., et al., Peacebuilding: A Caritas Training Manual, Vatican City, Caritas Internationalis, 2nd edition, pp. 58ff. The manual is available as free pdf file at <http://www.caritas.org/upload/pea/peacebil-ing_1.pdf> (accessed 14 June 2009).]
b) Types of conflict according to issues
1) Conflicts of interest
These are conflicts related to material and/or immaterial resources that are limited. Conflict actors compete for these resources.
E.g. conflicts over land; mining sites etc.
2) Conflicts over values
Two worldviews clash and each side has the respective aim of imposing one over the other. These conflicts are not related to resources, but to symbolic representations.
E.g. conflict between customary law and the legal code; conflict between two religions or ideologies; identity conflicts
3) Conflicts over means
The parties to the conflict agree on the issue/problem but not on the solution that would be appropriate for addressing the problem. The parties continue to oppose each other over the means that should be applied to solve the problem.
4) “Unreal” conflicts (self fulfilled or performative)
Conflicts for which – seen objectively – no problem/incompatibility exists between the parties, but still everybody (or a few among them) is convinced that the problem exists and – due to a serious lack of communication between the parties – the conflict finally escalates. These conflicts are above all linked to a lack of or a bad communication between the parties, a lack of available objective/impartial information and the development of negative images/ideas and stereotypes.
E.g. Conflicts, which escalate following false rumours.
It is important to keep in mind that in a given conflict, one can in most cases find several of these conflict types at the same time. Also, conflicts may change their nature over time and transform from one type to another.
Source: chachabooth@gmail.com
a) Levels of conflict
1) Intra-personal conflict refers to conflicts occuring within a person. Usually people need to work on their own inner struggles and issues in order to be constructive in social conflicts. For example, in South Africa, Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk experienced personal transformations before they successfully negotiated political change.
2) Interpersonal conflict refers to conflicts occuring between individuals or small groups of people. Returning to our example from South Africa, Mandela and de Klerk had to engage with each other and overcome any conflicts between themselves before negotiating broader social change.
3) Intra-group conflict refers to those conflicts that happen within a particular group, whether it is a religious, ethnic, political or other type of identity group. It is important to be able to manage the conflicts within you own group, and be able to communicate with others within your own group in order to build support for long-term peace processes. Mandela had to work with multiple groups including the African National Congress, the Xhosa tribe, and the Liberation Movement in order to build up support amongst black South Africans for the new political system and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Similarly, de Klerk needed to work with members of the National Party, Dutch Reformed Church, and Afrikaners more generally to build support amongst white South Africans for political change.
4) Inter-group conflict refers to conflicts between large organised social or identity groups.
[This is taken - with slight adaptions - from Neufeldt, R., Fast, L., et al., Peacebuilding: A Caritas Training Manual, Vatican City, Caritas Internationalis, 2nd edition, pp. 58ff. The manual is available as free pdf file at <http://www.caritas.org/upload/pea/peacebil-ing_1.pdf> (accessed 14 June 2009).]
b) Types of conflict according to issues
1) Conflicts of interest
These are conflicts related to material and/or immaterial resources that are limited. Conflict actors compete for these resources.
E.g. conflicts over land; mining sites etc.
2) Conflicts over values
Two worldviews clash and each side has the respective aim of imposing one over the other. These conflicts are not related to resources, but to symbolic representations.
E.g. conflict between customary law and the legal code; conflict between two religions or ideologies; identity conflicts
3) Conflicts over means
The parties to the conflict agree on the issue/problem but not on the solution that would be appropriate for addressing the problem. The parties continue to oppose each other over the means that should be applied to solve the problem.
4) “Unreal” conflicts (self fulfilled or performative)
Conflicts for which – seen objectively – no problem/incompatibility exists between the parties, but still everybody (or a few among them) is convinced that the problem exists and – due to a serious lack of communication between the parties – the conflict finally escalates. These conflicts are above all linked to a lack of or a bad communication between the parties, a lack of available objective/impartial information and the development of negative images/ideas and stereotypes.
E.g. Conflicts, which escalate following false rumours.
It is important to keep in mind that in a given conflict, one can in most cases find several of these conflict types at the same time. Also, conflicts may change their nature over time and transform from one type to another.
Source: chachabooth@gmail.com
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Latest page update: made by chachabooth
, Aug 6 2009, 3:16 AM EDT
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