Conflicts and disputes are and always will be part of our lives in all societies.

They occur when people

(individuals or groups) have or are at least assumed to have contradictory goals or interests or
different opinions on how to achieve a goal.

Conflicts are multidimensional. They occur and develop in multiple and complex ways and must be
seen as a process and a multifaceted phenomenon of social interaction.

Most people consider conflicts to be something negative and quite often associate them with
problems, stress, clashes or even war. That is why many people try to avoid conflict. But when
avoided, conflict does not disappear, it continues silently and eventually breaks out.

It is important to note that conflicts are not always entirely bad. They do not necessarily lead to
problems, although the terms ‘conflict’ and ‘problems’ are often used synonymously. The outcome of
a conflict depends on how the dispute is dealt with. Conflicts might have a positive influence on the
relationship of the people involved and in fact, they should. They have the potential to bring us closer
together, as the happy ending in our apple tree story shows.

Exercise

Consider your own view of the ‘nature of conflict’. Take short notes when answering the following
questions. After completing this course, you can repeat this exercise and compare your answers.

What is the first thing that you think of when you see or hear the word ‘conflict’?
Think about the last time you were in a conflict. How did you feel?
Have you ever experienced a conflict that was helpful for your relationship with another person?

Functions Of Conflict
As mentioned, conflicts do not necessarily lead to problems. They can fulfil important functions in
relationships between two or more persons or even within societies.

Conflicts can potentially function as:

a trigger for social change by adapting, innovating and redefining societies;
informative and instructive elements within relationships;
boundaries that show certain limits and clarify positions;
a creative engine for new ideas.

The chart above provides a structured overview of potential functions conflicts can fulfil.

However, conflicts can be functional or dysfunctional depending on how they are managed. The two
types cannot strictly be separated but in general a dysfunctional conflict has already escalated quite
far, while a functional conflict can still be solved on a win-win level.

Unit 1 – ‘Conflictionary’
When talking about conflicts, certain terms and definitions are
often mixed up. That is why we will now take a closer look at the
terminology used for conflicts in order to prevent
misunderstandings.

Conflict Management
Managing a conflict means using one or more of a variety of techniques to prevent the negative,
especially violent, outcome of a conflict and stop it from escalating. Conflict management does not
necessarily resolve a conflict but can reduce and contain it.

Conflict Prevention
This term can be misleading because one could think that it refers to avoiding conflicts as such, which
it does not. Conflict prevention rather refers to preventing the escalation of conflicts. It contains the
ideal of a peaceful resolution of a conflict at hand and of dealing with it constructively. However, the
objective is not (and cannot be) to avoid conflicts. Rather, the objective of conflict prevention is to
avoid the negative outcomes that conflicts often entail.

Conflict Transformation
Conflict Transformation takes place when a conflict has changed in terms of its context, participants,
the issues at stake or other relevant aspects. Conflict Transformation can be intended or
spontaneous. When intended, it is part of conflict management and can be a step towards resolution.
Spontaneously occurring conflict transformation might be the consequence of any change in the
conflict situation.

Conflict Resolution
This term refers to several aspects. It might be a process, a result of successful conflict management
or a field of study. Resolving a conflict means more than its transformation. It requires holistic
approaches that consider all the underlying interests of those involved in the conflict. The success of
conflict resolution is based on solutions that are mutually satisfactory for all the parties involved in
the conflict.

Now that you know all the important terms, we can talk about conflicts and how to manage them
successfully. If you have taken a careful look at the graphic, you might also have seen some words
that have not yet been introduced. To find out more, read on. We will now turn to different types of
conflicts.

Unit 1 – Types of conflicts

There are countless ways to distinguish between different types of conflict. One way is to identify the
individuals and/or parties involved. Conflicts can take place at different community levels, ranging
from the interpersonal to the international level. Conflicts can occur within a family, in the workplace
or in society along various lines such as gender, age, culture, etc. Furthermore, we distinguish
between intergroup and intragroup conflicts. Whereas the first relates to a conflict between two or
more competing organisations, the latter comprises conflicts that involve two or more conflicting
groups within the same organisation.

Intrapersonal conflicts are conflicts within a

person.
 Interpersonal conflicts are conflicts between
two or more individuals or small groups.
Intragroup conflicts are conflicts that happen within a particular group, whether it is a religious,
ethnic, political or another type of identity group.

Exercise

Can you imagine what kind of intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup and intergroup conflicts could
occur? Try to find three examples of each type from your own experience and write them in your
diary.
1. Conflicts of interest

These are conflicts related to material and/or non-material resources that are limited. The parties to
the conflict compete for these resources.
e.g. conflicts over land, mining sites, etc.

2. Conflicts over values

Two world views clash and each side has the respective aim of imposing their views on 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 conflict.

3. Conflicts over means

The parties to the conflict agree on the issue/problem but not on the solution to address the problem.
The parties continue to oppose each other over the means that should be applied to solve the
problem.

3. ‘Unreal’ conflicts (self-fulfilled or performative)

Conflicts for which – seen objectively – no problem/incompatibility exists between the parties, but
still everybody (or a few of them) is convinced that the problem exists, and the conflict finally
escalates. These conflicts are above all linked to a lack of or poor communication between the parties,
a lack of available objective/impartial information and the development of negative images/ideas and
stereotypes, e.g. conflicts that 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.

Unit 1 – What are patterns of conflict causes?

When and why do conflicts occur?

What are the causes of conflict?

We can identify certain patterns of causes. When analysing a conflict situation it might be helpful to
take these possible patterns into account.

One single conflict can have more than one cause and causes may also change as the conflicts
transform. However, one key question in managing a conflict is whether the parties involved really
have incompatible interests or whether they simply assume this.

The conflict circle is one model that can help to clarify the reasons behind an emerging conflict.
According to the circle, there are five categories: relationship, data, interest, structure and value. Each
cause has specific implications for the resolution potential of a conflict and for the techniques and
methods needed to manage the dispute.

Unit 1 – What is your conflict

management style?