Conflict

Conflict is a disagreement between two or more interdependent parties about goals and/or methods for achieving goals. Although some scholars use the term conflict to refer to an internal tension or confusion (for example, a mother has ‘role conflict’ when she is torn between competing demands on her time and attention due to her role as a parent and as a working professional), conflict is a social phenomenon concerning disagreements between parties.

A party to a conflict can be a person, a group, an organization, a state, or a nation. Often, conflicts are between two parties who are individuals. But conflict can involve many parties. The more parties to a conflict, the more difficult it is to manage the conflict process and to come to a ...