Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is a term that we all understand until we try to define it. Synonyms abound: such as conflict settlement, conflict termination, conflict management, and conflict transformation. Moreover, conflict resolution is both a situation and a process. A conflict is resolved when all the parties to a dispute agree that it is over for good, in full knowledge of the situation, and without any form of coercion, whether personal, manifest or structural, since they acknowledge that their respective interests and values have been satisfied. The concerned parties are those who cannot be seen off or defeated and without whom there can be no resolution in the long run. Resolution requires a new relationship to be self-sustaining without any form of coercion.

All conflicts end. Even bitter and decade-long disputes involving several wars have been resolved. On the way to resolution, there may be truces or temporary settlements in which coercion is exerted, but the roots of the conflict remain embedded so that any weakening or withdrawal of coercive mechanisms may risk a new flare-up. Thus, for example, in the Franco-German context, the Treaty of Versailles (1919) was a conflict settlement, whereas the Charter of Paris (1990) was a conflict resolution.

Conflict resolution is at the far end of a spectrum of outcomes that begins with a diktat imposed by a victor. But losers usually have leeway since victors are often dependent on local cooperation. Very rarely is the complete destruction of the [Page 392]enemy, or genocide, envisaged. A second outcome is a negotiated one involving compromise and lengthy negotiations often accompanied by considerable violence. Such a settlement is contingent on the balance of forces, and should these change, the smoldering conflict may again flare up. A stasis outcome is one in which actual physical violence has ended and its recurrence is unlikely, but the protracted conflict continues by other means since major issues remain unresolved. Finally, a full resolution is one in which all the parties have their values and interests satisfied. Conflict resolution is the most ambitious outcome sought since resolution based on a noncoercive framework is hard, but not impossible, to achieve.

Conflicts occur at all levels and in all social relationships. Each has its special characteristics, but there are elements in common. General statements can be made about conflict resolution, which apply to international, intercommunal, industrial, marital, or other conflict. Many principles and, indeed techniques, may be similar, albeit with due account being paid to the idiosyncrasies of level and type.

In political conflict, broadly defined, we can identify three traditions with differing approaches, conceptions of its origin and modalities, as well as aspirations for ending it. The first is the realist or power politics tradition that lays emphasis on the nature of international relations in an anarchical society. Societal elements exist, but they are weak and relations are close to the Hobbesian characterization of life as nasty, poor, brutish, solitary, and short. This is particularly true of the international system where the only reliable help is self-help due to the absence of sufficiently strongly held shared values to form the basis for a collective security. The ensuing security dilemma confronts actors with a tragic choice between guns or butter. Judgments are required about the capabilities and intentions of potential adversaries. Moreover, if this security dilemma is also linked to the notion that all individuals and groups have a drive to dominate, then there can be no peace in a real sense. There can be a truce, a cold war, order, and stability, but all this is contingent on a balance of forces between those who dominate and those who are dominated. It is an eternal struggle between the status quo and the revisionist powers. Order and stability are the products of a particular balance of forces, and any major change will upset that balance and a new equilibrium will have to be established to reflect those changes, perhaps on the battlefield. This is a classic case of conflict settlement.

...