Conflict resolution
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Template:Seealso For the episode of the television series The Office, see Conflict Resolution (The Office episode)
Conflict resolution or conflictology is the process of resolving a dispute or a conflict. Successful conflict resolution occurs by providing each side's needs, and adequately addressing their interests so that they are each satisfied with the outcome. Conflict resolution aims to end conflicts before they start or lead to physical fighting.
More common but not popular with practitioners in Conflict Resolution is Conflict Management, where Conflict is a deliberate personal, social and organizational tool, especially used by capable politicans and other social engineers.
Conflict resolution usually involves two or more groups with opposing views regarding specific issues, and another group or individual who is considered to be neutral in their opinion on the subject. This last bit though is quite often not entirely demanded if the "outside" group is well respected by all opposing parties. Resolution methods can include conciliation, mediation, arbitration or litigation.
These methods all require third party intervention. A resolution method which is direct between the parties with opposing views is negotiation. Negotiation can be the 'traditional' model of hard bargaining where the interests of a group far outweigh the working relationships concerned. The 'principled' negotiation model is where both the interests and the working relationships concerned are viewed as important.
It may be possible to avoid conflict without actually resolving the underlying dispute, by getting the parties to recognize that they disagree but that no further action needs to be taken at that time. In a few cases, such as in a democracy, it may even be desirable that they disagree, thus exposing the issues to others who need to consider it for themselves: in this case the parties might agree to disagree.
It is also possible to manage a conflict without resolution, in forms other than avoidance. Fore more, see conflict management.
Conflict resolution has also been studied in non-human primates (see Frans de Waal, 2000). Aggression is more common among relatives and within a group, than between groups. Instead of creating a distance between the individuals, however, the primates were more intimate in the period after the aggressive incident. These intimacies consisted of grooming and various forms of body contact. Stress responses, like an increased heart rate, usually decrease after these reconciliatory signals. Different types of primates, as well as many other species who are living in groups, show different types of reconciliatory behaviour. Resolving conflicts that threaten the interaction between individuals in a group is necessary for survival, hence has a strong evolutionary value. These findings contradicted previous existing theories about the general function of aggression, i.e. creating space between individuals (first proposed by Konrad Lorenz), which seems to be more the case in between groups conflicts.
See also
External links
- The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University was one of the first Masters programs in conflict resolution and is the largest recipient of Fulbright Scholars in conflict resolution.
- CUNY Dispute Resolution Consortium- 'The Dispute Resolution Headquarters in New York City.* Peace Forge -A wiki dedicated to best practices in peace and conflict resolution
- The Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution The Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University is the oldest graduate program in Conflict Analysis and Resolution in the United States and was the first PhD program in the field
- New Conversations Online Library Communication-skills and conflict-resolution books, essays, articles, scholarly papers & teaching materials (all free of charge in PDF or web format).
- Peacemakers Trust Peacemakers Trust, based in Victoria, Canada, is a non-profit organization for research and education in the field of conflict resolution and peacebuilding with an extensive searchable online bibliography.
- Riverhouse ePress Riverhouse ePress is a web publisher of edocs on conflict resolution, including a conflict style inventory, and how-to booklets on group facilitation, dialogue, and consensus-building.* Search For Common Ground - One of the world's largest non-government organisations dedicated to conflict resolutionca:Conflictologia