Lecture #3: Conflict Resolution Theory

Lecture #3: “Conflict Resolution Theory”
Camilla Orjuela, Peace Research

Lecture Outline
- Understanding conflicts and resolutions
- Peace research
- Three methods of addressing conflict: management, resolution, transformation
- Actors (Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to cover this point.)
- Throughout the lecture, we will discuss the case of Sri Lanka.

Purpose
- The purpose of this lecture is to discuss the basics in the field of conflict resolution.
- We will discuss debates and theories concerning armed conflict/ use of violence.

Understanding Conflicts and Resolutions
- As soon as more than two people are involved in a conflict, it becomes complicated.
- Here are some instructive conflict statistics have been compiled by academics at Uppsala University, these statistics concern documented armed conflicts occurring between 1946 and 2004:
o There were 362 conflict terminations.
o There were 228 armed conflicts (The difference between the number of conflicts and the number of terminations is principally explained by the fact that conflicts often terminate and resume multiple times. )
o There were 55 peace agreements.
o There were 119 outright victories.
o There were numerous stalemates and instances of de-escalation.
- Peace researchers tend to focus on peace agreements. Unfortunately, this is both narrow-minded and overly optimistic.
- A major problem in every conflict is asymmetric relations.
o Thus, one cannot assume that all parties are equal.
o Asymmetries exist in military strength, economic resources, legitimacy.
o Asymmetric relations are at the center of conflict resolution.
- What is conflict and what is peace?
o Many conflicts concern disputes over social justice vs. social order.
o Although one side may claim to be fighting for social justice and the other may claim to be fighting for social order, both often claim to fighting for peace.
o Often the government/ strongest side claims to be fighting for social order while rebels/ weaker side claims to be fighting for social justice.
o Actors in a conflict often claim to be fighting in order to achieve peace thus blurring the boundaries between conflict and peace.
o A common definition of peace is to end violence as well as the injustices that cause violence. This definition addresses social justice and social order.
o Your own background determines how you view conflicts. If you grew up in the majority, you will see things certain ways. If you grew up in the minority, you will see things in other ways. An example of this is how Swedes and Suomi see conflicts over land and sovereignty.
o There is no easy way to solve conflicts.

The Case of Sri Lanka
- The 26 year old conflict in Sri Lanka is often characterized as an ethnic conflict but it was also a conflict over power, resources, and representation.
- More than 100,000 people died throughout the conflict.
- Sri Lanka now as a long history or “enemy” images. In fact, those 27 years old and younger have only ever known conflict.
- The “contradiction” in the Sri Lankan conflict was thought to be the fact that Sinhalese was the official language and the 25% of the population that principally spoke Tamil thus had difficulties in securing employment. However, once Tamil became an officially recognized language, the conflict did not end.
- There were a number of attempts to end the conflict through peace agreements.
- However, last year, the conflict ended suddenly with an outright government victory.
- The two principle (and most widely recognized) actors in the conflict were the Sinhalese majority as represented by the government and the Tamil minority as represented by the Tamil tigers but there were/ are far more participants. Additional participants included/include:
o International actors such as China, India, Japan, and, to a limited extent, the UN
o The Sinhalese majority
o The Tamil minority
o Political parties
o Other Tamil groups
o Social movements
o Peace organizations
o Migrants/ Members of diasporas
- Unfortunately, many trying to resolve this conflict as well as other conflicts attempt to do so from the outside and with limited knowledge of the conflict, the actors, as well as social structures and customs.
- Example: Camilla observed a peace resolution workshop in the capital city of Colombo. This workshop was led by a South African who was not familiar with the social hierarchies present in Sri Lankan society.
- The preceding case shows that one cannot simply apply generic conflict resolution tools to specific conflicts.
- Although outsiders are useful actors in conflict resolution, their positions and identities are problematic.

Peace Research
- Peace research originated in Norway during the 1950s and 1960s.
- One of the earliest and most influential peace researchers was Johan Galtung.
o Galtung was from Norway.
o He started publishing in the 1960s.
o He was one of the first academics to conceptualize peace.
o He distinguished between negative peace or the absence of war and positive peace or social justice.
o He also distinguished between direct violence which is easily observable and causes direct harm, and structural violence in which people are denied the necessities and/or opportunities to live their lives to the fullest.
o In short, Galtung started to critically examine ideas and methods of peace.
- Peace research became an academic discipline in the 1970s.
o It was multidisciplinary, involving scholars from economics, history, psychology, political science, linguistics, anthropology, sociology, etc.
- Peace research was initially normative in that its goal was explicit change. It is a bit less normative today.
- Peace research is and was problem-oriented.
- Peace research is and was both theoretical and applied.
- Another key researcher is John Burton.
o He argued that basic needs must be met in order to solve a conflict.
o He sought to identify underlying needs such as identity and dignity as well as food and shelter.
o He started a tradition of problem-solving workshops which helped to facilitate creative, win-win solutions based on shared interests.

Management, Resolution, and Transformation
- It is important to note that the three approaches to conflict in the proceeding section are not, necessarily, distinct. They are only treated as such for the purposes of clarity.
- Conflict management
o This approach is derived from the perspective of social order.
o It is a traditional approach/method that utilizes violence and/or superior power.
o This approach is biased towards the stronger party.
o Zartman writes about conflict management when he discusses the “mutually hurting stalemate.” He discusses the mutually hurting stalemate in order to determine why parties start to negotiate. He contends that a mutually hurting stalemate occurs when both sides feel that the conflict is too costly and are, therefore, willing to negotiate. The principal problem with this argument is that it is circular.
o This approach focuses most on the “behavior” of the participants.
o It emphasizes traditional dispute resolution through diplomacy, hierarchies, etc.
o It is also called “Track 1.”
- Conflict Resolution
o Conflict resolution focuses on resolving or ending the conflict.
o A major problem is that conflict resolution gives the impression that conflicts can be resolved.
o The focus of conflict resolution is finding win-win solutions through negotiations.
o Conflict resolution typically involves third parties including the UN, international actors, and academics.
o Conflict resolution focuses more on “attitudes” and “contradictions” than “behaviors.”
o Those engaged in conflict resolution attempt to understand all sides.
o Conflict resolution also employs “principled negotiations” in which actors first agree upon the principles and then discuss the conflict.
o Conflict resolution can also be deemed alternative dispute resolution or ADR.
- Conflict Transformation
o Conflict transformation attempts to alter power/conflict relations.
o This approach is perhaps the most difficult to employ/achieve.
o Conflict transformation often focuses on the weaker party and attempts to recast issues in different ways.
o On way that conflict transformation has occurred in through implementation of regional organizations such as the EU. This shifts the focus away from the nation-state and towards the region and/or micro-region.
o This approach focuses on the broader context and emphasizes social justice.
o John Paul Lederach writes about this approach and emphasizes the importance of bringing in all of society.