Conflicts: Sources and Types – Psychology UGC NET – Notes

Introduction

Conflict is a relationship between two or more individuals or groups who have, or think they have, incompatible goals and needs. The incompatibility may be real or perceived and may involve material and/or symbolic resources. Most people perceive conflict as a negative term and associate it with negative meanings. However, inherently, conflict is neither negative nor positive; some of its aspects may be either positive or negative.

Conflict has positive aspects when it directs attention to injustices, when it promotes much-needed change in organisations and systems, and especially when it leads to creative problem solving. The negative aspects of conflict include destructive behaviour such as violence leading to loss of life and property, the pain and trauma resulting from such violence, and the wastage of resources that could have been used for constructive purposes.

Therefore, it is the negative aspect of conflict that should be avoided, but conflict itself is inevitable and a natural part of life. It is often unavoidable and can even be creative. Mahatma Gandhi also viewed conflict as both positive and desirable. Hence, it is better to focus on conflict resolution rather than avoiding conflict or suffering because of it.

To facilitate conflict resolution, the first and most important step is to understand and analyse the causes and sources of conflict.

Causes of Conflict

There are different ways of examining the nature of a conflict and identifying the factors that give rise to it. Even though one precipitating event may lead to an open confrontation, most conflicts arise from a complex and multiple set of factors that may include the history shared by people across the divide, as well as social, political, economic and cultural dynamics, and the nature of the issues at stake.

Thus, a distinction needs to be made between:

1. The proximate or immediate causes

2. The underlying causes

Proximate Causes

Proximate causes are those events which may trigger violence. For example, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria in June 1914 was the immediate cause of the beginning of the World War I.

Underlying Causes

Underlying causes are the fundamental and long-term causes which create conditions in which immediate triggers of conflict occur. The immediate and underlying causes are interconnected, but in conflict resolution, more attention needs to be paid to identifying the underlying and root causes if we want to work towards sustainable peace.

Theoretical explanations of the underlying causes of conflict focus on either human agency or social structural conditions. Theories under each of these categories reflect the classic nature versus nurture debate—whether human beings are primarily influenced by their genes or by social interactions.

Human Nature and Conflict:

Theories focusing on the agency-based explanation seek to answer questions such as: Is conflict inherent in human beings? Are humans genetically programmed for violence? These theories locate the causes of conflict at the level of the individual or collective agency, based on human behaviour.

i. One set of theories argues that aggressive behaviour is innate and biologically programmed in the human species. Thomas Hobbes believed that human beings are selfish by nature and that humanity is characterised by a relentless thirst for power. Edmund Burke saw humanity as inherently conflictual. Sigmund Freud contended that aggression is carried out in the name of self-preservation and is inherent in humans, helping them protect and enhance their existence. However, Mahatma Gandhi held a contrasting view, believing in the essential goodness of human beings and their ability to rise above selfishness and violence.

ii. Another explanation within the agency-based theory is the psychoanalytical perspective. This theory argues that early differentiation between the ‘self’ and the ‘other’ creates a deep psychological need for enemies.

iii. The socio-psychological perspective focuses on processes of group formation and differentiation, especially the role of images, misperceptions, stereotyping and dehumanisation in decision-making that can lead to violent conflict.

iv. The psycho-cultural viewpoint explains conflict behaviour in terms of culturally shared images and perceptions of the external world.

Society and Conflict:

Conflict occurs in human interactions that take place within the context of the family, the community and the society. When individuals or groups believe that the family/society does not meet their interests, they try to change the social and familial norms and structures by force, which often leads to situations of violent conflict. Thus socio-structural theories argue that aggression is not innate but its expression depends on factors external to the individual.

Structural theories lay emphasis on the organisation of society that creates the causes and conditions for conflict. Unjust social structures and institutions play a significant role in creating and perpetuating social conflicts. Social structures and institutions often favour some groups of people / communities and by extension disfavour others. This emerges as an important source of violent conflict.

i. Albert Bandura argued that there are three primary sources of human aggression: familial settings, sub-cultural context and symbolic modeling.

a) Social learning takes place first and foremost in the family and human beings learn appropriate behaviour within family settings. Bandura argues that families that have conflicts all the time are most likely to have conflictual children. Thus violent families produce violent offspring. Additionally, American psychiatrist James Gilligan, known for his work with some of the most “violent criminals” living in America’s prisons, put forth the theory that childhood abuse creates violent personalities. Gilligan pointed out that most of the “criminals” living in American prisons had had a brutal childhood—many had been beaten, sexually assaulted, prostituted or neglected to a life-threatening degree by their parents. He thus concluded that childhood abuse and neglect can create violent personalities that will then manifest violent behaviour in social institutions.

b) Subcultures are another source of social learning leading to aggression. Bandura argues: “The highest rates of aggressive behaviour are found in environments where aggressive models abound and where aggressiveness is regarded as a highly valued attribute.” However, all people raised in violent environments may not be violent because “many people may simply aspire not to be violent.” Bandura does suggest, though, that there is a strong capacity to instruct a group in the ways of violence. He makes his point in suggesting that the military is an excellent example of making otherwise relatively non-violent persons violent.

c) Another major source of social learning is symbolic sources such as television. “Television transmits pictures of violence, impressions of violence and even the symbolic culture of violence. We learn how to cope with ‘reality’ through television, and are susceptible to its messages. This is especially true among the young of society.”

ii. The non-fulfillment of basic human needs is another cause of conflict. John Burton propounded the basic human needs theory. Needs refer to basic human requirements for the continuation and propagation of life: material (food, shelter, health care, employment—freedom from want), cultural (right to religion, language) and social needs (respect, dignity and freedom from fear). The need for life to be perceived as being predictable and safe is extremely important. These needs are non-negotiable and universal and their satisfaction is essential for human development and social stability. These universal needs must be satisfied if protracted social conflicts are to be resolved. Thus the primary source of human behaviour is the satisfaction of human needs; however, these needs have to be satisfied within the social context. If the universal needs are not met in socially accepted ways, individuals/communities resort to violence in order to meet these needs.

iii. Gandhi had a need-based conception of society and conflict. In his view, conflict is the result of structural denial of human needs. The creation of new structures is necessary for the satisfaction of human needs. This would require a method of struggle that satisfies three conditions: destruction of need-denying structures, creation of need-satisfying structures and respecting the needs of the conflicting parties during the struggle. The Gandhian approach to conflict resolution, i.e., Satyagraha, was an attempt to satisfy all three conditions. Thus satisfaction of needs was central to conflict resolution.

iv. An additional set of theories draw on critical social theory, particularly the feminist and post-structuralist perspectives. These emphasise the central importance of social discourse—the language we use, the social practices we engage in—these generate exclusionist identities (us/them, insider/outsider).

v. Karl Marx located conflict in the economic structure. Marx’s theory of class conflict argues that social institutions and structures reflect the material reality of society. The economic structure (economic determinism) has dominated over politics in the development of human history (historical materialism). As long as capitalists control the means of production, they would also wield power over social structures, making them inherently unjust towards the working class, giving rise to conflicts between the capitalists and the proletariat (working class).

vi. However, Antonio Gramsci, a neo-Marxist, rejected the excessive emphasis on economic determinism. He introduced the theory of ideological hegemony. This theory takes into account not only the control of means of production by the ruling capitalist class, but it also encompasses a whole range of values, attitudes, beliefs, cultural norms and legal precepts which serve to justify the interests of the dominant class. Thus, it is the ideological control of the ruling class that, when challenged by the masses, gives rise to conflict.

vii. Johan Galtung, in his theory of structural violence, asserts that violence is built into unequal, unjust and unrepresentative social structures. Social structures, systems and institutions deprive some people of their rights and the ability to satisfy their basic human needs; they discriminate between groups, communities and nations to the point of threatening lives and livelihoods and prevent human beings from realising their full potential.