Question 1

What is a conflict?

Accepted Answer

The German dictionary Duden describes a conflict as a difficult situation that has arisen from the collision of opposing views or interests and can lead to a rift. The word comes from the Latin conflictus, a clash, and according to the DWDS dictionary it was borrowed into German in the 18th century. Glasl defines social conflict more precisely. He describes it as an interaction between two actors, that is, individuals, groups or organisations. At least one of them experiences an incompatibility in perceiving, thinking, feeling or wanting, and feels impaired by the other when trying to put that thinking, feeling or wanting into practice. What matters here is action. Unless at least one party experiences an impairment, for example as obstruction, resistance, rejection or attack, Glasl does not speak of a social conflict. Different opinions alone are therefore not yet a conflict.

Question 2

When do differences turn into a clash?

Accepted Answer

Different interests and views alone do not make a conflict. According to Lutz Schrader, one does not necessarily break out even when the behaviour, interests and attitudes of two sides do not fit together. What decides is perception and action: only when at least one party experiences the other’s behaviour as impairing and unacceptable for its well-being, self-image, ability to act or security can one speak of a conflict. What someone experiences this way depends heavily on how they have been shaped, by previous experience, values, beliefs, motives and fears. The State Agency for Civic Education Baden-Württemberg adds that social and cultural conditions also determine what is seen as a conflict. A classification after Morton Deutsch sorts typical triggers: misinformation and different readings of data, competing interests, unequally distributed resources and power, different value systems, and prejudice and communication breakdowns. Knowing the trigger makes it easier to find the route that fits.

Question 3

What types of conflict are there?

Accepted Answer

In an article for the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb), Lutz Schrader distinguishes five basic types: communication or behaviour conflicts, conflicts over substance, relationship conflicts, socio-structural conflicts and cultural conflicts. In conflicts over substance, interests and goals that seem incompatible collide, often over a scarce good. Typical forms are conflicts over power, status, interests and distribution. A second classification is based on the size and degree of organisation of those involved. An intrapersonal conflict is one a person has with themselves, for example as a conflict over a decision or between roles. These are followed by interpersonal or micro-social, meso-social and macro-social conflicts, depending on how large and organised the parties to the conflict are. At the upper end stands, for example, a civil war between a government and rebel groups, and with it the question of why wars happen. For everyday life in teams, a text from the series KiTa Fachtexte (specialist texts for childcare) names further types. Relationship conflicts are rooted in strong feelings such as fear, frustration or envy, or in disappointed expectations; value conflicts arise from different values and principles. In addition there are conflicts over facts, interests and structures.

Question 4

Which side of a dispute is visible, and which stays hidden?

Accepted Answer

Conflict research distinguishes two levels. The behaviour of those involved is visible, or manifest: the atmosphere is tense, there is arguing, verbal and in extreme cases physical violence. The interests and goals and the assumptions and attitudes, by contrast, mostly stay hidden, or latent. There are reasons for this. Most parties to a conflict know their own interests but not those of the other side, and not infrequently they try to hide their real goals. Even less conscious are often their own imprints, which steer how someone perceives a situation. Johan Galtung brought these three components together in the conflict triangle shown in the chart above. Because they reinforce each other, it is rarely enough to regulate only the visible behaviour. Especially in escalated conflicts, outsiders such as trusted people, mediators or therapists can help bring the hidden level to awareness.

Question 5

How do conflicts escalate?

Accepted Answer

Glasl distinguishes nine stages of conflict escalation, from the hardening of opinions and positions to total confrontation, even at the price of destroying oneself. The overview below lists all nine stages. The stages can be grouped into three levels. Stages one to three form the win-win level, stages four to six the win-lose level and stages seven to nine the lose-lose level. At the win-win level, those involved can still resolve a conflict themselves through conversation and a willingness to compromise. At the win-lose level they need help from outside, and at the lose-lose level the conflict can only be interrupted by intervention from outside.

Question 6

Are conflicts bad?

Accepted Answer

According to Lutz Schrader, conflicts are not to be judged as negative in principle. He quotes Ropers, for whom they are an unavoidable side effect of living together in every society, and one that social change requires. What matters is how they are worked through. If that succeeds, they can give everyone involved impulses to learn and to change. The same idea is described for teams. If the cause of the clash is worked on, conflicts can make change possible, mobilise new energy and strengthen cohesion.

Question 7

How can conflicts be resolved?

Accepted Answer

There is no single way for every conflict. One point of reference is the three components that, according to Schrader, every conflict has in its ideal type: the opposing behaviour of the parties, their interests and goals that seem incompatible, and their different assumptions and attitudes. Working on a conflict can start at any of these three components. How far a conflict has escalated also decides whether those involved can settle it themselves or need help from outside. There are methods for this, among them Nonviolent Communication, mediation and the Harvard method, which are presented on the pages below. W3ltfrieden connects people who want to work for living together peacefully with peace missions in their area.

Question 8

What is the difference between a conflict and an argument?

Accepted Answer

In everyday life the two words are often used the same way. Conflict research separates them: according to the State Agency for Civic Education Baden-Württemberg, it calls incompatibilities in the thinking, feeling and wanting of different people or groups a conflict. An argument is one form in which a conflict is carried out visibly. So a conflict can exist without anyone arguing. The Greek poet Hesiod already distinguished a good strife, in which rivals respect a shared order, from a bad one that turns them into enemies.

Question 9

What is the difference between a conflict and a problem?

Accepted Answer

A problem is a task that lacks a solution, such as a broken heating system. It only becomes a conflict when people stand in each other’s way over it. According to Friedrich Glasl, at least one side experiences an incompatibility and an impairment by the other. If two flatmates argue about who pays the tradesperson, the problem has turned into a conflict. This matters for the solution: a problem can often be fixed with expertise, a conflict also requires dealing with interests, feelings and the relationship.

Question 10

What is the conflict triangle?

Accepted Answer

The conflict triangle is a widely used tool of conflict analysis, introduced by Johan Galtung, one of the founders of peace and conflict research. It assigns every conflict three corners: the behaviour of the parties, their interests and goals, and their assumptions and attitudes. According to Lutz Schrader, the corners are closely linked and reinforce each other, in a negative as well as a positive direction. For conflict work this means that regulating only the visible behaviour leaves two of the three corners untouched.

Question 11

What are examples of conflicts?

Accepted Answer

Writing for the German Federal Agency for Civic Education, Lutz Schrader describes a wide range: pangs of conscience in a single person, a dispute that strains a marriage, a wage dispute between a union and a company that culminates in a strike, up to a civil war between a government and rebel groups. For working life the German Social Accident Insurance names distribution, role and goal conflicts, for example when responsibilities in a team are unclear. For all their differences, conflicts can be traced back to a common basic structure, according to Schrader.

Question 12

Is the German word Konflikt masculine or neuter?

Accepted Answer

It is der Konflikt, a masculine noun according to Duden; the genitive is des Konflikts or des Konfliktes, the plural die Konflikte. According to the Digital Dictionary of the German Language, it was borrowed from Latin in the 18th century and means collision, dispute, inner dilemma and strife. By its origin the word therefore covers both: the dispute between people and the dilemma within a single person, much like the English word conflict.

Question 13

What is an inner conflict?

Accepted Answer

An inner or intrapersonal conflict is one a person carries out with themselves. According to Lutz Schrader, feelings, convictions, values, motives, interests and goals that seem incompatible are at odds in their mind. Typical forms are conflicts of decision and conflicts of role. Inner conflicts are also part of larger disputes: Schrader gives the pangs of conscience of decision-makers in conflicts between organisations as an example. Clearing up your own dilemma often makes it easier to say clearly what you need from others.

Method	Where it is used	What it takes	Third party
Nonviolent Communication	Everyday life, work, school, family, mediating between groups	Usable without preparation, reliable only with practice	No third person needed, one side can begin
Mediation	Family, workplace, neighbourhood, business, environmental and building projects	Several sessions over weeks, voluntary and abandonable at any time	An impartial third person with no power to decide
De-escalation	School, care work, transport, public services, volunteering, neighbourhood	Usable on the spot, training helps considerably	Often carried by an uninvolved third person
Peer mediation in schools	Schools, youth work, leisure facilities	Training over several weeks, a mediation in one session	Two trained peers, no teacher at the table
The Harvard method	Negotiations of every kind, from pay talks to a neighbourhood dispute	Preparation decides; the conversation itself can be short	No third person needed, one side can bring the method in
Active listening	Any conversation in which understanding matters, from the family to peer mediation	Usable at once; it becomes sure only with practice	No third person needed, one side can begin
I-messages	Everyday conflicts in families, couples, neighbourhoods, schools and teams	One sentence in the conversation; the real practice comes before it	No third person needed, either side can start

What is a conflict?