Introduction To International Conflict Management

By Ms. Emma Oketch, Lecturer IDIS, University Of Nairobi

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this seminar you will: Understand the historical origins and development of the academic field of conflict management. Have developed your knowledge of the ideas of key pioneers in the conflict management tradition. Have a basic grasp of the some of the methods and processes of conflict management advocated by these pioneers.

International Conflict Management

International Conflict Management is the study of conflict, how it is generated, its implications and ways of management. It is a term used to show how the worst excesses of conflict are mitigated or avoided. Historically the balance of power system and deterrence were the means used to manage conflict.

 Balance of power means : 1. Even distribution of power 2. The principle of aggrandizement of the great powers at the expense of the weak powers 3. An inherent tendency of the international system to produce an even distribution of power. Balance of power is: 1. A policy to prevent predominance 2. A system of international politics where the pattern of interaction between states tends to limit or curb the quest for hegemony this results in general equilibrium.

Balance Of Power

Balance Of Power In The Modern State System

Hedley Bull argues that Balance of power has fulfilled three positive functions in the modern world system: 1. It has prevented the system from being transformed through conquest into a universal empire. 2. has served to protect the independence of states from the absorption by a predominant power. 3. It has provided the conditions in which other institutions on which the international order depends might develop e.g. diplomacy, war, international law, and great power management.

Balance Of Power In The Modern State System

A balance of power between two states is seen as more unstable than within multipolar states due to the flexibility of alignments. Conflict management is therefore a sophisticated and practical solution to the problem of decentralized states in the international system.

Historical Development of International Conflict Management

The balance of power system was used to manage conflict until the WW1 After WW1 collective security was used to manage conflict in the international system Idealism and institutions like the League of Nations were used to manage conflict The failure of the League of Nations, the onset of WW2 and the predominance of Realist theory, the formation of the United Nations and onset of the Cold War led to questions about the management of conflict

Historical Development of International Conflict Management

ICM started in the 1950s and 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, when the development of nuclear weapons and the conflict between the superpowers seemed to threaten human survival. A group of pioneers from different disciplines saw the value of studying conflict as a general phenomenon They saw the potential of applying approaches that were evolving in management,, social work, social psychology, international relations, communications and systems theory to conflicts in general, including civil and international conflicts.

Historical Development of International Conflict Management

A handful of individuals in North America and Europe began to establish research groups, formal centers in academic institutions and professional journals to develop the new ideas during these early years. However, they were not taken very seriously. The international relations profession had its own categories for understanding international conflict, and did not welcome the interlopers.

Historical Development of International Conflict Management

Nevertheless, the new ideas attracted interest, and the field grew and spread during the 1970s and 1980s. The number of scholarly journals and institutions rapidly increased. The field developed its own subdivisions, with different groups studying international crises, internal wars, social conflicts and approaches ranging from negotiations and mediation to experimental games.

Historical Development of International Conflict Management

Developments in ICM were first seen in peace research and non-violence movements. Individuals who have contributed strategically to the development of the theory and practice of conflict management include: Mahatma Gandhi; Kenneth Boulding, Johan Galtung and John Burton among the founders; and Herbert Kelman, Roger Fisher, William Ury, Adam Curle and Elise Boulding among those who carried the subject forward thereafter. Needless to say, many others also played important roles. The selections are intended to be illustrative rather than comprehensive.

Early Peace Research

The failure of the variety of peace, socialist and liberal internationalist movements to prevent the outbreak of the First World War motivated many people to develop a 'science' of peace which would provide a firmer basis for preventing future wars. Prominent here were the early empirical studies of war and conflict conducted in the interwar years by researchers such as Pitrim Sorokin, Lewis Fry Richardson, and Quincy Wright. Research included causes of war, analysis and statistical surveys, integrative bargaining and negotiations

Non-violent Activism
Accounts and analyses of pacifist and non-violent objectives and strategies clearly influenced ICM. The work of non-violence activism enhanced understanding of violent political conflict and alternatives to it. For example Mahatma Gandhi is an inspiration for modern ideas about conflict management. Gandhi's satyagraha ('struggle for truth') were to make latent conflict manifest by challenging social structures. Non-violence (ahimsa) in conflict resolution, perhaps exemplified by his famous quote, "bring your opponent to his senses, not to his knees. Led to developments in theory of war of political objectives and economy of force.

Pioneers in ICM
Johan Galtung helped create peace research and conflict resolution and remains one of the most influential thinkers in the field. Galtung articulated the distinction between direct violence (children are murdered), structural violence (children die through poverty) We end direct violence by changing conflict behaviour; structural violence by removing structural injustices. To this can be added his further distinction between negative and positive peace, the former characterized by the absence of direct violence, the latter by the overcoming of structural conflict.

Pioneers in ICM
Kenneth Boulding's publications have focused firmly on the issue of preventing war, partly because of the failures of the discipline of international relations. One of Boulding's most influential ideas has to do with the concept of power. (hard, soft ) Quincy Wright proposing a 'project on a world intelligence centre', anticipating what has more recently come to be called early warning and conflict prevention.

Pioneers in ICM
John Burton broke away from the sociological tradition of regarding conflict as dysfunctional, instead considering conflict as intrinsic in human relationships. His ideas about how to better handle conflict were influenced by systems theory and games theory as a means of analysing the variety of options and orientations available to conflict parties. Edward Azar and Burton developed the concept of protracted social conflict, combining both domesticsocial and international dimensions.(Paradigm shift) Needs theory holds that deep-rooted conflicts are caused by the denial of one or more basic human needs, such as security, identity, and recognition.

Pioneers in ICM
Three groups of scholar-practitioners were involved in the development of the theory and practice of problem-solving workshops: a group based at University College, London, Yale University and Harvard University. It was initially referred to as controlled communication Kelman, Roger Fisher and William Ury went on to become leading practitioner-scholars of the problem-solving method, They introduced the vocabulary of conflict resolution e.g. win-win, problem-solving and mutual gain.

Pioneers in ICM
Adam Curle defined peace broadly in terms of human development He advocated the importance of studying social structures in order to identify those that enhanced rather than restrained or even suppressed human potential. He also provides one example of conflict management similar to Track II diplomacy

Pioneers in ICM
Elise Boulding encouraged wider participation in peace and conflict resolution processes, she introduced the idea of imaging the future. This is a way of enabling people to break out of the defensive private shells into which they retreat, often out of fear The use of social imagination and the idea of imaging the future in the context of what she called the 200 year present

 For Elise Boulding the idea is that we must understand that we live in a social space which reaches into the past and into the future. In doing so, she anticipated many of the preoccupations of conflict resolution workers today. Women and children were obviously excluded groups, but she added to these the idea that global civic culture needed to accommodate many other cultural communities that were not heard in the existing international order. She also introduced the importance of peace education

Pioneers in ICM

 Concerned about the peaceful methods of managing the conflict. This is an interdisciplinary field of study that draws heavily from Law, Diplomacy, Sociology, Economics, International Relations, International Political Economy, Foreign Policy Analysis etc. It also draws heavily from a cross section of theories from other subject areas. These theories help us to understand: how to manipulate the conflict how to manipulate the structure of conflict how to manipulate the actors, interests and issues in the conflict how to manipulate the process of conflict management

Content Of ICM

 Theories are important as they aid in understanding conflict, the realities in the system and guide research and policy. E.g. theories on how conflict is generated e.g. Biological theories, psychological theoriesDarwin, Freud theories on the causes of conflict e.g. economic sources of conflict- Holsti theories on the operation of the international structure e.g. deterrence, alliances, balance of power- Bull, Buzan theories on conflict management e.g. peaceful settlement of disputes- Zartman, Saunders

Theories In ICM

Factors Affecting International Conflict Management

Conflict Management is seen as an attempt by actors involved in conflict to reduce the level of hostility and generate some order in their relations. Successful conflict management may lead to: 1. Complete resolution of the issues in conflict( a change in behaviour and attitudes) 2. An acceptable settlement, ceasefire or partial agreement( more common outcome)

Factors Affecting International Conflict Management

Conflict management connotes a mechanism that is concerned with defining when: 1. A conflict is ended (at least temporarily) 2. Deciding on the distribution of values and resources 3. Parties to conflict transform, de-escalate or terminate the conflict

 The full range of methods and instruments that constitutes conflict management are quiet wide (See Fog 1985) However it varies from coercive measures, through legal processes to third party intervention and multilateral conferences. These can be divided into: Unilateral methods (one party threats) Bilateral methods (bargaining, negotiation ) Multilateral (third party interventions)

Methods In Management

Factors Affecting The Course Of Conflict Or Manner Of Its Management

Factors affecting the course of conflict or manner of its management are numerous. They involve interdependence, actors and issues. They can be broadly divided into: Contextual factors Behavioural factors

Contextual Factors
Character of the International System- the character of the I.S. affects expectations and strategies The Nature of the Conflict- this is crucial in determining how it is managed Issues may include Intangible issues like beliefs, values, territorial integrity and tangible interests e.g. resources Internal characteristics of actors/states- their structural properties, nature of polity. Conflict will depend on the power of the states (two powerful states may have a long drawn out conflict)

 The relevance of past interactions is important. Previous behaviour affects current conflict management. This experience may dampen, heighten parties, dispositions to rely on a particular method of management. E.g. Deutsch 1973 and1994 argues that states in negative interdependence (in enduring conflict) or repeated conflicts tend to use coercive methods

Behavioural Factors

Factors Affecting the Course of Conflict and its Management

 A conflict exists when two or more actors carry out an act which is mutually inconsistent (M Nicholson 1992). Conflict exists whenever incompatible activities occur (Deutsch, 1973) A conflict occurs when two or more actors carry out mutually exclusive goals. It is also defined as an expression of opposing interests. It is endemic in society, it is organic and transforms itself. The idea of transformation is fundamental in conflict management. Transformations emerge from the structures in society (See Mitchell and Varyrnen)

Definition Of Conflict

 In International conflict management we are concerned about group conflict and not individual conflict Conflict has positive and negative aspects. Positively it may lead to group cohesion, development and enhancement of leadership. Negatively it leads to death, destruction and underdevelopment Prevention, management or resolution of conflict does not aim at the elimination of conflict or the elimination of opposing interests. It is important to search for conflict behaviour that non violent handling of interests in an orderly process and the course and results of which will be acceptable to all parties involved.

Definition Of Conflict

Key Sources
Hedly Bull, The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics ( London: Macmillan, 1977) Pruitt, Dean G and Olczak, Paul V, l995, Approaches to Resolving Seemingly Intractable Conflict, in Barbara Bunker & Jeffrey Rubin, (eds) Conflict, Cooperation and Justice( Jossey-Bass, 1995) Makumi Mwagiru, Conflict Theory, Processes and Institution of Management,( Nairobi, Watermark, 2006) John Burton, Global Conflict :The Domestic Sources of International Crises(Brighton, Wheat sheaf, 1984)

Key Sources
Galtung, Violence, Peace and Peace Research Journal of Peace Research Vol. 3 (1969) Deutsch, M. The resolution of conflict: Constructive and destructive processes. (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1973) Nicholson, M, Conflict Analysis (London: The English University Press, 1998) Mack R. W. and Snyder R. C., The Analysis of Social Conflict- Towards an Overview and Synthesis, Journal of Conflict Resolution 1957, pp. 225 226 http://www.gmu.edu/programs/icar/ijps/vol4_1/bercovit ch.htm

THE END
THANK YOU