Conflict Theory,Peace Research and the Analysis of Communal Conflicts

A widely respected authority in the field, Anatol Rapoport, has recently asserted that " it is likely that a ' general theory of conflict' is altogether impossible to construct " in his Conflict in Man-Made Environment ( Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1974), p. 8. But he then goes on to describe an approach which does in fact have many of the properties of a general theory:

Among the major sources are: Clagett G. Smith , ed., Conflict Resolution: Contributions of the Behavioral Sciences (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1971); Morton Deutsch , The Resolution of Conflict: Constructive and Destructive Processes (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973 ); Philip Brickman , ed., Social Conflict: Readings in Rule Strtrctures and Conflict Relationships (Lexington, Massachusetts: D. C. Heath, 1974); Robert A. LeVine and Donald T. Campbell , Ethnocentrism: Theories of Conflict, Ethnic Attitudes and Group Behavior (New York: John Wiley, 1972); Ted Robert Gurr , Why Men Rebel (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1970); and John W. Burton , Conflict and Communication (London: Macmillan, 1969).

The relevant literature is mostly to be found in learned journals, including The Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Reviews and Instant Research on Peace and Violence. A recent introduction to the field by an English social psychologist is Adam Curle , Making Peace (London : Tavistock Publications, 1971).

" Peace Research and Politics," Journal of Peace Research 1968 (2), p. 217. The most influential defence of peace research to be found in the literature was written by Johan Galtung as a response to Schmid's paper: " Violence, Peace and Peace Research," Journal of Peace Research 1969 (2), pp. 167-191.

Op. cit; Systems, States, Diplomacy and Rules ( London: Cambridge University Press, 1968); World Society (London: Cambridge University Press, 1972); with A.J.R. Groom , C.R. Mitchell and A.V.S. de Reuck , The Study of World Society: A London Perspective (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: International Studies Association, 1974); and Peace Research: A Reader (Paris: UNESCO, forthcoming).

Herbert C. Kelman , " Patterns of Personal Involvement in the National System," in James N. Rosenau , ed., Interntational Politics and Foreign Policy: A Reader in Research and Theory (rev. ed., New York: Free Press, 1969), p. 276.

However, it does seem to be true that Greek Cypriots do not think of themselves as Cypriots, and neither do Turkish Cypriots. So it may be that there is an upper limit on individual self-images, changing over long periods of time to include larger groupings of persons. This idea is well established in the international relations literature, particularly in the work of Karl W. Deutsch on nationalism, integration and the importance of the communication process in building political communities. See especially his Political Community in the North Atlantic Area (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1957).

This model of the integrative effects of many conflicts, within as well as between parties, has now been developed in several disciplines. For the sociological version, see Ralf Dahrendorf , Class and Class Conflict in an Indusirial Society (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1959); in the political science literature, the works of Peter W. Sperlich , Conflict and Harmony in Human Affairs: A Study of Cross-Pressures and Political Behavior (Chicago : Rand McNally, 1971) and Douglas W. Rae and Michael Taylor , The Arralysis of Political Cleavages (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1970) are representative; and the anthropological writings have been well summarised by LeVine and Campbell, op. cit. The application of these ideas to international relations was pioneered by Harold A. Guetzkow in Multiple Loyalties: A Theoretical Approach to a Problem in International Organisation (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1955).

The two principal works by Lewis A. Coser are The Functions of Social Conflict (New York: Free Press, 1956) and Continuities in the Study of Social Conflict (New York: Free Press, 1967).

It is generally accepted that integration and polarization can and do occur together in complex social conflicts. An excellent survey of the analytic complications that this produces has recently been provided by one of the founders of modern conflict theory, Robin M. Williams. See his "Conflict and Social Order: A Research Strategy for Complex Propositions," Journal of Social Issues 28, 1 (1972), pp. 11-26.

Johan Galtung , "A Structural Theory of Aggression," Journal of Peace Research 1964 (2), pp. 95-119. For the special case of race relations, see Graham C. Kinloch , The Dynamics of Race Relations (New York: McGraw-Hill , 1974).

Gurr , op. cit See also his "The Calculus of Civil Conflict," Journal of Social Issues 28, 1 (1972), pp. 27-47.

Leonard Berkowitz, Aggression : A Social-Psychological Analysis (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1962); more recent contributions are reviewed in LeVine and Campbell, op. cit.

James N. Rosenau , ed., Linkage Politics: Essays on the Convergence of National and International Systems (New York: Free Press, 1969); Burton; World Society; Jonathan Wilkenfeld , ed., Conflict Behavior and Linkage Politics (New York: David McKay, 1973).

Herbert C. Kelman , International Behavior: A Social-Psychological Analysis ( New York; Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965); Ross Stagner , Psychological Aspects of International Conflict (Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1967); and R.P. Abelson , et al., Theories of Cognitive Consistency: A Sourcebook (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1968).

E.g. Dieter Senghaas , "Conflict Formations in Contemporary International Society," Journal of Peace Research 1973 (1), pp. 163-184.

Two good surveys are: Henry Bienen , Violence and Social Change: A Review of Current Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968); and Ivo K. Feierabend et al., eds., Anger, Violence and Politics: Theories and Research (London : Prentice-Hall International, 1972 ).

Dean G. Pruitt has attempted such a systematisation in his " Methods for Resolving Differences of Interest: A Theoretical Analysis," Journal of Social Issues 28, 1 (1972), pp. 133-154.

Resolving Social Conflicts: Selected Papers on Group Dynamics ( New York: Harper & Row, 1948 ; London: Souvenir Press, 1973).

E.g. John M. Thomas and Warren G. Bennis , eds., The Management of Change and Conflict (Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin ,. 1972).

Burton , Conflict and Communication .

Leonard W. Doob , et al., Resolving Conflict in Africa: The Fermeda Workshop (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1970); and, with W.J. Foltz , "The Impact of a Workshop upon Grass Roots Leaders in Belfast," Journal of Conflict Resolution 18, 2 (March 1974).

Herbert C. Kelman , "The Problem-Solving Workshop in Conflict Resolution," in Richard L. Merritt, ed., Communication in International Politics (Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1972), pp. 168-204; C.R. Mitchell , "Conflict Resolution and Controlled Communication," Journal of Peace Research 1973 (2), pp. 124-132; and Anthony de Reuck , " Controlled Communication:. Rationale and Dynamics," The Human Context VI, 1 (Spring 1974), pp. 64-80.