module 2 conflict

Data sources for systematic conflict analysis

tangible evidence, self reported data, wtiness reports,

Tangible evidence

think of this as the kind of things that would serve as evidence in court. Written documents, leases or contracts.- the most common form of tangible evidence

self reported data

this is the testimonies of parties involved in the conflict. the veracity of these statements depends on perception skills, memory, and communciation skills ( as well as willingness to tell the truth) false memory can easily occur tool

Witness Reports

just like in a jury trial, witness reports aren’t fully reliable. They depend on the same factors as self reported data.

Steps to conducting a change oriented conflict analysis

step 1: the story, Step 2: information sources, Step 3: the context,

step 4: the primary parties, Step 5: the issues, Step 6: parties demands and interests. Step 7: the parties social reality, Step 8: other interested and affected parties, Steo 9: resources or power, Step 10: settlement options.

Step one: the story

The story is the narrative history of the conflict including origin and major events

step 2: information sources

What sources are available? tangible, self report, witnesses, etc

step 3: the context

context include the environment in which the conflict is taking place. Such as the culture, the government administrative units, organizations and other settings and how those contexts affect conflict and its management

step 4: the primary parties

usually, parties involved extend beyond just two people or groups. If many aprties are involved, group them by common interests

step 5: the issues

what is the conflict about? what are the parties fighting about? look beyond the obvious, spoken issues, issues may be over the relationships, values, resources, or power, etc.

step 6: parties demands and interests

distinguishing between demands and interests - demands are what the parties say they need to happen to resolve the conflict; interests are the problem which led to the demand and which might be solved in other ways in addition to what the parties are demanding

Step 7: the parties social reality

social reality is ways understanding ones experience worked out through intereactions with others

aspects of social reality - moral, justice, conflict

moral reality

assumptions about proper conduct; authoritarian, republican (civil duty), utilitarian (negotiation), and expressivist ( free expression of individual rights)

justice reality

proper outcomes of conflict; retributive justice ( punish wrongdoer), competitive justice ( negotiation) and distributive ( fairness)

conflict reality

how conflicts should be handled; use of outside parties, conflict management ( maintenance, economic bargaining, power, coalition, consensus) and conflict sources ( avoidance, clash of individual)

step 8: other interested and affected parties

include other parties that have an indirect stake in the conflict and its outcome

Step 9: resources or power

what capacity does each party have to bring about change

step 10: settlement options

consider the parties, their power, and their demands and interests develop possible settlement options. Be creative, think outside the box