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Appendix A: Case Studies

List of case studies, case study 1: handling roommate conflicts, case study 2: salary negotiation at college corp, case study 3: oecollaboration, case study 4: the ohio connection, case study 5: uber pays the price, case study 6: diverse teams hold court.

Chapter Reference: Section 2.2 Approaches to Conflict

Whether you have a roommate by choice, by necessity, or through the random selection process of your school’s housing office, it’s important to be able to get along with the person who shares your living space. While having a roommate offers many benefits such as making a new friend, having someone to experience a new situation like college life with, and having someone to split the cost on your own with, there are also challenges. Some common roommate conflicts involve neatness, noise, having guests, sharing possessions, value conflicts, money conflicts, and personality conflicts (Ball State University, 2001). Read the following scenarios and answer the following questions for each one:

• Which conflict management style, from the five discussed, would you use in this situation?
• What are the potential strengths of using this style?
• What are the potential weaknesses of using this style?

Scenario 1: Neatness. Your college dorm has bunk beds, and your roommate takes a lot of time making their bed (the bottom bunk) each morning. They have told you that they don’t want anyone sitting on or sleeping in the bed when they are not in the room. While your roommate is away for the weekend, your friend comes to visit and sits on the bottom bunk bed. You tell your friend what your roommate said, and you try to fix the bed back before your roommate returns to the dorm. When they return, your roommate notices that the bed has been disturbed and confronts you about it.

Scenario 2: Noise and having guests. Your roommate has a job waiting tables and gets home around midnight on Thursday nights. They often brings a couple friends from work home with them. They watch television, listen to music, or play video games and talk and laugh. You have an 8 a.m. class on Friday mornings and are usually asleep when they returns. Last Friday, you talked to your roommate and asked them to keep it down in the future. Tonight, their noise has woken you up and you can’t get back to sleep.

Scenario 3: Sharing possessions. When you go out to eat, you often bring back leftovers to have for lunch the next day during your short break between classes. You didn’t have time to eat breakfast, and you’re really excited about having your leftover pizza for lunch until you get home and see your roommate sitting on the couch eating the last slice.

Scenario 4: Money conflicts. Your roommate got mono and missed two weeks of work last month. Since they have a steady job and you have some savings, you cover their portion of the rent and agree that they will pay your portion next month. The next month comes around and your roommate informs you that they only have enough to pay their half of the rent.

Scenario 5: Value and personality conflicts. You like to go out to clubs and parties and have friends over, but your roommate is much more of an introvert. You’ve tried to get them to come out with you or join the party at your place, but they’d rather study. One day your roommate tells you that they want to break the lease so they can move out early to live with one of their friends. You both signed the lease, so you have to agree or they can’t do it. If you break the lease, you automatically lose your portion of the security deposit

Works Adapted

“ Conflict and Interpersonal Communication ” in Communication in the Real World  by University of Minnesota is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Ball State University. (2001). Roommate conflicts. accessed June 16, 2001, from  http://cms.bsu.edu/CampusLife/CounselingCenter/VirtualSelfHelpLibrary/RoommateIssues.asx.

Chapter Reference:  Section 2.4 Negotiation

Janine just graduated college, she’s ready to head out on her own and get that first job, and she’s through her first interviews. She receives an offer of a $28,000 salary, including benefits from COLLEGE CORP, from an entry-level marketing position that seems like a perfect fit. She is thrown off by the salary they are offering and knows that it is lower than what she was hoping for. Instead of panicking, she takes the advice of her mentor and does a little research to know what the market range for the salary is for her area. She feels better after doing this, knowing that she was correct and the offer is low compared to the market rate. After understanding more about the offer and the rates, she goes back to the HR representative and asks for her preferred rate of $32,500, knowing the minimum that she would accept is $30,000. Instead of going in for her lowest amount, she started higher to be open to negotiations with the company. She also sent a note regarding her expertise that warranted why she asked for that salary. To her happy surprise, the company counter offered at $31,000—and she accepted.

• What key points of Janice’s negotiation led to her success?
• What could have Janice done better to get a better outcome for her salary?

“ Conflict and Negotiations ” in Organizational Behaviour by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

“Good & Bad Salary Negotiations,”  Salary.com , April 19, 2018, https://www.salary.com/articles/good-bad-examples-of-salary-negotiations .

Herner, M. (n.d). 5 things HR wishes you knew about salary negotiation. Payscale.com, accessed October 21, 2018, https://www.payscale.com/salary-negotiation-guide/salary-negotiation-tips-from-hr .

Chapter Reference:  Section 3.2 Creating, Maintaining, and Changing Culture

At OECollaboration, a technology company that develops virtual collaboration software for new companies, Mike Jones is a new manager. One of the biggest challenges he has faced is that the team that he is managing is well established and because he is an outsider, the team members haven’t yet developed trust in him.

Two weeks into his new employment, Mike held a meeting and discussed all of the changes to the remote work agreements as well as implementing new meeting requirements for each employee to have a biweekly meeting scheduled with him to discuss their projects. The team was outraged, they were not excited, and the following days he wasn’t greeted in a friendly way; in addition, his team seemed less engaged when asked to participate in team functions.

Tracy James is also a new manager at OECollaboration who started at the same time as Mike, in a similar situation where she is a new manager of an existing team. Tracy was able to hold a meeting the first day on the job to listen to her team and get to know them. During this meeting she also told the team about herself and her past experiences. Additionally, she held one-on-one meetings to listen to each of her team members to discuss what they were working on and their career goals. After observation and discussion with upper management, she aligned her own team goals closely with the skills and experiences of her new team. She met with the whole team to make changes to a few policies, explaining why they were being changed, and set the strategy for the team moving forward.

Because she got her team involved and learned about them before implementing her new strategy, this was well received. Her team still had questions and concerns, but they felt like they could trust her and that they were included in the changes that were being made.

• What challenges can a new manager encounter when starting to manage an existing team?
• What strategies can a new manager implement to ensure that their new team is engaged with them and open to change and growth?

Adapted Works

“ Organizational Power and Politics ” in Organizational Behaviour by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

Giang, V. (2013, July 31). The 7 types of power that shape the workplace. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/the-7-types-of-power-that-shape-the-workplace-2013-7

Morin, A. (2018, June 25). How to prevent a workplace bully from taking your power. Inc. https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/how-to-prevent-a-workplace-bully-from-taking-your-power.html

Weinstein,  B. (n.d.). 10 tips for dealing with a bully boss,” CIO , accessed October 13, 2018, https://www.cio.com.au/article/198499/10_tips_dealing_bully_boss/.

Chapter Reference:  Section 4.1 Power

Janey worked as an executive assistant to a product manager at her company: Ohio Connection. Overall, she loved her job; she was happy to work with a company that provided great benefits, and she and found enjoyment in her day-to-day work. She had the same product manager boss for years, but last year, her manager left Ohio Connection and retired. Recently her new manager has been treating her unfairly and showcasing bullying behavior.

Yesterday, Janey came into work, and her boss decided to use their power as her manager and her “superior” to demand that she stay late to cover for him, correct reports that he had made mistakes on, and would not pay her overtime. She was going to be late to pick up her son from soccer practice if she stayed late; she told him this, and he was not happy.

Over subsequent days, her boss consistently would make comments about her performance, even though she had always had good remarks on reviews, and created a very negative work environment. The next time she was asked to stay late, she complied for fear of losing her job or having other negative impacts on her job. Janey’s situation was not ideal, but she didn’t feel she had a choice.

• What type of power did Janey’s boss employ to get her to do the things that he wanted her to do?
• What negative consequences are apparent in this situation and other situations where power is not balanced in the workplace?
• What steps should Janey take do to counteract the power struggle that is occurring with her new manager?

Chapter Reference:   Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Uber revolutionized the taxi industry and the way people commute. With the simple mission “to bring transportation—for everyone, everywhere,” today Uber has reached a valuation of around $70 billion and claimed a market share high of almost 90% in 2015. However, in June 2017 Uber experienced a series of bad press regarding an alleged culture of sexual harassment, which is what most experts believe caused their market share to fall to 75%.

In February of 2017 a former software engineer, Susan Fowler, wrote a lengthy post on her website regarding her experience of being harassed by a manager who was not disciplined by human resources for his behavior. In her post, Fowler wrote that Uber’s HR department and members of upper management told her that because it was the man’s first offense, they would only give him a warning. During her meeting with HR about the incident, Fowler was also advised that she should transfer to another department within the organization. According to Fowler, she was ultimately left no choice but to transfer to another department, despite having specific expertise in the department in which she had originally been working.

As her time at the company went on, she began meeting other women who worked for the company who relayed their own stories of harassment. To her surprise, many of the women reported being harassed by the same person who had harassed her. As she noted in her blog, “It became obvious that both HR and management had been lying about this being his ‘first offense.’” Fowler also reported a number of other instances that she identified as sexist and inappropriate within the organization and claims that she was disciplined severely for continuing to speak out. Fowler eventually left Uber after about two years of working for the company, noting that during her time at Uber the percentage of women working there had dropped to 6% of the workforce, down from 25% when she first started.

Following the fallout from Fowler’s lengthy description of the workplace on her website, Uber’s chief executive Travis Kalanick publicly condemned the behavior described by Fowler, calling it “abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in.” But later in March, Uber board member Arianna Huffington claimed that she believed “sexual harassment was not a systemic problem at the company.” Amid pressure from bad media attention and the company’s falling market share, Uber made some changes after an independent investigation resulted in 215 complaints. As a result, 20 employees were fired for reasons ranging from sexual harassment to bullying to retaliation to discrimination, and Kalanick announced that he would hire a chief operating officer to help manage the company. In an effort to provide the leadership team with more diversity, two senior female executives were hired to fill the positions of chief brand officer and senior vice president for leadership and strategy.

Critical Thinking Questions

• Based on Cox’s business case for diversity, what are some positive outcomes that may result in changes to Uber’s leadership team?
• If the case had occurred in Canada, what forms of legislation would have protected Fowler?
• What strategies should have been put in place to help prevent sexual harassment incidents like this from happening in the first place?

“ Diversity in Organizations ” in Organizational Behaviour by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

Della Cava, M. (2017, June 13). Uber has lost market share to Lyft during crisis. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/06/13/uber-market-share-customer-image-hit-string-scandals/102795024/

Fowler, T. (2017, February 19). Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber. https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber.

Lien,  T. (2017, June 6). Uber fires 20 workers after harassment investigation. Los Angeles Times.  http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tn-uber-sexual-harassment-20170606-story.html

Uber (2017, February). Company info. https://www.uber.com/newsroom/company-info/

Chapter Reference:  Section 5.3 Collaboration, Decision-Making and Problem Solving in Groups

Diverse teams have been proven to be better at problem-solving and decision-making for a number of reasons. First, they bring many different perspectives to the table. Second, they rely more on facts and use those facts to substantiate their positions. What is even more interesting is that, according to the Scientific American article “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter,” simply “being around people who are different from us makes more creative, diligent, and harder-working.”

One case in point is the example of jury decision-making, where fact-finding and logical decision-making are of utmost importance. A 2006 study of jury decision-making, led by social psychologist Samuel Sommers of Tufts University, showed that racially diverse groups exchanged a wider range of information during deliberation of a case than all-White groups did. The researcher also conducted mock jury trials with a group of real jurors to show the impact of diversity on jury decision-making.

Interestingly enough, it was the mere presence of diversity on the jury that made jurors consider the facts more, and they had fewer errors recalling the relevant information. The groups even became more willing to discuss the role of race case, when they hadn’t before with an all-White jury. This wasn’t the case because the diverse jury members brought new information to the group—it happened because, according to the author, the mere presence of diversity made people more open-minded and diligent. Given what we discussed on the benefits of diversity, it makes sense. People are more likely to be prepared, to be diligent, and to think logically about something if they know that they will be pushed or tested on it. And who else would push you or test you on something, if not someone who is different from you in perspective, experience, or thinking. “Diversity jolts us into cognitive action in ways that homogeneity simply does not.”

So, the next time you are called for jury duty, or to serve on a board committee, or to make an important decision as part of a team, remember that one way to generate a great discussion and come up with a strong solution is to pull together a diverse team.

• If you don’t have a diverse group of people on your team, how can you ensure that you will have robust discussions and decision-making? What techniques can you use to generate conversations from different perspectives?
• Evaluate your own team at work. Is it a diverse team? How would you rate the quality of decisions generated from that group?

Sources: Adapted from Katherine W. Phillips, “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter,” Scientific American, October 2014, p. 7–8.

“ Critical Thinking Case ” in  Organizational Behaviour by OpenStax is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

Conflict Management Copyright © 2022 by Laura Westmaas, BA, MSc is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Case Study #7: Empowered Process---Skilled Leadership: Diffusion, Party Capacity & Speaking Truth to Power

• Erbe, Nancy

This is the seventh case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

Introduction to Conflict Case Studies

Case Study #1: Neutral Fact-Finding and Empowerment Within Conflicted Systems

Case Study #2: Intrapersonal Approaches to Conflict: Cognitive and Perceptual Biases

Case Study #3: Negative Intergroup Influence

Case Study #4: Empathy: Effective Response with Escalating Aggression

Case Study #5: Assessing Covert Bad Faith and Power Abuse

Case Study #6: Cultural Competence: Ethical and Empowered Response With Discrimination

Case Study #7: Empowered Process---Skilled Leadership: Diffusion, Party Capacity and Speaking Truth to Power

Case Series #8: Empowered Process: Multicultural Collaboration

Case Study #2: Intrapersonal Approaches to Conflict: Cognitive & Perceptual Biases

This is the second case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

This is the first case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

This series, Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action, presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying this introduction. Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided here is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

This is the sixth case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

This is the third case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

This is the fourth case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

Case Study #5: Assessing Covert Bad Faith & Power Abuse

This is the fifth case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

Case Study #8: Empowered Process: Multicultural Collaboration

This is the eighth case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

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A Case Study of Conflict Management and Negotiation

There is a lot to be learned from this case study of conflict management and negotiation..

By PON Staff — on June 10th, 2024 / Conflict Resolution

Group negotiations are a fact of managerial life, yet the outcomes of teamwork are highly unpredictable. Sometimes, groups cohere, reaching novel solutions to nagging problems, and sometimes infighting causes them to collapse. This is where you may find a case study of conflict management helpful.

How can you predict when the conflict will emerge in groups, and what can you do to stop it?

The following is drawn from a case study of conflict management and negotiation involving multi-party negotiation scenarios. Dora Lau of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Keith Murnighan of the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University have examined group conflict in terms of fault lines the cracks that result when groups split into homogenous subgroups according to demographic characteristics.

For instance, in a four-person group made up of two white males in their forties and two African American females in their twenties, a very strong fault line would exist, one clearly defined by age, gender, and race. In a group consisting of one white male, one Asian male, one Hispanic female, and one African American female, all in their thirties, fault lines would be less evident.

Claim your FREE copy: The New Conflict Management

In our FREE special report from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School - The New Conflict Management: Effective Conflict Resolution Strategies to Avoid Litigation – renowned negotiation experts uncover unconventional approaches to conflict management that can turn adversaries into partners.

A Case Study of Conflict Management – Divisions in Group Negotiation

Recently Katerina Bezrukova of Rutgers University and her colleagues compared the effects of fault lines based on social categories (e.g., age, race, or gender) with those based on information (e.g., education or work experience). Their negotiation research found that groups with strong information-based fault lines perform better than groups with strong demographic-based fault lines.

While the latter create dysfunctional conflict within the group, information-based fault lines provide the diversity of information needed for effective performance – in other words, they provide functional conflict .

These studies provide useful hints on how diversity can be effectively managed. Specifically, when forming teams, avoid obvious demographic fault lines that would allow group members to split into categories. When broader diversity exists, fault lines can simply disappear.

Related Conflict Resolution Article:  Conflict Management and Negotiation: Personality and Individual Differences That Matter – How much do personality differences matter in negotiations? Negotiation research has found that negotiators perform similarly from one negotiation to another negotiation and that performance was only slightly impacted by other variables at the bargaining table like personality traits. Unchanging traits, like gender, ethnicity, and level of physical attractiveness, were not tied to negotiation performance. Some traits did affect negotiating performance, however, and in this study, those factors identified by the latest negotiation research are outlined and discussed. How can your beliefs about negotiation impact your ability to negotiate? Read more for negotiation skills and negotiation techniques a negotiator can do to mitigate the impact of these variables on her negotiating performance.

What is your favorite case study of conflict management? Let us know in the comments.

Originally published in 2012.

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No Responses to “A Case Study of Conflict Management and Negotiation”

One response to “a case study of conflict management and negotiation”.

I would love to consider the details of the research that suggests that “demographic fault lines” produce dysfunction in groups. The conclusion has a very subtle bias that could benefit from further investigation. Is it at all possible that the information and proposals are considered differently by people operating in different social contexts and that by “avoiding obvious demographic fault line” the management practice is to simply allow the internal power dynamics – which often have differential impacts along certain demographic fault lines – to play out unimpeded?

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What Is Conflict Resolution?

Why are conflict resolution skills important, conflict resolution skills examples, conflict resolution skills at work: case studies, how to build conflict resolution skills, conflict resolution skills: the bottom line, how to build conflict resolution skills: case studies and examples.

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Forage puts students first. Our blog articles are written independently by our editorial team. They have not been paid for or sponsored by our partners. See our full  editorial guidelines .

Table of Contents

No one likes conflict. When you disagree with a coworker, it can be awkward at best and lead to job dissatisfaction and even a threat to your position at worst. Conflict resolution skills are crucial to positive work relationships, success, and growth at work. 

But what exactly are conflict resolution skills? How can you cultivate them, even without work experience? We’ll discuss everything you need to know about conflict resolution, why it’s essential, and how to build these critical soft skills — without stepping foot into an office.

Conflict resolution is the ability to end a dispute respectfully in a way that benefits all parties. More simply, it’s the ability to end a disagreement, argument, or even a fight politely and successfully.

In our everyday lives, this can range from something as simple as disagreeing with your friend on what to cook for dinner to something larger like addressing your friend’s feelings when they’re feeling left out of your friend group. In the workplace, conflict ranges from small to big, too; you might disagree with a coworker about how to phrase an email your company is sending, or you might have a more significant conflict about how they acted while working with you on a project. 

Regardless of the situation, conflict resolution skills can help you work through challenges with others to get your work done more efficiently and stress-free. Conflict resolution skills can lead to: 

• Better working relationships: Working with someone you find difficult is no fun. Conflict resolution skills can help you iron out issues so you can work together harmoniously.
• Getting work done more efficiently: When you can resolve conflict with others, work, especially collaborative projects, becomes much more manageable. You don’t need a coworker to be yet another blocker to hitting your team’s goals; instead, work becomes easier when you can collaborate and work together, not against each other.
• Happier work environment: It’s unpleasant to show up to work (in-person or virtually) when you have a conflict with someone. Addressing issues head-on can clear the air and make your work experience more enjoyable.
• Career growth: Conflict resolution skills are valuable soft skills. Being an effective mediator can help you become a more successful and personable employee, someone everyone wants to work with and have on their team.

Client Service

Practice de-escalating conflict as a customer service specialist. Record a call between you and your client and suggest a suitable path forward.

Avg. Time: 3-4 hours

Skills you’ll build: Triage, problem-solving, de-escalation, customer retention, composure

Conflict resolution requires various skills to effectively listen to others, empathize with them, and work together toward a solution. 

Active Listening

Active listening is when you’re not only listening to someone but actively engaging with and processing what they’re saying. It might look like engaged body language (like nodding and eye contact) or asking follow-up questions to clarify or further explore what the other person was saying.

Active listening is vital to conflict resolution. It allows you to truly understand and process what the other person in the conflict is going through. Listening to their perspective and taking it seriously can help you know where they’re coming from and find a solution that considers their feelings, perspectives, and goals. 

Negotiation

Resolving a conflict often means you’ll need to use negotiation skills to get the outcome you’re looking for. The goal is to find a solution that works for both or all parties, which means asking for what you want while trying to find a middle ground. 

Many of us may shy away from conflict because it requires asserting ourselves in sometimes awkward or difficult situations. This is where leadership skills come in. The decision to resolve a conflict requires one person to step up to address the problem — taking ownership, considering multiple perspectives, and developing an action plan. 

Decision-Making

Conflict resolution ends with a decision that benefits all parties. Good decision-making skills can help you assess the facts of the situation and come to a rational conclusion. These skills also come in handy when a conflict seems to drag on forever; people who are good decision-makers are biased toward action and focus on finding a solution rather than continuing to fight.

Communication

Unfortunately, even if you’re in a dispute with a person you really can’t stand, you’ll need to communicate with them to resolve a conflict. Using communication skills to speak or write confidently, clearly, and with empathy can help you find an agreeable solution more efficiently. 

>>MORE: What Are Verbal Communication Skills?

Strategy Consulting

Build your email communication skills as you draft an email containing difficult messages about a sensitive subject.

Avg. Time: 7-8 hours

Skills you’ll build: Attention to detail, error spotting, email communication, client communication

Collaboration

When you’re in a conflict, it can feel like you’re going head-to-head with someone else; however, you must work together to resolve that conflict. Collaboration skills ensure you consider the other person’s perspective, communicate the right information, and work together to determine the best solution.

Now you know what conflict resolution skills are, but how are they actually applied at work?

Connecting on the Outcome

Peter Premenko, founder and president of Phronesis Group, a boutique consultancy focusing on leadership, management, and team culture development, shared a time he wanted to change a company process—but not everyone was on board.

“My team needed to change the way we executed new employee onboarding,” Premenko says. “Our director of recruiting was dead set against the change because our existing program was world-class, and his team relied on it as part of the pitch to come work for our company. My approach with him was to take things up a level to something we did agree on: having the best people doing their best work for our company. This way we were solving a problem we both cared about together, instead of trying to defend my priority and defeat his. It took a little longer than I might have liked, but he eventually saw why the change I wanted to make was important and agreed to it.”

Connecting on why Premenko wanted to make the change allowed the director of recruiting to understand his motivation and realize they shared the same goal. 

Leading With Kindness

Stefan Chekanov, co-founder and CEO of Brosix, a secure instant messenger, shared a stressful moment when his team had been working hard to release new software features, include an AI integration, and redesign the company website. 

“This churn caused a bit of extra tension to start brewing internally, and unproductive, heated discussions rarely lead to anything more than mutual frustration,” Chekanov says.

To resolve the conflict, Chekanov decided to lead with kindness. 

“Whenever I noticed a team member (including myself) becoming increasingly agitated, I set up a private meeting for a genuine heart-to-heart,” he said. “At the end of the day, leading with empathy is how I gently nudge communication in a more constructive, positive direction. You don’t need work experience to be a decent human being, to put it simply.”

Providing Context

I had a conflict with a manager about an article I was working on about the “girlboss.” The main point of my article was that “girlboss” isn’t something to strive to be, but my manager disagreed and asked me to rewrite the piece. She took offense, thinking I wasn’t advocating for women’s advancement in the workplace; I took offense because she thought those were my views!

To resolve the conflict, I realized a vital piece of context was missing. As a Gen Zer, “girlboss” is a term my friends and I use sarcastically and jokingly; however, when the term first came into the cultural context, it was considered empowering. 

>>MORE: Bye-Bye, ‘Bandwidth’ — 50 Examples of Gen Z Jargon at Work

I did more research to show my manager how the conversation around the term had changed and brought concrete examples of how people were using the term now. After providing that context, we were able to edit the piece to add that research and nuance. It led to one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever written — one that was much better than the first draft I’d handed in.

Listening to Everyone’s Ideas

Kimberly Best’s work directly involves conflict resolution; she’s a civil mediator, trained family mediator, certified arbitrator, and owner of Best Conflict Solutions. She worked closely with a health care system with 17 medical offices struggling with employees leaving — the system had an attrition rate of 33%.

With such a company-wide issue, Best sought to understand what leaders and employees had to say. 

“First, I spoke with managers to hear what they experienced and what they proposed as resolutions,” she said. “I then formulated a statistically valid and reliable survey. I included a Likert scale and open-ended questions to get a full picture of management and team experience. Then I met with individuals and heard their stories and ideas. I asked teams to propose their needs and provide solutions.”

After listening to various people, Best used the data to meet with management and brainstorm what they could do differently. 

“Ironically, one primary need was for conflict management training and an effective conflict management system,” she said. “I provided conflict management training to teams and managers.”

After Best both provided training and helped create a system for conflict management processes, attrition at the health care system was 18% the following year.

Soft skills can feel more challenging to build because they’re less tangible than hard skills . For example, it may seem easier to approach learning programming skills , where you can take a coding bootcamp , than to learn how to collaborate better. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn soft skills — or that you need to be in the workplace to learn them! Here’s what conflict resolution experts recommend if you’re looking to build these soft skills before landing your first role.

Role-Playing

“Participate in role-playing exercises or simulations that mimic workplace conflicts,” says Beth Fries, an organizational leadership professional and doctoral candidate researching readiness skills in diverse corporate sectors. “This can be done in a classroom setting, with friends or mentors, or through online platforms.”

Forage job simulations can help you practice conflict resolution skills without needing a friend or even leaving your home. 

Getting Ready to Join the Workforce

Practice using mediation skills to resolve an internal conflict on your team.

Avg. Time: 4-5 hours

Skills you’ll build: Emotional intelligence, prioritization, time management, self-reflection

Get Feedback

Fortunately (and unfortunately), conflict is often a part of our everyday lives, even if we might not realize it. The next time you argue with a friend or disagree with a family member, take a step back and reflect on how you approached the situation.

“Ask friends, family, or mentors for feedback on handling conflicts in everyday situations,” Fries says. “Use their input to improve your approach.”

Practice the Process

Kristyn Carmichael, professional mediator, family attorney, and certified divorce financial analyst, shares a three-step process for resolving conflict: listen, respond, resolve.

First, use active listening skills as the other person shares their perspective. Carmichael notes it’s essential to identify the “underlying issues rather than positions.”

A position is someone’s feelings about a situation, like “I don’t like working in a group with you.” 

“An interest is the underlying why: the person fears you will overshadow their work or get credit; they’re nervous you won’t put in work due to past experience; they don’t like you because you stole their lunch once (even on accident),” Carmichael says. “We all have underlying interests for what we want. It is important to be an active listener and ask questions, not become defensive or shut the other person down by shifting the conversation to yourself.”

Next, it’s time to respond by addressing the issues the person raised and acknowledging their feelings, even if you disagree with them. 

Using the same scenario of someone not wanting to work in a group with you, Carmichael offers an example response:

“Thank you for sharing with me that you don’t want to be on this project with me because you have heard negative things about my work ethic from others who have worked with me and you don’t think we will get along. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and understand why you may be nervous to work with me.” 

Ultimately, your goal is to find a resolution that benefits everyone. Carmichael recommends brainstorming solutions that work for both parties. Once you’ve decided on one, ensure you have a plan to implement and follow through on the resolution.

Conflict can be scary, and you might try to avoid it. Yet good conflict resolution skills can not only improve your working relationships, but can also lead to career growth and a happier work environment.

“Conflict is not bad; it’s a sign of a problem to solve,” Best says. “The most important thing in conflict resolution is building trust. This is done by listening well, empathy through genuine caring, and providing an environment that is safe to be honest. Safety is achieved through the above and through confidentiality and an environment without blame or judgment. When people feel heard, understood, and validated — the world makes sense through their eyes, and you demonstrate that you can see that — then creativity and problem-solving begin.”

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How to Navigate Conflict with a Coworker

Seven strategies to help you make progress with even the most difficult people

Interpersonal conflicts are common in the workplace, and it’s easy to get caught up in them. But that can lead to reduced creativity, slower and worse decision-making, and even fatal mistakes. So how can we return to our best selves? Having studied conflict management and resolution over the past several years, the author outlines seven principles to help you work more effectively with difficult colleagues: (1) Understand that your perspective is not the only one possible. (2) Be aware of and question any unconscious biases you may be harboring. (3) View the conflict not as me-versus-them but as a problem to be jointly solved. (4) Understand what outcome you’re aiming for. (5) Be very judicious in discussing the issue with others. (6) Experiment with behavior change to find out what will improve the situation. (7) Make sure to stay curious about the other person and how you can more effectively work together.

Early in my career I took a job reporting to someone who had a reputation for being difficult. I’ll call her Elise. Plenty of people warned me that she would be hard to work with, but I thought I could handle it. I prided myself on being able to get along with anyone. I didn’t let people get under my skin. I could see the best in everyone.

• Amy Gallo is a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review, cohost of the Women at Work podcast , and the author of two books: Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict . She writes and speaks about workplace dynamics. Watch her TEDx talk on conflict and follow her on LinkedIn . amyegallo

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Beyond Intractability

The Hyper-Polarization Challenge to the Conflict Resolution Field We invite you to participate in an online exploration of what those with conflict and peacebuilding expertise can do to help defend liberal democracies and encourage them live up to their ideals.

Follow BI and the Hyper-Polarization Discussion on BI's New Substack Newsletter .

Hyper-Polarization, COVID, Racism, and the Constructive Conflict Initiative Read about (and contribute to) the  Constructive Conflict Initiative  and its associated Blog —our effort to assemble what we collectively know about how to move beyond our hyperpolarized politics and start solving society's problems. 

Case Studies

  Africa : Ghana |  Kenya  |  Nigeria  |  Rwanda  |  Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia  |  South Africa  |  Sudan/South Sudan/Darfur  |  Uganda  |  Zimbabwe   Asia:   East Asia  |  South Asia : Afghanistan  |  Central Asia   Europe | Latin America | Middle East | North America | Other

Building Sustainable Peace, a Nationwide Consensus Effort: Practical Reconciliation and Peacebuilding in Ghana  - This case study applies Lederach's notion of "The Meeting Place" and Ricigliano's SAT model of peacebuilding to examine the reconciliation and peacebuilding work in Ghana, concluding that, while much is left to be done, Ghana has made great progress in reconciliation after numerous coups destabilized the country.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Case Study of War and Failed Peace  - An analysis of the myriad DRC peace agreements, focusing on their successes and why they all, ultimately, have failed to establish the long-sought peace.  While the complexity of the DRC makes peacemaking particularly difficult, if past successes are built upon, DRC could still achieve its long-sought peace.

• ​ A Case Study of Post-Civil War Peace Building Efforts in Liberia  - This case study reviews the history of Liberia, the 1989-1997 civil war, and the multi-layered attempts to build peace and reconcile after that event.  Koziol observes that some aspects of the peacebuilding process were quite successful, while other aspects are still far from complete. Yet, her analysis gives readers much to learn both about peacebuilding in Liberia, and implications for such efforts more broadly.
• Examining Gender Inequality in the Post-Conflict Peacebuilding Efforts of Sierra Leone  - This case study illustrates how the steps taken in post-war Sierra Leone to improve issues of gender inequality as part of a larger global peacebuilding agenda, failed to address ingrained patriarchal practices in the social, political, and cultural traditions outlined in the nation’s Constitution. Despite the enactment of several reformative bills and policies on both national and international levels, true change could not be achieved as these new policies conflicted with the outdated provisions of Sierra Leone’s Constitution. In order to overcome these problems, the outdated Constitution must be revised, and the peacebuilding groups formed by women must be given the opportunity to partner on a grassroots level with both the Government of Sierra Leone and NGOs who listen to them first, leaving personal and donors’ agendas aside.
• Capacity Building and Governance in Africa: Using Tools and Concepts from Strategic Peacebuilding to Address Long-Standing Challenges After several decades of unsuccessful development efforts in Africa, the international development community has reached consensus that good governance is a “critical prerequisite for sustaining development.” Good governance is in turn seen as contingent upon “environments of developed human and institutional capacities,” which has led to a proliferation of capacity building programs.
• Challenges of Regional Peacebuilding: A Case of the Great Lakes Region For the past twenty years, the Great Lakes region [of Africa] has been engulfed in a series of interrelated conflicts. In response, peacebuilding activities have taken a regional approach. Regional peace conferences, with the support of UN Special Representatives, diplomatic missions (by the UN, European Union [EU], major international development organizations, and donor agencies), and UN peacekeeping missions have been widely carried out in the region. This approach, although successful in some instances, is problematic. This essay argues for a comprehensive peacebuilding approach that synthesizes both peacebuilding policies and grass roots initiatives.
• Child Trafficking in Benin, West Africa This article focuses on the problem of child trafficking as it is practiced in Benin and western Africa more broadly. Although it is a problem in many parts of the world, it has reached epidemic proportions in Benin and the surrounding African countries.
• The Role of Civil Society in International Law: The Relationship Between Civil Society Organizations and the International Criminal Court in the Central African Republic This article looks at civil society's role in the activities of the International Criminal Court in the Central African Republic. Unlike the hostility of civil society in other African countries, the response in the CAR was more positive. This article examines why this might be so, and what can be done to enhance the work of civil society and the ICC throughout Africa and the wider world towards both justice and peace.
• Global Justice! The 2010 ICC Review Conference and the Future of International Justice in Africa This article describes the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to date and looks at the issues that will need to be considered at the May 2010 ICC review conference in Kampala Uganda if the ICC is going to become a successful provider of real justice for all, not just for some. This is co-listed as a case study and a personal reflection, as it has considerable factual material on the ICC, as well as the author's personal reflections on what needs to be done to make it better.
• Kenya: The case of Internally Displaced People following the 2007 Post Election Violence  - This essay outlines the issue of IDPs as a result of the 2007 general elections in which armed conflict claimed the lives of 1,500 people. The author focuses squarely on government action or inaction, and gives recommendations for ways in which the government  can work to reduce tension among the various communities.
• The Power of Theatre in Transforming Conflicts at Kakuma Refugee Camp The author discusses the transformative potential of stage drama and artistic dance, as exemplified by a project organized by the Amani Peoples Theatre (APT) at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya.
• Rebuilding Relationships Through Good Neighborliness Seminars in the Rift Valley, Kenya  - This article, written by one of the peacebuilders in this effort, examines the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) effort to build peace and reconcilation following the 1992 violence in the Rift Valley and Western Kenya through a series of interventions.
• ​ Ethnic Conflict Management in Africa: A Comparative Case Study of Nigeria and South Africa This case study examines theoretical explanations about the causes of ethnic conflict and then does a comparison of such conflict and its resolution (or not) in South Africa and Nigeria. The author examines the factors that appear to have made conflict resolution efforts in South Africa more successful than those in Nigeria.
• Post-Genocide Rwanda: A Unique Case of Political and Psycho-Social Peacebuilding An examination of the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide looking at the post-genocide peacebuilding  and the resulting political and psychosocial changes.
• Comparison of Dialogue Practices -- An examination of dialogue practices in Rwanda and Uganda, in the wake of their mass violence, introducing the novel strategy of Photovoice.
• The Rwandan Genocide This is the first of a series of articles that Kimberly Fornace wrote when she was taking a Peace and Conflict Studies class based on Beyond Intractability. Living in Rwanda at the time, and being extremely perceptive, her papers were of such high quality we asked her if we could publish them here. This is the first overview of the conflict parties and issues. More papers on other aspects of the conflict and long-term prospects are forthcoming as soon as we can get them uploaded.
• Rwanda's Hidden Divisions: From the Ethnicity of Habyarimana to the Politics of Kagame  - Written in 2011, this article argues that seventeen years after the genocide, with a charismatic leader and impressive economic gains, the assumption that the country is without conflict is gravely misleading. Championed by Western nations, the false image of Rwanda as a beacon of freedom may ultimately do more harm than good, as many aspects of the current situation are "strikingly similar to that of "pre-genocide times." 

Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia

• A Peacebuilding Case Study: Responding to Somali Piracy This article examines the underlying causes of the piracy epidemic in and around Somalia and proposes a set of nonviolent, peacebuilding-oriented responses to try to stem the tide instead of the largely unsuccessful military responses that have been tried so far.
• Bottom-Up Approach: A Viable Strategy in Solving the Somali Conflict This paper discusses the difficulties that have hampered the peace process in Somalia, and argues that a "bottom-up" peacebuilding effort -- built around the initiative of grassroots actors -- might be a more effective solution.
• Drought, Famine, and Conflict: A Case from the Horn of Africa This case study examines the interplay betweeen drought, famine, and conflict; the author argues that each exacerbates the others, making all three especially difficult to solve. Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan are examined as examples.
• The Ethiopia-Eritrea Peace Process: Teetering on the Brink  This essay explains the background of the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea and examines the peace process that has been going on for the last six years.

South Africa

• History Education and Reform in Post-Apartheid South Africa  - Although the TRC began a healing process in South Africa, Desmond Tutu and many others believe that a further examination of that nation's history is key to reconciliation. This paper examines the need for and challenges of history education as a means of rememberance of the past since the end of apartheid in South Africa and makes recommendations for improvement.
• Reconciliation through Restorative Justice: Analyzing South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Process  - This is a case study of the South African TRC.  It examines how the TRC came to be, how it worked, and assesses its strengths, weaknesses, and the lessons that can be drawn from it.  
• Sport: A Tool for Bridging Racial Divides in Present Day South Africa The Case Study of 2010 FIFA World Cup  - Under apartheid, sport in South Africa was segregated by race, which not only contributed to the blacks' oppression, but also resulted in the emergence of a powerful opposition and resistance tool, as South Africa was routinely expluded from major international sport competitions.  However, sport has emerged as a powerful tool for peacebuilding in post-apartheid South Africa.
• The Nature of Internal Boundary Disputes: A Case Study of Matatiele Provincial Boundary Demarcation Dispute, Province of the Eastern Cape, South Africa   This paper investigates the nature of internal boundary disputes using one such dispute in South Africa as an examine. The paper also looks into community conflicts that cause and are results of boundary disputes, particularly involving issues of access to resources and government services, identity, and culture. 

Sudan/South Sudan/Darfur

• Negotiating Peace for Darfur: An Overview of Failed Processes This essay evaluates the various attempts at peacemaking in Darfur, examining why they have failed and what will need to change if peace is to be achieved.
• Darfur: The Crisis Continues Darfur has sunk from the news, but not from its misery. While less violent than it had been, peace has not yet been achieved in Darfur. This Dec. 2012 article by Yousif, Brosche, and Rothbart explains why.
• Sudan and South Sudan: Post-Separation Challenges Authors Yousif and Rothbart analyze the current (Dec. 2012) relationship between the two countries. They survey the conflict over borders, the politics of oil, and the economic trade war that emerged following South Sudanese independence. Clearly, much work lies ahead before either country is stable and peaceful.
• The First National South Sudan Education Curriculum  - Even while it is still at war, South Sudan is trying to foster reconciliation though education as evidenced by its first national education curriculum.  Read here about how this is planned to work...and how it has worked so far.
• The Darfur Peace Process: Understanding the Obstacles to Success This article examines the history of efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the violent conflict in the Darfur region of the Sudan. The author points out ways in which attempts at peacemaking have been lacking, and makes suggestions for future endeavors.
• The Darfur Region of the Sudan The horror in Darfur was front-page news for months, yet the international community was unable (or unwilling) to stop the violence. Learn why the conflict in Darfur is so intractable.
• Peace Agreement is the Same Game for War and its Escalation in Sudan  - This article analyzes the Government of Sudan’s strategy of entering peace agreements with armed rebel groups in order to maintain political power, while at the same time orchestrating the continuance of conflict. 
• Peace Politics in Sudan  - This paper uses John Paul Lederach's notion of multiple lenses to examine the Darfur conflict from a variety of perspectives. 
• Religious Actors in Sudan  - This article examines post-referendum negotiations and peacebuilding efforts with respect to the role of religious actors. While the dominant liberal peace paradigm is skeptical about the relevance of religion in political affairs, this author argues that religious actors often traverse the division between the grassroots and elite political actors. Religious actors also live with ordinary people and have often provided them with services in the absence of government structures. For that reason, the author argues, they should have a major role in post-conflict peacebuilding efforts. 
• The Case of Disarmament in South Sudan  - This essay addresses the challenges of post–war disarmament looking specifically at programs initiated by the government of the Republic of South Sudan to disarm civilians, which, due to a variety of factors described in the essay, have not been successful.
• Community Peacebuilding and Performing Arts in Northern Uganda: Reflections from the Field In Uganda, the site of protracted violence for more than two decades, a variety of contemporary and indigenous forms of creative expression were created by local artists and shared widely among war-affected communities. Drawing from more than six years of experience in this field, and the musical and theatrical works of a variety of local artists, this essay provides three reflections on performing arts’ contribution to community-based peacebuilding in northern Uganda.
• An Interactive Media: Reflections on Mega FM and Its Peacebuilding Role in Uganda In stark contrast to the radio stations that escalated the Rwandan Genocide, Mega FM in Uganda is a strong voice for peace. This article describes their programming and how it has led to de-escalation and conflict transformation in one of the brutal rebellions in Africa.
• ​​ Gender, Violence, and Peacebuilding in Northern Uganda  - Without falling into the “women as victims” paradigm, this article details the complex issue of gender-based violence within IDP camps in northern Uganda. It goes on to suggest ways in which peacebuilding efforts could better promote a sustainable peace, both in Uganda, and worldwide.
• ​ Shadowy Renditions: Reflections on the Conflict in Northern Uganda Northern Uganda is often perceived to be a region under relentless siege by a brutal rebel militia. This perception is not inaccurate; however, the media's oversimplification of the conflict and dehumanization of the militia has increased -- not decreased -- the intractability of the situation.
• The Acholi Traditional Approach to Justice and the War in Northern Uganda This essay discusses the impact of the Northern Ugandan war on civilians and examines whether the traditional Acholi approach to forgiveness and reconciliation is beneficial in that extreme situation and how it relates to Western approaches to justice.
• The Power of Storytelling: Personal Reflections On  Ododo Wa , a Storytelling Project of War-affected Women in Northern Uganda
• The Role of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative in Uganda's Peacebuilding Among the many NGOs working to resolve the conflict in northern Uganda, one group of diverse religious leaders is unique, and has effected significant change. This paper discusses the accomplishments of that group -- the Acholi Religious Leader Peace Initiative -- and also discusses the challenges that the group faces moving forward.
• ‘Forgiveness is our culture’: Amnesty and reconciliation in northern Uganda . This paper examines the assertion by religious and cultural leaders in northern Uganda that continued extension of amnesty to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels is part of their ‘culture’. Examining ‘everyday life’ in one of the Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camps where amnesty is granted to former captives and soldiers of the LRA, the author considers the traditional coping mechanisms available to victims and the implications of forgiveness in a setting of fear.
• When Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clash: Can Both Prevail Together?  This essay examines the difficulties inherent in pursuing justice and peace (or human rights and conflict resolution) goals simultaneously.  Both are necessary for lasting peace, yet they often are at odds with each other in terms of goals and actions.  These challenges are examined in the context of Bosnia and Uganda. 
• Substantiating the Claim: Establishing the Effectiveness of a Post-Conflict Directory  - This is the final article in Hook's four-part series on Directory-Oriented Peacebuilding in which she applies the idea to the aftermath of the Ugandan Civil War. The first three articles are not location specific, so they are in the "essay section" of BI.  However, they are also linked at the beginning of this case study.
• The Power and Risks of Conversation in Zimbabwe This case study describes one of the authors' peacebuilding work in Zimbabwe, where he found that facilitating conversations was a good way to stimulate conflict transformation. The essay also includes a broader examination of the power of conversation as a peacebuilding tool.
• Addressing Past Injustices in a Wounded Zimbabwe:  Gukurahundi  - Gukurahundi was the massacre of about 20,000 people in Zimbabwe, perpetrated by government forces against "dissidents" that took place in the 1980s.  The author of this case study contends that reconciliation has not yet occurred.  To attain such, he argues, peacebuilding based on truth-telling and acknowledgement must occur.
• Exploring the Role of Collective Memory for Reconciliation:  A Comparative Case of Guatemala and Cambodia  This paper explores how collective memory (the memories of a group generated through shared experience and values) can be used post-trauma for healing and reconciliation.
• Justice for Cambodia? Lessons from the Khmer Rouge Tribunals for the Future Direction of International Criminal Justice This article examines the Extraordinary Chambers of the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) -- the tribunal recently created to try Khmer Rouge leaders for the Cambodian "killing fields." It not only examines the potential effectiveness in the Cambodian
• Conflict Over Tibet: Core Causes and Possible Solutions This article describes the conflict between China and Tibet and recommends nonviolent ways in which this conflict might be transformed.
• context, but also the larger role of hybrid local/international tribunals in the context of the ICC and other war crimes tribunals.
• Unraveling the Mindanao Conflict through the Lens of John Paul Lederach’s Psalm 85 Framework  - Lederach's Psalm 85 framework looks at the intersection of truth, justice, peace, and mercy as four components of reconciliation.  This article examines the history and current (as of 2013) of the Mindanao conflict, and then considered how these four elements play a role in the ancestral domain argument made by separatists and the economic hardships in Mindanao.
• Spreading the Culture of Peace through Family Traditions and Family Values: The Case of Mongolia This case study is a fascinating exploration of basic Mongolian cultural values and their potential impact on Mongolia's ability to avoid ethnic tensions and war.
• Globalization  - With a focus on Sourth Korea and the WTO. 

Afghanistan:

• ​ Conflict Analysis: Afghanistan Since 2001  - The paper is based on the International Alert conflict assessment framework.The paper begins with analysis and a discussion of historical dynamics, actors, structures and international interventions, which are followed by discussion of the root causes. It will provide an overview of the current trends (circa 2015), impediments, and recommendations to address the conflict.
• Peacebuilding in Afghanistan  - This is another analysis of the conflict in Afghanistan and what peacebuilders must do to being to unravel this very complex and intractable conflict.
• Leadership and Strategic Peacebuilding in Afghanistan  - This paper will describe the need for Afghan leadership to redefine power as something to be shared (rather than a zero-sum game), and as useful for building peace.  The paper further defines a strategic leader as someone who has a vision and a systems-thinking approach to peacebuilding. The next paper is a follow-on to this one.
• Leading Peace with Information and Strategy in Afghanistan  - This paper reviews the situation in Afghanistan in 2015 and then calls on Afghan leaders to utilize information and strategy to learn about the needs of people. By developing evidence-based yet creative responses to the current crises, they can improve the current situation as well as the longer-term. 
• Women as Active Partners: Building Peace in Afghanistan This case study shows how Afghan women are playing a part in the construction of a just and fair society, despite the continued tenuousness of their official social and political status.
• Internal Displacement: Simplifying a Complex Social Phenomenon  - Focusing on Kashmir , this paper seeks to provide a systematic and a holistic understanding of the myriad issues that surround internally displaced persons and to explain the IDP phenomenon as an event that is not only triggered by conflicts in most situations, but as one that can potentially become a cause for conflicts in subsequent phases of displacement.
• Kashmir: The Clash of Identities The conflict in Kashmir is multi-faceted and deep-rooted. This paper explores the conflict in detail, and then suggests a series of incremental goals that might be pursued in order to resolve the conflict.
• Development, Democratization, Good Governance and Security: A Case Study of Burma / Myanmar Burma/ Myanmar has been changing very rapidly. This 2012 case study briefly examines Burma's history and the governance changes that have taken place over the last two years. Bergen then goes on to consider what challenges lie ahead and how these might best be met.
• The Potential for and Challenges of a Local Peace Committee (LPC): A Study of the District Level Peace Forum in Kavre, Nepal This article, written by the secretary (the administrative officer) of the Local Peace Committee in the Kavre District of Nepal, talks of the challenges and successes of those local peacebuilding structures. It also recommends additional steps that could be taken to make such local peacebuilding bodies more effective.
• Root Causes of Conflict in Baluchistan,  Pakistan  - The conflict in Baluchistan is protracted and extremely complex. This article examines the historical, political, and social factors that have caused this conflict to spiral out of control. 

Central Asia

Conflict Transformation and Strategic Peacebuilding in Central Asia This case study examines the importance of economic and social security in peacebuilding. By examining the post-Soviet societies of Central Asia (the "stans"), the author explores the hypothesis that peaceful transitions to democracy are more likely to be stable if the state economy is strong and the opportunities for personal security and well-being are high.

• Russia as a Divided Society: a Look at the North Caucuses  - Written by a Russian scholar, this essay examins the post-war situation in Chechnya and the Russian Federation. 

Peacebuilding in Tajikistan This essay discusses ways of building trust -- and through that -- peace in Tajikistan.

• A Civil Alternative: An Evaluation of the IOM KPC Program This article describes and evaluates the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), which was a defense organization designed to facilitate the demilitarization, demobilization, and reintegration of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
• Conflict in Ukraine from the European Point of View   - This paper presents the impact of the crisis in Ukraine on the European Union’s foreign and domestic policies, especially the underlying consequences for Central and Eastern Europe, from a strategic policy point of view. It then identifies missing points in the EU’s approach and give recommendations.
• A Case Study of the Minsk II Accords  - This paper uses the theories of realism and the spoiler problem to conclude that the lack of consideration given to Russian and American interests in the Minsk II Accords were largely responsible for their failure. 
• Culture Clash: Moroccan and Turkish Muslim Populations in the Netherlands  - This is a basic conflict assessment of the cultural conflict between Moroccan and Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands with local populations.
• The Franco-German Relationship: From Animosity to Affinity  -- An examination of how France and Germany transformed their relationship from long-term enemies to strong allies--a story of successful reconciliation unlike most others.
• Kurds in Turkey: Building Reconciliation and Local Administrations This paper recounts the history of the conflict between the Turkish government and the Kurdish community living in Turkey, and proposes specific strategies that could be taken by both groups in order to resolve it.
• La France aux Français (France to the French, National Front discourse from the 1980s)  - This case illustrates the ongoing identity conflict, struggle and tension that exist in contemporary France, a deeply divided society. The divisive split along the lines of French national identity and that of the ethnically and religiously different Muslim community, in particular those of North African origin, is examined as of early 2011.
• Reconciliation in Bosnia Almost everyone living in Bosnia has deep emotional scars from the war. Despite their suffering, perpetrators and victims have to learn to work together to rebuild their country.
• Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina  - This second case study, written in 2017, is not as optimistic as the first--it argues that ethnic groups remain estranged and largely unwilling to work together to pursue stable peace.
• Reconciliation in the Ukraine-Russia Conflict  - This case study examines the Holodomor (the Russian genocide of Ukrainians in the 1930s and examines the impact of that event and responses to it through the years since, including the present Russia-Ukraine conflict.
• The Question of Cultural Genocide and Racism: Personal Reflections on the Case of Northern Cyprus In addition to the tensions between Greeks and Turks on Cyprus, Ulas also explains that there is significant tension between Turks and Turkish Cypriots. In this piece, Ulas suggests that Turks are slowly destroying the Turkish Cypriot culture in an act that he suggests could be considered "cultural genocide".
• Northern Ireland: A Deeply Divided Society Conflict Assessment and Recommendations for Conflict Regulation and Transformation  - This paper assesses the conflict in Northern Ireland, examines the peace negotiations and the resulting power-sharing system and makes recommendations for the continuance of a stable peace with an ultimate goal of reconciliation.
• Roma Marginality in the European Union: An Examination of Divisions in European Society  - The Roma, with an estimated population of between ten and twelve million, are Europe’s largest and most marginalized ethnic population. They have faced hundreds of years of racism, persecution, and discrimination in all facets of life. This paper examines the reasons for the division between Roma and non-Roma in Europe and explores potential ways to transform the conflict.
• Peacebuilding Around World War II: An Approach To Emotional Healing And Social Change This article describes a reconciliation workshop that took place in Germany, involving German Holocaust survivors and their descendants, perpetrators' descendants, and others who are still affected by the history of World War II. The workshop helped the participants to reach a better understanding of their shared humanity, and to become reconciled with each other and with themselves. It is co-listed as a personal reflection and a case study.

Latin America

• Creating a Sacred Space: Cuban Reconciliation and the Catholic Church This essay examines the role of the Roman Catholic Church in fostering reconciliation between Cuban refugees now living in the U.S. and Cuban citizens still living in Cuba. Though hostilities between these two groups used to be strong, the church is making considerable progress in bringing families and larger communities together.
• Cultural Anesthesia in Colombia This short case study of the violence in Colombia asks why the population hasn't risen up against the continued violence.
• Deeply Divided Brazil  - This case study examines the wealth and income inequality in Brazil, and the conflicts that have resulted from that.  It then continues to look at approaches for transforming these conflicts and the underlying inequality.
• Guatemala: Guerrillas, Genocide, and Peace  - This case study examines the civil war in Guatemala and the aftermath, recommending further steps that might be taken to acheive a sustainable peace.
• Peacebuilding from the Grassroots: Equity Conciliation and Conflict Transformation in Colombia Conflict resolution efforts that attempt to work in cooperation with -- rather than in opposition to or in ignorance of -- the local culture in which a conflict is occurring are much more likely to succeed. Colombian culture already contains several powerful conflict resolution mechanisms, which may hold great potential for effecting lasting change. This case study focuses particularly on a mechanism called equity conciliation.
• The Chilean Truth and Reconciliation Commission The Chilean truth commission held after Pinochet lost power was not as successful as many had hoped, yet it did have significant impacts at both the individual and national level. This case study examines what the truth commission did, and what the short- and longer-term impacts were for individuals and for Chile as a whole.
• No Peace Dividend for Guatemala and the Irony of this Failure  - This essay examines the history of peace negotiations in Guatemala and then examines the failure to carry out their promise.

Middle East

• Reconciliation in the Aftermath of the Yezidi Genocide -  Reconciliation in the case of Yezidis is a process of transformation that involves dealing with the preconditions of protracted social conflicts through the intersection of truth, justice, peace and mercy at the communal, intercommunal and state level.
• East Versus West: Reconciliation in Post-War Jerusalem  - This case study, written by a Palestinian now living in the U.S., argues that the two-state solution is "dead," and the only way to reconcile this long-lasting conflict is to realize that citizens of both cultures will need to learn to live together in harmony in a unified state.
• Moving Beyond: Interreligious Dialogue in Lebanon This article describes interreligious dialogue in Lebanon which, the author finds, provides a key to peacebuilding by creating space for people to be heard and accepted by "the other." The author describes her own dialogue experiences, explaining both its effects on her, and the wider effect of dialogue on the society as a whole.
• The Bedouins in Israel's Negev Desert: Ubiquitous yet Invisible to the Dominant Society The Bedouins of the Negev region of Israel exist on the margins of Israeli society, culture, and law. The authors discuss the challenges facing this disenfranchised population. This article is co-listed as a personal reflection and a case study.
• How a Document Determines Which Palestinian You Are In a very personal essay, the author explains the day-to-day hardships faced by all Palestinians and explains why she believes a one-state solution is the only possible answer for the Palestinians' problem.
• My Neighbor Is A Terrorist: Peacebuilding, Drones, and America's Presence in Yemen In this cross between a case study and a personal reflection, Allyson Mitchell reflects on the impact of US drone attacks in Yemen. Looking at the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki in particular, and other attacks that have involved civilian casualties, Mitchell concludes that peacebuilding in Yemen cannot succeed if US drone strikes continue.
• The Role of Iraqi Refugees and Expatriates in Peacebuilding through Governance This article describes the plight of Iraqi refugees who have not been able to return home to Iraq, yet have not been able to make successful lives for themselves in their host countries. The author considers what needs to happen to allow the refugees successful return to Iraq.

North America

• Reconciliation through Dialogue: Dialogue Circles and Reconciling Racism on the Eastern Shore of Maryland -  A description of how Community Mediation Maryland and its associated community mediation centers have successfully used dialogue circles to address racism, particularly against blacks.
• The US Government Has a Long Way to go with Reconciliation: Japanese Internment Camps  - Kupersmith applied John Paul Lederach's concept of the reconciliation "meeting place" of truth, justice, peace, and mercy to assess to what degree the United States has and has not reconciled with Japanese Americans after World War II.
• The Three R’s: Religion, Relationships, and Reconciliation: A Case Study of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in America  - This case study examines the transition of Mormons in America from a violently persecuted minority to one that is broadly accepted--even admired.  The transition of this conflict into the post-conflict stage demonstrates that interpersonal relationship,s along with governance practices that support equality, are among the most significant factors in moving a conflict towards reconciliation.
• Everyday Third Siders Minimizing Conflict This essay is a personal account of how everyday people can fulfill the role of Third Siders to help minimize conflict and make the world a more peaceful place.  While it could be set anywhere, this particular essay is set in the United States.
• Labor Conflicts: The Case of Two Supermarket Strikes In 2003, California endured the longest supermarket strike in U.S. history. This article discusses labor conflict in the U.S. and how to avoid stalemates like the one in California.
• Locating Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Global Trends This article describes the truth and reconciliation commission that has been instituted to examine the treatment of aboriginal populations in Canada's "Indian Residential Schools." The author examines the problems and benefits of this effort, and how it relates to other TRCs around the world. The Canadian TRC is a critical case for analysis due to the fact that it is located outside the normal political dimensions for the use of truth commissions, it is focused on historical crimes committed against an indigenous population, and it lacks a justice mandate.
• Re-Storying Canada's Past: A Case Study in the Significance of Narratives in Healing Intractable Conflict This article explores the value of culturally-constructed narratives in the peacebuilding process. Specifically, the author discusses the part that consonant and dissonant narratives have played in the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
• Red/Blue Polarization Across the United States, there is talk of the red/blue divide. Is this politics as usual or has the rift between Democrats and Republicans become intractable?
• Red vs. Blue: An examination of modern American polarization  - This 2010 paper examines the causes of the U.S political polarization and then considers possible remedies.
• Globalization   This article introduces the conflict dynamics behind globalization with a focus on South Korea and the WTO.
• Peacebuilding and the War on Terror: The U.S. Drone Program This article argues that "in its current state, the U.S. drone policy does little to build peace and may in fact contribute to recruitment. As a result, the U.S. public cannot be complacent about allowing drone strikes to continue unabated. The Obama administration should curb its targeted killings and overhaul the drone program. Even beyond simply fixing the drone program, the United States must also review its long-term strategy in the War on Terror."
• Strategic Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation: The Catholic Contribution to Peace This essay tempers the popular idea that religion engenders violent conflict, by citing many examples in which religion (specifically the Roman Catholic Church and related entities) has worked to promote and sustain peace.
• The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme  - Kimberley Process is a a multi-stakeholder collaborative effort between governments, civil society, and the diamond industry, introduced in 2003, and designed to regulate the rough diamond trade in order to eradicate conflict diamonds. This article reviews the problem of "conflict" or "blood diamonds," describes how the Kimberly Process came to be, and examines lessons learned so far (the paper was written in 2011).
• The Role of International Publicity Some NGOs try to utilize the threat of negative international publicity to prevent war crimes and other violations of human rights. This essay examines the methods of three NGOs who use this approach: Christian Peacemaker Teams, Peace Brigades International, and Witness for Peace. It examines their "theories of change" and the extent to which those theories lead to effective practice.
• We’ve Looked But Not Seen: War on Queers and LGBTIcide  - This paper explores whether LGBTI individuals and groups are recognized as a distinct minority group and whether violence against LGBTI groups and individuals is accounted for in several indices that measure peacefulness. The objective of this paper is to help peacebuilders, practitioners, academics, and many others understand the gaps in these indices, and to highlight the way in which this silence reinforces violence against LGBTI individuals and groups. 
• Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation The conventional wisdom is that reconciliation can only begin once a peace agreement has ended the conflict (at least temporarily). However, if one adopts the perspective of conflict transformation, rather than conflict resolution, then reconciliation becomes a crucial part and parcel of conflict transformation. Along that line of thinking, this essay aims to examine how reconciliation can fit into the framework of conflict transformation.
• Catholic Strategic Peacebuilding: The Unique Role of the Laity This article examines the Catholic Church's involvement in peacebuilding and how it must engage its strongest asset, the laity, more intentionally in order to influence the world's culture towards peace.

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The Intractable Conflict Challenge

Our inability to constructively handle intractable conflict is the most serious, and the most neglected, problem facing humanity. Solving today's tough problems depends upon finding better ways of dealing with these conflicts.   More...

Selected Recent BI Posts Including Hyper-Polarization Posts

• Democracy Lighthouse + More on Communicating with Friends and Family -- Sharing several new ideas that have come to us recently on controlling affective polarization and threats to democracy from the family level on up.
• Massively Parallel Peace and Democracy Building Links for the Week of June 23, 2024 -- More useful and interesting reading from colleagues and others in allied fields.
• Democratic Subversion - Part 2 -- Part 2 of 2 newsletters looking at an old, but eerily accurate, description of political events in the United States over the last ten-twenty years, explaining why we are well on our way to a destroyed democracy and what we can do about it.

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A free, open, online seminar exploring new approaches for addressing difficult and intractable conflicts. Major topic areas include:

Scale, Complexity, & Intractability

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An look at to the fundamental building blocks of the peace and conflict field covering both “tractable” and intractable conflict.

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Managing conflict in the modern workplace

Read our latest research on conflict management in the modern workplace, covering the challenges people professionals face, insights to act upon, and links to further guidance for people managers.

Our research on conflict management examines the current state of working relationships in UK organisations. It draws on the views and experiences of employers and employees, gathered from surveys and focus groups conducted by YouGov.

The findings highlight the critical issue of bullying and harassment in UK workplaces, and the devastating impact unfair treatment can have on individuals and organisations.

While the research is based on UK data, the broader implications should be of interest wherever you are based.

Download the report below

What do the findings mean for people professionals?

The findings are particularly pertinent for people professionals, given that conflict is part and parcel of organisational life.

Yet our research reveals a continued reliance on formal processes and procedures to resolve conflict, as well as a gap in how well  employers and people managers  think they deal with conflict, compared with the experiences of  employees  who’ve been on the receiving end of it.

Importantly, people managers are just as likely to exacerbate a conflict situation as they are to resolve it.

This conflict can, if unaddressed, fester to the point at which the formal disciplinary route appears to be the most reasonable course of action.

The report highlights the key challenges people professionals face in helping their organisations handle conflict effectively. The emphasis is on recognising and nipping conflict in the bud, responding quickly and sensitively to complaints, and ensuring people managers are equipped to manage conflict accordingly.

Guidance for people managers

Managing people is a demanding job which typically comes with a host of other responsibilities (only one of which is conflict management); performing these on top of one’s operational role can be challenging. 

Failure to provide managers with ongoing support, expertise and guidance makes the task even more daunting. 

Yet people managers need to recognise that they too, as our research finds, can play a leading role in conflict – sometimes even going so far as to cause it. 

For this reason, we’ve put together guidance to help managers proactively identify and manage conflict so that they can become part of the solution – not the problem. 

Use the guide

Tackling barriers to work today whilst creating inclusive workplaces of tomorrow.

Bullying and harassment

Discover our practice guidance and recommendations to tackle bullying and harassment in the workplace.

More on this topic

Dedicated analysis of job quality and its impact on working lives in Scotland

The CIPD Good Work Index provides an annual snapshot of job quality in the UK, giving insight to drive improvement to working lives

10 May, 2024

Learn how to implement various employee benefits as part of a wider reward strategy

More reports

A Northern Ireland summary of the CIPD Good Work Index 2024 survey report

A Wales summary of the CIPD Good Work Index 2024 survey report

A North of England summary of the CIPD Good Work Index 2024 survey report

Resolving Conflict: A Case Study

by Catherine Mattice Mar 3, 2020

One of our clients had two employees who were struggling to get along. Both employees were key contributors, and the business owner was desperate for them to resolve their differences.

It all started when one employee (I’ll call her Susan) was quick to email out policy changes, which the other employee (I’ll call her Tiffany) perceived as snooty. On the flip side, Susan perceived Tiffany as gregarious and outspoken.

Over time, conflict erupted about every little thing. One didn’t acknowledge the other in the hall; fireworks. One didn’t answer the phone on time; fireworks. And on it went.

The owner was at a loss.

She was stressed, the conflict was lowering productivity for the two employees, and the tension was affecting the whole workplace. 

This was a job for our resident DISC trainer and coach , Toni . DISC is a leading assessment tool used to assist individuals in understanding their own communication preferences and develop skills for effectively communicating with others. Toni is our experienced conflict mediator (and all around amazing chick).

Resolving Conflict

Both employees took the DISC assessment, and Toni met with each to review their results report.

Toni also put together a collaborative report, which juxtaposes the profiles and provides tools for each to communicate effectively with the other.

In one – yes you read that right – in ONE MEDIATION MEETING, the employees were able to resolve much of their conflict and set ground rules for communicating with each other moving forward. 

Toni finds that DISC cuts through a lot of “stuff” that can usually take several meetings to uncover. Holding a DISC report in their hands makes it easier for people to own their behavior, rather than having to spend several meetings getting people to see that the behavior even exists in the first place.

As a result of the mediation and DISC reports, Susan and Tiffany could see the differences in their communication styles and understand the natural areas where conflict was bound to erupt. 

Susan could see that Tiffany naturally likes to build relationships. Tiffany could see that Susan naturally focuses on procedures. Where Tiffany might share a change in policy by showing up at your desk to tell you about it, building a relationship with you in the meantime, Susan is focused on getting the procedure out clearly and concisely, seemingly without relationships on the mind at all. 

Knowing this, the employees could take responsibility for their part and develop plans for change.

And, the business owner can use the tool post-mediation. She can refer the employees to their results and provide ongoing coaching without Civility Partners’ help. 

Neat, right?

Situations like this one are bound to happen in any organization.

Even in our small office where employees are in speaking distance of each other, where we have regular team meetings, and where we get along quite well – things happen.

While our open office concept can foster collaboration, it doesn’t necessarily ensure effective communication.

Register for our March 19 webinar if you want to:

• Learn more about DISC
• Gain insight on your communication preferences
• Get some tools for conflict resolution
• Understand how DISC profiles tie into employee engagement, or
• Brush up on personal leadership skills.

Our webinar’s going to be packed with all that and more. 

When it comes to communication, we could all use a little insight and a little self-awareness. It really does play a major role in creating and sustaining a collaborative company culture.

See you on the webinar!

P.S. Join us and get some Q&A time with Toni. Ask her your burning questions about conflict resolution and she’ll no doubt have an inspiring answer.

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Peace and Conflict Studies: Evolution, Relevance, and Approaches for Change

Originally emerging from the amalgamation of varied disciplines, the field of Peace and Conflict Studies has evolved and transformed throughout the years. In its current configuration, it boasts a plethora of analytical tools, theories, and formal as well as informal processes for achieving lasting peace. The following paper details the different historical phases making up the field. It also explores international war, deconstructs conflict, examines theories of Peace and Conflict Studies, and distinguishes between conflict management, resolution, and transformation. It additionally elaborates on informal methods for conflict resolution while making the case for multileveled and collective efforts to transform societal structures, cultures, and mindsets, and to instill transformative peace

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Mohammed Saaida

This comprehensive discourse explores the vital realm of conflict resolution applications within the ambit of peace studies. Conflict, an inherent facet of human interaction, has persistently challenged societies throughout history, hindering peaceful coexistence and impeding collective progress. The study delves into the theoretical foundations and practical implications of conflict resolution paradigms, elucidating their instrumental role as essential constituents of peace studies. By fostering a profound understanding of these applications, this investigation advocates for proactive conflict transcendence, nurturing sustainable harmonious environments. Through a comprehensive analysis, the interplay between conflict resolution and peace studies is illuminated, emphasizing their pivotal symbiosis in ameliorating global affairs and establishing lasting tranquility.

Theophilus A D E N Y I Okechukwu

Thiyagaraja Waradas

berghof-handbook.net

Volker Boege

Jessica Hawkins

Exciting and transformative changes are taking place in the field of peace and conflict work. By expanding current paradigmatic thinking, more holistic interpretations of peace, methods for transforming conflicts, and implications for peaceworkers are being introduced. However, contrary to its intent, much of peacework is still predominantly conflict-focused. This runs the risk of contributing to further imbalance in conflictive systems, and missing important opportunities for transformation. This thesis seeks to counterbalance that tendency by providing an alternative approach to conflict analysis. Drawing on the epistemological framework of transrational peace philosophy and its corresponding method of elicitive conflict transformation, and combining this with assumptions underlying solution-focused practice, the proposed approach encourages practitioners to make experiences of peace the primary point of focus. To this end it asks: How can elicitive conflict transformation and solution-focused practice be brought together to enrich the current practice of elicitive peacework in constructive and innovative ways? Based on cross-disciplinary, literature-based research, coupled with a personal exploratory case study, this thesis expands on current practices by contributing a peace-focused approach. Augmented by practical application, conclusions are drawn which support the idea that a peace- focused approach may lead to more constructive processes than what has historically been the result of the dominant, problem-focused approach.

Peace and Conflict Studies

Kevin Clements

The world clearly needs some new ways of thinking about old problems and new ways of acting if we are going to survive into the 21st century. It is vital, therefore, that students of peace and conflict work out ways of harnessing the creative imagination of everyone so that all ...

Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi

Burak ERCOŞKUN , Emrah Konuralp

Although the themes of peace and conflict have been the central area of interest in almost all religions, cultures, and ethnic debates, the historical and empirical reality of peace has remained utopian when actual wars and conflicts are considered. This situation led to a limited number of thinkers who directly discussed peace. Their evaluations had been stuck into ideological boundaries and lost their connection with the empirical world. Departing from the hypothetical assumption that the content of “peace” has changed along with the modernity, the main objective of this study was to come to terms with the theme of peace from the works of the Enlightenment thinkers up to pioneers of Peace Studies. In this respect, methodologically speaking, this study examined the conceptualizations of peace in reference to the political philosophers like Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant and their contextual evolution through and in the contemporary era. In the final analysis, this examination sheds light on the transformation of peace understanding that no more interstate rivalry through the actions of political actors inspires the way out for peace. Nonetheless, a more comprehensive analysis of the social phenomena, including social change, justice, and structural violence, gives spirit to real peace.

Heidi Burgess

Assumptions Although the peace and conflict field has made great strides in the last 40 years, we believe that destructive conflict remains one of the greatest threats to human welfare. We simply must develop better ways of handling difficult and dangerous conflict situations, if large-scale catastrophes are to be averted. Based upon work already done in many different conflict-related fields, we now know a great deal about the nature of destructive conflict processes and more constructive alternatives. Yet, there are far too many situations in which this knowledge is not being translated into constructive conflict practices.

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5 Strategies for Conflict Resolution in the Workplace

• 07 Sep 2023

Any scenario in which you live, work, and collaborate with others is susceptible to conflict. Because workplaces are made up of employees with different backgrounds, personalities, opinions, and daily lives, discord is bound to occur. To navigate it, it’s crucial to understand why it arises and your options for resolving it.

Common reasons for workplace conflict include:

• Misunderstandings or poor communication skills
• Differing opinions, viewpoints, or personalities
• Biases or stereotypes
• Variations in learning or processing styles
• Perceptions of unfairness

Although conflict is common, many don’t feel comfortable handling it—especially with colleagues. As a business leader, you’ll likely clash with other managers and need to help your team work through disputes.

Here’s why conflict resolution is important and five strategies for approaching it.

Access your free e-book today.

Why Is Addressing Workplace Conflict Important?

Pretending conflict doesn’t exist doesn’t make it go away. Ignoring issues can lead to missed deadlines, festering resentment, and unsuccessful initiatives.

Yet, according to coaching and training firm Bravely , 53 percent of employees handle “toxic” situations by avoiding them. Worse still, averting a difficult conversation can cost an organization $7,500 and more than seven workdays.

That adds up quickly: American businesses lose $359 billion yearly due to the impact of unresolved conflict.

As a leader, you have a responsibility to foster healthy conflict resolution and create a safe, productive work environment for employees.

“Some rights, such as the right to safe working conditions or the right against sexual harassment, are fundamental to the employment relationship,” says Harvard Business School Professor Nien-hê Hsieh in the course Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “These rights are things that employees should be entitled to no matter what. They’re often written into the law, but even when they aren’t, they’re central to the ethical treatment of others, which involves respecting the inherent dignity and intrinsic worth of each individual.”

Effectively resolving disputes as they arise benefits your employees’ well-being and your company’s financial health. The first step is learning about five conflict resolution strategies at your disposal.

Related: How to Navigate Difficult Conversations with Employees

While there are several approaches to conflict, some can be more effective than others. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Model —developed by Dr. Kenneth W. Thomas and Dr. Ralph H. Kilmann—outlines five strategies for conflict resolution:

• Accommodating
• Compromising
• Collaborating

These fall on a graph, with assertiveness on the y-axis and cooperativeness on the x-axis. In the Thomas-Kilmann model, “assertiveness” refers to the extent to which you try to reach your own goal, and “cooperativeness” is the extent to which you try to satisfy the other party’s goal.

Alternatively, you can think of these axis labels as the “importance of my goal” and the “importance of this relationship.” If your assertiveness is high, you aim to achieve your own goal. If your cooperativeness is high, you strive to help the other person reach theirs to maintain the relationship.

Here’s a breakdown of the five strategies and when to use each.

1. Avoiding

Avoiding is a strategy best suited for situations in which the relationship’s importance and goal are both low.

While you’re unlikely to encounter these scenarios at work, they may occur in daily life. For instance, imagine you’re on a public bus and the passenger next to you is loudly playing music. You’ll likely never bump into that person again, and your goal of a pleasant bus ride isn’t extremely pressing. Avoiding conflict by ignoring the music is a valid option.

In workplace conflicts—where your goals are typically important and you care about maintaining a lasting relationship with colleagues—avoidance can be detrimental.

Remember: Some situations require avoiding conflict, but you’re unlikely to encounter them in the workplace.

2. Competing

Competing is another strategy that, while not often suited for workplace conflict, can be useful in some situations.

This conflict style is for scenarios in which you place high importance on your goal and low importance on your relationships with others. It’s high in assertiveness and low in cooperation.

You may choose a competing style in a crisis. For instance, if someone is unconscious and people are arguing about what to do, asserting yourself and taking charge can help the person get medical attention quicker.

You can also use it when standing up for yourself and in instances where you feel unsafe. In those cases, asserting yourself and reaching safety is more critical than your relationships with others.

When using a competing style in situations where your relationships do matter (for instance, with a colleague), you risk impeding trust—along with collaboration, creativity, and productivity.

3. Accommodating

The third conflict resolution strategy is accommodation, in which you acquiesce to the other party’s needs. Use accommodating in instances where the relationship matters more than your goal.

For example, if you pitch an idea for a future project in a meeting, and one of your colleagues says they believe it will have a negative impact, you could resolve the conflict by rescinding your original thought.

This is useful if the other person is angry or hostile or you don’t have a strong opinion on the matter. It immediately deescalates conflict by removing your goal from the equation.

While accommodation has its place within organizational settings, question whether you use it to avoid conflict. If someone disagrees with you, simply acquiescing can snuff out opportunities for innovation and creative problem-solving .

As a leader, notice whether your employees frequently fall back on accommodation. If the setting is safe, encouraging healthy debate can lead to greater collaboration.

Related: How to Create a Culture of Ethics and Accountability in the Workplace

4. Compromising

Compromising is a conflict resolution strategy in which you and the other party willingly forfeit some of your needs to reach an agreement. It’s known as a “lose-lose” strategy, since neither of you achieve your full goal.

This strategy works well when your care for your goal and the relationship are both moderate. You value the relationship, but not so much that you abandon your goal, like in accommodation.

For example, maybe you and a peer express interest in leading an upcoming project. You could compromise by co-leading it or deciding one of you leads this one and the other the next one.

Compromising requires big-picture thinking and swallowing your pride, knowing you won’t get all your needs fulfilled. The benefits are that you and the other party value your relationship and make sacrifices to reach a mutually beneficial resolution.

5. Collaborating

Where compromise is a lose-lose strategy, collaboration is a win-win. In instances of collaboration, your goal and the relationship are equally important, motivating both you and the other party to work together to find an outcome that meets all needs.

An example of a situation where collaboration is necessary is if one of your employees isn’t performing well in their role—to the point that they’re negatively impacting the business. While maintaining a strong, positive relationship is important, so is finding a solution to their poor performance. Framing the conflict as a collaboration can open doors to help each other discover its cause and what you can do to improve performance and the business’s health.

Collaboration is ideal for most workplace conflicts. Goals are important, but so is maintaining positive relationships with co-workers. Promote collaboration whenever possible to find creative solutions to problems . If you can’t generate a win-win idea, you can always fall back on compromise.

Considering Your Responsibilities as a Leader

As a leader, not only must you address your own conflicts but help your employees work through theirs. When doing so, remember your responsibilities to your employees—whether ethical, legal, or economic.

Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability groups your ethical responsibilities to employees into five categories:

• Well-being: What’s ultimately good for the person
• Rights: Entitlement to receive certain treatment
• Duties: A moral obligation to behave in a specific way
• Best practices: Aspirational standards not required by law or cultural norms
• Fairness: Impartial and just treatment

In the course, Hsieh outlines three types of fairness you can use when helping employees solve conflicts:

• Legitimate expectations: Employees reasonably expect certain practices or behaviors to continue based on experiences with the organization and explicit promises.
• Procedural fairness: Managers must resolve issues impartially and consistently.
• Distributive fairness: Your company equitably allocates opportunities, benefits, and burdens.

Particularly with procedural fairness, ensure you don’t take sides when mediating conflict. Treat both parties equally, allowing them time to speak and share their perspectives. Guide your team toward collaboration or compromise, and work toward a solution that achieves the goal while maintaining—and even strengthening—relationships.

Are you interested in learning how to navigate difficult decisions as a leader? Explore Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability —one of our online leadership and management courses —and download our free guide to becoming a more effective leader.

About the Author

A Case Study on Conflict: Restoring Safety in Student Relationships

Tier 1: building self-capacity, tier 2: managing conflict, tier 3: participating in conflict, restorative practices in action.

• From your point of view, what happened?
• What do you remember thinking at the time?
• How have you and others been affected?
• What feelings or needs are still with you?
• What would you like to happen next? (Clifford, 2015, p. 52)

Clifford, M. A. (2015). Teaching restorative practices with classroom circles. Center for Restorative Process.

Fronius, T., Persson, H., Guckenburg, S., Hurley, N., & Petrosino, A. (2016). Restorative justice in US schools: A research review. San Francisco, CA: WestEd Justice and Prevention Training Center.

Wachtel, T. (2016). Defining restorative. International Institute for Restorative Practices.

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Case Study: Resolving Serious Conflict between Team Members

Background : The members of your project team are in serious conflict. They have split into two camps. The last team meeting was a disaster with four members of the team sitting on one side of the table and the other four on the other side. You could feel the tension in the air. You ended the meeting after only 30 minutes as it was apparent nothing was getting resolved at that time. You scheduled another meeting for the following Wednesday as you needed time to prepare your strategy.

What’s Going On : You scheduled a meeting with each member of the team individually to understand what was going on from their perspective. During the individual meetings with the team members, you learned the following:

• Not all team members felt that they were heard in meetings and true consensus had not been reached in the past. Rather, team members felt that they were “pushed” into coming to agreement on solutions to past problems that arose on the project.
• During a few brainstorming sessions, team members felt that ideas were discarded in favor of ideas that were easy to do and no real brainstorming took place.
• Team members felt that some other members of the team were getting away with not completing tasks on time or of poor quality and that was impacting the workload of everyone else.

Early on in the project the team never worked through how conflict would be managed when it did arise on the project. You had collaborated with past teams about how conflicts would be managed but, given the quick start to this project, you didn’t do so this time. You had a feeling this might be a problem but had hoped for the best. There were also correct that you were probably not the best person to help get through this conflict as it involved you also.

Your Strategy : You got permission from the sponsor to bring in a facilitator to help the team (and yourself) work through the conflict and also determine how conflicts would be handled throughout the project. In addition, once that was accomplished, you were going to have a team meeting that was focused purely on team building activities and collaborating how the team would continue to work together to accomplish the project. This would include determining:

• Problem solving processes
• Decision-making processes
• Risk management processes
• How information will be shared between team members

You also wanted to spend time reviewing roles and responsibilities on the team to ensure you had the right people in the right roles and everyone felt comfortable with what had to be done on the project.

The day would end with dinner at a nearby restaurant.

You prepared an outline of the full-day team meeting and shared with the team. You received good feedback about the outline.

The All Day Team Event : The day of the all-day team meeting arrived. The project sponsor kicked off the event with a brief overview of the project the group had undertaken, highlighting its importance to the organization and alignment to long-term strategy. You then reviewed the agenda and introduced the facilitator. The day went well overall with minimal conflicts that arose. Those that did were managed by the facilitator. By having a facilitator, you were able to participate in the day’s events and provide your own thoughts and ideas. Plus, you were able to spend time building stronger relationships with the team which you knew would be key to a successful project moving forward.

The Next Month on the Project : Let’s skip ahead to a month after the all-day team event. While there were a few conflicts, they were resolved quickly. Additionally, when problems arose, the team came together and collaborated to find a solution. During a quick check-in after the first conflict during this time and after the first problem solving session, team members noted they felt much better about the process and felt that the team was working together much more effectively.

Six Months Later :  Six months later things are going well. The team is working together quite well and is highly performing. Problems are solved quickly and decisions are made collaboratively.

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Helping Students Manage Conflict

Answering questions designed to regulate emotions may make it easier for students to find solutions to common disagreements.

These days, our world is inundated with heated discussions, polarizing debates, tense protests, and culture wars, whether they be about abortion rights, gun control, affirmative action, climate change, the Russia-Ukraine war, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Discord is part and parcel of life. At a time when the nation is so divided, schools must do more to help students manage conflict. How can schools empower students to resolve conflicts with peers or adults?

Problem-solving is an emotion-regulation strategy of taking action to directly address an emotional situation. Think about 14-year-old Padma talking to a peer who called her names about how sad she felt. Or 17-year-old Alejandro encouraging his classmates to put more effort into their group project after being pressured to do the heavy lifting. Problem-solving empowers students to take charge of their emotional needs . It can increase students’ self-efficacy in problem resolution and prevent similar situations from happening again.

A powerful problem-solving tool for conflict resolution is students’ expressing their emotional needs to peers or adults in a clear and civil manner. Consider 16-year-old Chris, who feels angry and advocates his need for an apology from a peer who shoved him in the hallway. Or 13-year-old Max, who feels excluded and shares their need for meaningful social interactions. There are five evidence-based steps to problem-solving.

5 Problem-Solving Questions for Conflict Resolution

• What is the problem? Students state how they feel and perceive the situation. ”I” statements are a helpful communication tool for students to state behavior that bothers them without sounding unkind. For example, Chris can say, “I feel annoyed when you shove me without apologizing because it hurts.” Or Padma may say, “I feel sad when you call me fat because it puts me down.” Unlike “you” statements, “I” statements enable students to express their emotions and concerns without others shutting down.
• What are the solutions? Students identify what they need from the situation . They come up with different action steps that others can take to remedy the situation. For instance, Padma may expect an apology or want the name-calling to stop. Max may expect an invite to a social activity or want to tag along.
• What are the consequences? Students assess the helpfulness of each action step . What is good about this action step? What might be bad about this action step? Students choose an action step that is specific, reasonable, and doable for others. For example, Chris may want his peer to never push him, but accidents may occur in a crowded hallway. Alejandro may prefer his classmates to finish the remaining work themselves, but they may not know what to do, resulting in a bad grade for the group project.
• What is the best solution? Students state what they need out of the situation. ”I” statements are an effective communication tool in this case for students to state how others can meet their needs without sounding coercive. For instance, Max can say, “Can I go with you to the movies?” Or Alejandro may say, “I need us to work together on this project. Would you help write up the results?”
• What is the result? Students determine the helpfulness of their solution . If it is helpful, the problem is resolved. If it is not helpful, students could retry by returning to step one and perhaps enlist an adult they trust at school to problem-solve with them.

However, problem-solving requires time and effort to generate, select, and enact solutions. Problem-solving can also lead to frustration when the solution, or some part of it, is not within students’ control. Imagine that 18-year-old Cody, who feels trapped and is being made the subject of rumors, asks others to stop spreading or fueling them, but he has little control over their behavior. So, if students are fatigued or solutions are beyond their control, they should try other emotion regulation strategies (e.g., cognitive reframing, distraction, emotional support seeking) in tandem.

Conflict resolution through these problem-solving strategies is one way to help students manage minor disagreements with classmates. More serious disputes may require some degree of adult intervention. The bottom line is that all students should feel safe and accepted at school, no matter their race, gender, language, religion, or ability, especially amid the current contentious social-political landscape, and educators have to take steps to create this inclusive, welcoming environment.

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Conflict With Al-Shabaab in Somalia

Center for Preventive Action

Al-Shabaab in Somalia  remains one of al-Qaeda’s strongest and most successful affiliates. The terrorist organization continues to exploit the Somalian government’s limited state capacity and the country’s dire humanitarian crises to launch indiscriminate attacks against government forces, foreign peacekeepers, and civilians. Their goals are to destroy the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), rid their country of foreign forces, and establish a “Greater Somalia,” joining all ethnic Somalis across East Africa under strict Islamic rule. A joint United Nations and African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, now known as the African Union Transitional Mission to Somalia (ATMIS), the United States , and several East African nations have been actively involved in combating al-Shabaab since it rose to prominence in the early 2000s. However, al-Shabaab has proven its resilience against numerous counterinsurgency campaigns, posing a threat to the stability of Somali and the region.

The foundations of Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin, or al-Shabaab (“The Youth”), originated in the late 1980s when Somalis who had joined the Afghan mujahideen in the war against Russia returned home. The returned Somali fighters established a Salafi militant organization al-Ittihad al-Islami (AIAI) during this time. Shortly after, Somalia descended into civil war, culminating in the collapse of the Somali state in 1992. AIAI later dissolved and a group of its younger, hardline recruits joined forces with an alliance of sharia courts in south-central Somalia known as the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), serving as its enforcement wing.

In the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, the ICU expanded its control as efforts continued to re-form the Somali state. Despite the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in October 2004 in Kenya, the ICU gained control of Mogadishu in June 2006. At the request of the TFG, Ethiopia invaded Somalia and ousted the ICU from the capital in December. The invasion and subsequent two-year occupation by Ethiopian forces fueled public resentment and triggered the formal establishment of al-Shabaab and its ongoing insurgency.

Between 2006 and 2008, al-Shabaab asserted control over most of southern Somalia and grew its forces into the thousands. In 2007, the United Nations approved the creation of a regional peacekeeping force, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), to protect the recently re-established TFG in Mogadishu. By 2009, the Ethiopian military withdrew and was replaced by AMISOM forces. The introduction of foreign forces from across East Africa galvanized al-Shabaab to expand its operations beyond Somalia. On July 11, 2010, al-Shabaab launched its first foreign attack in Kampala, Uganda, killing seventy-six people in a series of suicide bombings.

The terrorist group reached its peak in 2011 when it controlled parts of the capital city of Mogadishu and the vital port of Kismayo. However, the group’s success proved short-lived as AMISOM and TFG forces were able to push al-Shabaab out of Mogadishu and several other urban centers in August. This was followed by a brief operation launched by Kismayo in October.

In an attempt to revitalize its insurgency, al-Shabaab announced their launched a four-day siege of a mall in Nairobi, Kenya that killed sixty-seven people, the deadliest terrorist attack in Kenya in over fifteen years. In March 2014, al-Shabaab killed one foreign national and injured several others in a nightclub attack in Djibouti, the first suicide bombing in the country’s history. In 2015, al-Shabaab killed 148 people at Garissa University College in Kenya after taking 700 students hostage during a 15-hour siege. In October 2017, twin truck bombings in Mogadishu widely believed to be perpetrated by al-Shabaab killed more than 500 people; five years later, over 100 more were killed at the same location. Between 2019 and 2020, al-Shabaab carried out a series of attacks in Mogadishu and northern Kenya, including an attack on a Kenyan military base housing U.S. forces that killed three U.S. servicemembers.

Al-Shabaab’s resilience was, in part, due to the faltering efficacy of the internationally-backed counteroffensive and weakening capacity of the Somali government. Despite regaining previously captured territories between 2012 and 2015, state and international forces struggled to maintain control in several areas, allowing militants to return. Al-Shabaab has also been known to abandon its bases to draw security forces into ambushes or distract them while launching attacks in the then less protected urban centers. The death toll for AU forces has been high with over 3,500 deaths incurred since the mission began in 2007. The inability to exact meaningful control of al-Shabaab and prospect of further casualties caused AMISOM forces to remain in their bases, conducting few offensive operations since 2016.

In consequence, AMISOM has sought to drawdown its presence in Somalia and transfer primary security authority to Somali forces. However, Somali forces face their own capacity issues, lacking sufficient equipment and training while contending with the infiltration of al-Shabaab in their ranks. For this and several other reasons, the transfer of responsibility has faced multiple delays and setbacks, with the African Union Peace and Security Council voting to extend AMISOM’s mandate until the end of 2021. However, AMISOM remained in place until April 2022, when it was replaced with the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). With around eighteen thousand troops, ATMIS serves as an extension of AMISOM and is not due to fully depart until the end of 2024. As of June 2023, 2,000 ATMIS forces have departed Somalia and the control of several military bases and key locations has been handed to Somali security forces.

Since its inception, al-Shabaab has capitalized on the feebleness of Somalia’s central government to seize control of large swaths of ungoverned territory. In June 2012, Somalia held indirect elections resulting in the establishment of a post-transitional government, the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Rapidly, the corruption and dysfunction that characterized the transitional government leeched into the FGS, paralyzing efforts to quell al-Shabaab as it began to regroup in 2013. In particular, the limited reach of government authority in the country’s expansive rural areas and discord between the federal government and member states deepened under the subsequent leadership of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, also known as “Farmaajo,” who further centralized state power after being elected in 2017. In 2021, political tensions reached a boiling point when protests surrounding the postponement of the presidential election scheduled for February erupted into violence, triggering fears of a renewed civil war. In May 2022, former leader Hassan Sheikh Mohamud defeated the incumbent president in an indirect election by parliament members.

In August 2022, Mohamud launched a “ total war " against al-Shabaab. The Somali president claimed the renewed military offensive would eliminate the terrorist organization in five months. The first phase of the offensive, launched in August 2023, concentrated on uprooting al-Shabaab’s gains in central Somalia, particularly the regions of Hirshabelle and Galmudug. The new offensive’s key attribute was providing support to local clans that were rebelling against al-Shabaab. The terrorist group’s popularity has deteriorated in these areas in recent years as they have stepped up repression and taxation of local communities, disregarding increased hardship due to a series of natural disasters. The first stage was the most effective offensive since 2016, expelling al-Shabaab from areas it had controlled for over a decade. However, concerns remain about Somalia’s ability to maintain its territorial gains as it looks to push into al-Shabaab’s traditional strongholds in southern Somalia.

Though the government offensive has weakened al-Shabaab’s hold on territory, it has not stopped the group’s attacks. In 2022, there was a 41 percent increase in al-Shabaab violence targeting civilians. Fleeing from government forces, some al-Shabaab fighters have reportedly started to move northward, where political instability in Puntland and Somaliland could provide an opportunity for al-Shabaab to expand its presence. Al-Shabaab has continued to exact a high toll on AU forces, such as the attack it launched on June 6, 2023 that killed fifty-four Ugandan peacekeepers at an AU base in Somalia. Al-Shabaab has also kept up attacks across East Africa, including numerous incursions into the border regions of Kenya and Ethiopia . Al-Shabaab’s continued activity in neighboring countries prompted leaders from Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya to announce their intentions to conduct “ search and destroy " operations in support of ATMIS and Somali forces in February 2023.

The United States has been involved in the fight against al-Shabaab for over sixteen years, the “glaring exception to U.S. involvement in post-9/11 conflict,” according to expert Sarah Harrison. Since 2003, the United States has conducted air strikes in support of Somali forces and has provided more than half a billion dollars in training and equipment since 2007. In 2008, the United States officially designated al-Shabaab a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). In December 2013, the United States sent a small team of military advisors to Mogadishu to assist AMISOM and Somali forces. Notably, the United States has been supporting a special forces unit within the Somali National Army, known as the Danab, who carry out targeted counterterrorism operations. The United States also remains the largest contributor of humanitarian aid to Somalia, providing over 1.3 billion dollars since October 2021.

The United States has particularly focused on conducting decapitation strikes against al-Shabaab’s leaders, such as in September 2014 when a U.S. air strike killed Ahmed Abdi Godane, the group’s then leader. The use of air strikes peaked under the Trump administration, who authorized more strikes than the three prior administrations combined. In 2017, President Donald Trump also deployed the first regular U.S. troops to Somalia since 1994, later withdrawn after the deaths of several U.S. personnel. After a brief pause in military support, the Biden administration redeployed hundreds of troops in 2022 and authorized a series of air strikes, resulting in the reported deaths of over 300 militants. Several other countries are involved in the Somali government’s campaign against al-Shabaab, including Turkey and the United Arab Emirates .

The decades-long humanitarian crisis in Somalia has both contributed to and been exacerbated by al-Shabaab’s insurgency. Over the past three decades, Somalia has faced multiple climate change-induced droughts , causing widespread famine. Five consecutive failed rainy seasons between 2021 and 2023 produced Somalia’s worst drought on record. This occurred in parallel with the Somali government’s renewed counteroffensive beginning in August 2022 which concentrated operations in the most drought-affected areas. Al-Shabaab has directly challenged government relief efforts, targeting food deliveries and water wells, as well as expanded its taxation and confiscation of livestock in communities under its control. This combination of factors has internally displaced millions of Somalians and triggered significant migration outflows to neighboring countries in East Africa.

On August 6, 2023, one year after President Mohamud declared total war against al-Shabaab, Somali forces announced the launch of the campaign’s second phase focused on uprooting the militants from its southern strongholds. This came shortly after a suicide bomber killed more than twenty Somali soldiers and injured sixty more in an attack on the military academy in Mogadishu on July 25. The second phase of the campaign also involved the adoption of new financial and ideological tactics, including providing amnesty for al-Shabaab fighters, announced on August 22.

However, the campaign has seen limited success. Not one month after the launch of the second phase, al-Shabaab claimed the deaths of 178 soldiers in an attack on a military base in central Somalia, forcing Somali forces to retreat from several towns and villages captured in months prior. On September 6, the Somali government announced a shift in strategy given the increased threats from al-Shabaab militants, re-adopting tactics from the first phase of the military campaign to support local community fighters. Despite setbacks, the Somali government reported in October that 1,650 militants had been killed and 550 more wounded since August.

Foreign forces continue to be a primary target of al-Shabaab. On September 17, militants ambushed a convoy of Ethiopian troops in western Somalia. While al-Shabaab claimed the deaths of 167 Ethiopian soldiers, Ethiopia claimed it was able to eliminate 50 al-Shabaab fighters. Al-Shabaab has also exploited the continued drawdown of ATMIS forces, killing eleven Somali soldiers in a roadside explosion on September 19 as AU forces began their second withdrawal. Heightened activity by the terrorist group caused the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to suspend the pull out of ATMIS forces for three months in November. On December 1, the UNSC also voted to lift the restrictions on weapons deliveries to Somalia, ending the decades-long arms embargo. On December 17, a joint U.S.-Somali military operation killed senior al-Shabaab leader Maalim Ayman, who was responsible for several high-profile attacks including the 2020 attack on Kenya’s Manda Bay airfield that resulted in the deaths of three U.S. servicemembers.

As the Somali government has looked to ramp up efforts to combat al-Shabaab, it has also had to contend with a crippling natural disaster and precarious political situation. After experiencing drought since 2021, torrential downpours beginning in October 2023 triggered widespread flooding. The flooding affected an estimated 2.48 million people, displacing 1.2 million and killing over one hundred Somalis. The specter of humanitarian disaster reached a fever pitch as 2024 loomed, with 37 percent of the population in need of humanitarian assistance, 3.8 million people internally displaced, and 4.3 million facing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Meanwhile, the breakaway state of Somaliland announced a Memorandum of Understanding with Ethiopia in December, granting the country access to its Red Sea port in exchange for Ethiopia’s recognition of its independence. Somaliland has long been a significant point of political destabilization in Somalia, having declared its independence in 1991 without formal recognition from any nation.

In January 2024, a UN helicopter crash landed in al-Shabaab-controlled territory in central Somalia, resulting the death of one passenger and capture of eight others.

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Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

Reppy Institute Fellows 2024-25

Our Reppy Fellows are master's, doctoral, and law students at Cornell who receive unique opportunities for professional networking and development in the field of peace and conflict studies. Meet the 2024–25 cohort. 

Ayesha Umaña Dajud

Ayesha is a J.S.D. student (Ph.D. in Law) focused on International Criminal Law and Human Rights Litigation. Her research focuses on political genocides. She does a comparative study of International Criminal Law and Latin American National Criminal Law, comparing the historical and political processes pursued in the International and Latin American systems. 

Basim Ali 

Basim is a second-year Master of Public Administration student at the Brooks School of Public Policy, concentrating in International Development Studies with a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. His research interests lie in the intersection of conflict resolution, strategic decision-making, and leveraging artificial intelligence to address global policy challenges. 

Dayra Lascano  

Dayra Lascano is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Government at Cornell University, specializing in International Relations with a minor focus on Comparative Politics. Her research focuses on understanding the conditions that promote successful cooperation among political leaders within Regional International Organizations (RIOs). 

Georgy Tarasenko  

Georgy Tarasenko is a PhD student in the Department of Government. He is interested in freedom as a theoretical and empirical phenomenon, focusing on non-democratic and illiberal politics. One of his research agendas examines wartime politics, specifically investigating Russian mercenary violence in Africa and the impact of casualties in the Russo-Ukrainian war on public opinion. 

Maria Alejandra Anaya Torres

Director's fellow.

Maria Alejandra is a J.S.D. candidate at Cornell Law School. Her research interests include interdisciplinary approaches to law, environmental justice, and human rights. Her dissertation focuses on examining the intersection between rights-based climate litigation, climate movements, and climate governance at the global level.

Paul Caruso 

Paul Caruso is a first-year MPA student at the Brooks School of Public Policy. Paul’s concentration is in Government, Politics, and Policy Studies, focusing on international affairs and peace studies. Paul’s research investigates the opportunities for conflict resolution and negotiation that shared climate crises present.  

Synia Taitt 

Synia Taitt is a first-year Ph.D. student in Cornell University's government department. Her research in American politics focuses on the intersection of social movements, linked fate, policies, and public institutions, such as policing.

Zorana Knezevic 

Zorana Knezevic holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of South Florida and an MA in International Human Rights from the University of Denver. Her research areas are at the intersection of conflict studies and human rights, human security, and georeferenced data. Zorana has conducted research on the why, when, and where civil war combatants engage in intentional cultural destruction (ICD). 

• Ramallah - Palestine
• +970-2-2941999

International Summer School 2024

The Conflict Studies Research Center at the Arab American University is excited to announce The International Summer School, an educational initiative that brings together international students from US academic institutions with local Palestinian students for an enriching academic and cultural experience.

This is the 2nd International Summer School program which is in collaboration with the Graduate Programs in International Affairs at The New School, NY. This year, the Summer School will take place in Amman, and the theme is ‘Palestine in Exile.

This is an open call for interested Arab American University students to apply.

Program Overview

This opportunity is for graduate students enrolled at AAUP.

Date: From June 20 to August 4, 2024

Location: Amman, Jordan

International Summer School Program:

The Program offers 2 graduate level courses (course descriptions below) and field visits:

1. Academic Courses: Participants will have the opportunity to enrol in courses that are eligible for academic credits. This year's courses include:

• Decolonizing Design/Space (3 credit hours):

Course description:

To understand the intricate systems and culture of control in a settler colonial context, one needs to decipher the socio-cultural space to unearth the tools of subjugation and control that the colonial power utilized for its control of local population.

In this course, we examine the lived space as a space for disclosing relations of subjugation, control, competition over land and resources, discourse framing, national identity, modernity, and urban planning…

The second part explores the diverse methods of research for a critical decolonial approach. Emphasis on narrative construction, planning and design as a manifestation of culture, the environment, and knowledge production.

• Politics of Exile (3 credit hours)

Course description

An intersectional analysis of the Politics of exile and the making of diasporic subjectivity. This course explores the diverse Palestinian diasporic being and explores the experiences, representations and implications of forced displacement and migration.  

In this course we build on theories of decoloniality, displacement, refugeeism, forced migration, colonization, globalization, and diasporic communities.

The course will study the diverse Palestinian diasporic experiences and their manifestations on the Palestinian community in Jordan, and the larger Palestinian nation. We will dwell on key themes such as identity formation, history, culture, memory and trauma, modes of resistance, politics of representation, culture, diasporic lived experiences, justice and social change… 

2. Field Trips : In addition to the academic courses, students will partake in field trips to various locations in Jordan.

Eligibility

We invite applications from Graduate students enrolled in the following programs at AAUP:

• Intercultural Communication
• Conflict Resolution
• International Relations
• Contemporary Public Relations 
• Media and Mass Communication
• International Law and Diplomacy

Application Details

• Course Enrollment Options: Applicants can choose to enroll in either one or both of the offered courses.
• Application Deadline: All applications must be submitted by June 15th, 2024.

How to Apply

Interested students should fill out the application by clicking here .

We look forward to your participation!

CONFLICT STUDIES RESEARCH CENTER

• School of Arts & Sciences
• College of Arts & Sciences
• Graduate Division
• College of Liberal and Professional Studies

• GREK7206 - Tragedy of War: Ancient Athenian drama and military conflict

Status A Activity SEM Section number integer 301 Title (text only) Tragedy of War: Ancient Athenian drama and military conflict Term 2024C Subject area GREK Section number only 301 Section ID GREK7206301 Course number integer 7206 Meeting times R 1:45 PM-4:44 PM Level graduate Instructors Emily Wilson Description In this graduate seminar, we will read several Athenian tragedies set in wartime or its immediate aftermath, including Aeschylus’ Persians, Sophocles’ Ajax and Philoctetes, and Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulis, Hecuba, and Trojan Women. We will discuss how these plays use or contrast with other Greek representations of military conflict (especially the Iliad), and we will trace the relationship between tragic representations of war and contemporary fifth-century warfare. Course number only 7206 Use local description No

University of Notre Dame

Center for Italian Studies

College of Arts and Letters

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Conflict and Assent: Lyric Communities

Time: Sat Jun 29, 2024, All Day (part of a series)

Location: Seminarzentrum L115-L116, Otto-von-Simson-Str. 26 & Zoom

Join us for an engaging conference exploring the dynamics of conflict and assent within lyric communities.

Sociological research has demonstrated how communities enact mechanisms to claim internal coherence and distinguish themselves from the outside. Lyric poetry can act as a privileged community-building mechanism in different respects: it can entail forms of protest within the same Gesellschaft, the creation of new languages within and beyond the national, the conquest of gendered spaces within traditions, the agonistic claim involved in imitation. Through lyric poetry, various forms of community formation can not only claim their coherence and consistency, but also powerfully demarcate boundaries and establish differences. The recent scholarly debate on lyric poetry has proposed transhistorical approaches based on the lyric genre’s unique performative features, potential of circulation, re-use and re-enactment of models and gestures. The workshop sets out to explore the potential of lyric poetry in imagining and enabling communities when representing conflict, enacting moments of tension, and creating outsiders, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era from a global perspective.

The workshop Rethinking Lyric Communities in Premodern Worlds , held at Christ Church (Oxford) in 2023, discussed transhistorical and transnational communities addressing questions of exegesis, the circulation of manuscripts and printed editions, and forms of collective writing and performance. This workshop aims to focus on the double-edged dimension of community formations, arguing that enabling communities involves internal and external conflicts to circumscribe and exclude other collective formations. The complex dynamics between conflict and assent will be explored through the transnational re-creation or epigonal re-use of traditional forms, the emergence of minorities in the public sphere and in national literary traditions, the transcription and publication of oral performances, and the emergence of queer identities.

In cooperation with: Center for Italian Studies - University of Notre Dame; Dahlem Humanities Center; EXC 2020 Temporal Communities; Italienzentrum – Freie Universität Berlin; Oxford Berlin Research Partnership.

For those who would like to attend virtually, please contact [email protected] by Thursday 20 June 2024.

Thursday 27 June, Seminarzentrum L115-L116 (Otto-von-Simson-Str. 26)

10:30-10:45: Arrival and coffee

10:45-11:00: Introduction

11:00-12:30

Ardis Butterfield (Yale University), Superficial strife: the banality of violence in the medieval pastourelle

Laura Banella (Notre Dame), Transhistorical Lyric Communities and the Death of Dante-the-Author

Bernhard Huss (FU Berlin), Does a chameleon ever dissent? On literary masquerade, authorial self-fashioning and cultural community-building in Alberti's Rime

Corinna Dziudzia (Universität Erfurt), Practices of community among female poet laureates of the Early German Enlightenment

12:30-14:00: Lunch break

14:00-15:30

Brigitte Rath (Universität Innsbruck), Poetic Address and Lyric Communities: Sonnets addressing sonnets

Suchismito Khatua (Stanford University), Towards an Aesthetics of Pain: The Lyric Poetry of the Dalit Panther Poets

Jana Weiß (FU Berlin), Conflict/Community 1959. Lyric Alliances in the Light of Antisemitism

15:30-16:00: Coffee break

16:00-18:00

Karen Leeder (University of Oxford), ‘When will I say mine again and mean of all?’: Forms of resistance and community in post-socialist German poetry

Jacopo Galavotti (FU Berlin/Universitá di Verona), The imaginary court. Biography and poetry in Cosimo Ortesta

Hal Coase (Sapienza Università di Roma), ‘Which of the “yous” are “you.”’: lyric indifference in James Schuyler’s The Morning of the Poem

Alexander Kappe (Halle-Wittenberg), Technical languages in 20th-century and contemporary German poetry as ‚Communities of style‘ (Celan, Grünbein, Stolterfoht, Popp)

19:00: Dinner

Friday 28 June, EXC 2020 "Temporal Communities", Room 00.05 (Otto-von-Simson-Straße 15)

10:30-11:00: Arrival and coffee

11:00-13:00

Elisa Bisson (Notre Dame), Tempering Filelfo’s Milanese exegesis on Petrarch’s Fragmenta in Vat. Lat. 4786: a Florentine reading of the Commentary?

Andreas Mahler (FU Berlin), Performing Community in Non-petrarchist English Renaissance Love Poetry

Nicolas Longinotti (FU Berlin), Expanding communities: Misceláneas and lyric poetry in the Virreinato de Perú

Nikolina Hatton (Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität München), Violence, Sympathy, and Militant Puritanism in Anne Bradstreet’s “A Dialogue Between Old England and New”

13:00-15:00: Lunch break

15:00-17:00

Francesco Giusti (University Oxford), Shareable Language: Lyric Gestures and Poetic Code

Maren Jäger (FU Berlin), “Zaum is my national language”. Translingual lyric communities in times of conflict and war

Ana Rocío Jouli (FU Berlin/EXC 2020), Lyric Transgression and Archival Politics in the Documentary Poetry of Carlos Soto Román

Chiara Liso (FU Berlin/EXC 2020), ‘The writhing ist not Meister aus Germany’: Alliances and Ruptures in Uljana Wolf’s Translational Poetry

17:00-17:30: Conclusive remarks

17:30: Reception

Organized by Laura Banella (Notre Dame), Francesco Giusti (Oxford), and Nicolas Longinotti (FU Berlin).