February 12: More Analysis

Conflict: Ch. 4 "Sources"

This chapter dealt with the problem of identifying sources to conflict. It differentiated destructive conflict from general conflict in an effort to support the idea that the former is not inevitable. The author also explained two different views of the sources of conflict - social and personal - that have been used by many theorists to try to explain why conflicts occur. This chapter also dealt with the ideas of modernization and globalization and their possible effects on the occurrence of conflict, and more specifically destructive conflict. The author tries to relate the difficulty found in trying to determine the sources of conflict and then trying to change the structure of a society if those sources are found.
This chapter reminded me a lot of my Intro to PACS and Intro to Conflict Resolution classes because it talked about a lot of fundamental theoretical issues. I think this chapter is very important at this time because it talks about the problem of religious fundamentalism, which in the US is seen as an ever-growing threat (both from the Islamic world and evangelical Christians). At first, I thought the analysis of the Cain and Able story was ridiculous because of how deep it seemed to go, but I think the point the author was trying to get at with the story was important. For me, the author was saying that there are many different levels of analysis (Did the conflict come from Cain's jealous nature or the situation he was in?) and there are also different levels of resolution and prevention (Did the fault lie in his lack of recognition or his inability to control his jealousy?).

Conflict: Ch. 5 "Dynamics"

This chapter addresses the idea that conflict is always in a dynamic state. With so many variables that affect the course of a conflict, it is impossible for it to remain static. The author supports this idea with models and theories proposed by several different researchers in conflict and social theory. This chapter ties in many sociological concepts such as Cooley's "looking-glass self" and psychological concepts such as "schema".
While much of this chapter was review of both Intro to Conflict Resolution and Intro to Sociology, one term I had not heard of before was schema (large networks of related information). This concept is helpful in understanding conflict dynamics, especially in terms of enemy images. I liked that this chapter implicitly conveyed the importance of approaching conflict resolution from an interdisciplinary standpoint. In regards to the Rainbow Park case study, I thought this chapter was very applicable for analysis. The author addresses the importance of delving deeper into the conflict, beyond the basic issues, if the goal is de-escalation.