Social conflict - causes and ways to solve them

29.09.2019

Question. Concepts of conflict and conflict situation.

Conflict - This is a clash of incompatible views, positions, interests, a confrontation between two or more parties that are interconnected but pursuing their own goals.

Conflict situation - a situation that objectively contains clear prerequisites for conflict, provoking hostile actions, conflict.

Conflict situation - this is the emergence of disagreements, i.e. a clash of desires, opinions, interests. A conflict situation occurs during a discussion or argument.

Question. Structural elements conflict.

Structural elements of conflict

Parties to the conflict (subjects of the conflict) - subjects of social interactions that are in a state of conflict or explicitly or implicitly support those in conflict

Subject of the conflict, what causes the conflict;

Images of the subject of the conflict (conflict situation) - displaying the subject of the conflict in the minds of the subjects of conflict interaction.

Motives for the conflict - internal driving forces pushing subjects social interaction to conflict (motives appear in the form of needs, interests, goals, ideals, beliefs).

Positions of the conflicting parties - what they declare to each other during a conflict or in a negotiation process.

Question. The main stages of the conflict.

Main stages of conflict development

Typically, there are four stages of development in social conflict:

Pre-conflict stage.
The actual conflict.
Conflict resolution.
Post-conflict stage.

Let's look at each stage in more detail.

Pre-conflict stage
A pre-conflict situation is an increase in tension between potential parties to the conflict, caused by certain contradictions. But contradictions do not always develop into conflict. Only those contradictions that are perceived by potential subjects of conflict as incompatible lead to an aggravation of social tension.

Social tension is also not always a harbinger of conflict. This is a complex social phenomenon, the causes of which can be very different. Let us name the most characteristic reasons causing the growth of social tension:

Real infringement of people's interests, needs and values.
Inadequate perception of changes occurring in society or individual social communities.
Incorrect or distorted information about certain (real or imaginary) facts, events, etc.

Social tension, in essence, represents psychological state people even before the start of the conflict is of a latent (hidden) nature. The most characteristic manifestation of social tension during this period is group emotions. A certain level of social tension in an optimally functioning society is a natural protective and adaptive reaction of the social organism. However, exceeding the optimal level of social tension can lead to conflicts.

IN real life The causes of social tension may overlap or be replaced by one another. For example, negative attitudes toward the market among some Russian citizens are caused primarily by economic difficulties, but often manifest themselves as value orientations. Conversely, value orientations, as a rule, are justified by economic reasons.

One of the key concepts in social conflict is also dissatisfaction. The accumulation of dissatisfaction with the existing state of affairs or the course of developments leads to an increase in social tension. In this case, there is a transformation of dissatisfaction from subjective-objective relations into subjective-subjective ones. The essence of this transformation is that the potential subject of the conflict identifies (personifies) the real (or alleged) culprits of his dissatisfaction and at the same time realizes the intractability of the current situation by ordinary means of interaction.

The pre-conflict stage can be divided into three phases of development, which are characterized by: following features between the parties:

The emergence of contradictions regarding a certain controversial object; growing mistrust and social tension; presentation of unilateral or mutual claims; reduction of contacts and accumulation of grievances.
The desire to prove the legitimacy of one’s claims and accusing the enemy of unwillingness to resolve controversial issues using “fair” methods; being locked into one's own stereotypes; the emergence of prejudice and hostility in emotional sphere.
Destruction of interaction structures; transition from mutual accusations to threats; increase in aggressiveness; formation of an “enemy image” and a commitment to fight.

Thus, the conflict situation is gradually transformed into an open conflict. But in itself it can exist for a long time and not develop into a conflict. For a conflict to become real, an incident is necessary.

Incident- a formal reason, an occasion for the start of a direct clash between the parties. For example, the murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo, carried out by a group of Bosnian terrorists on August 28, 1914, became the formal reason for the start of the First World War. Although, objectively, tension between the Entente and the German military bloc had existed for many years.

An incident can happen by accident, or it can be provoked by the subject (subjects) of the conflict, or be the result of the natural course of events. It happens that an incident is prepared and provoked by some third force, pursuing its own interests in a supposed “foreign” conflict.

Objective, targeted (for example, new forms of teaching are being introduced, and there is a need to change the structure of teaching and replace teaching staff).
Objective, non-targeted (the natural course of development of production comes into conflict with the existing organization of labor).
Subjective goal-oriented ( man walking to conflict in order to solve their problems).
Subjective, untargeted (the interests of two or more parties accidentally collided); for example, one ticket to a health resort, but there are several applicants.

The incident marks the transition of the conflict to a new quality. In this situation, there are three possible behavior options for the conflicting parties:

The parties (parties) strive to resolve the contradictions that have arisen and find a compromise.
One of the parties pretends that “nothing special happened” (avoiding the conflict).
The incident becomes a signal for the start of open confrontation. The choice of one option or another largely depends on the conflict attitude (goals, expectations, emotional orientation) of the parties.

Stage of development of the conflict
The beginning of open confrontation between the parties is the result of conflict behavior, which is understood as actions aimed at the opposing party with the aim of capturing, holding a disputed object or forcing the opponent to abandon his goals or change them. Conflictologists identify several forms of conflict behavior:

active conflict behavior (challenge);
passive-conflict behavior (response to a challenge);
conflict-compromise behavior;
compromising behavior.

Depending on the conflict setting and the form of behavior of the parties, the conflict acquires a logic of development. A developing conflict tends to create additional reasons for its deepening and expansion. Each new “victim” becomes an “justification” for escalating the conflict. Therefore, each conflict is unique to a certain extent. Three main phases can be distinguished in the development of the conflict at its second stage of development:

The transition of a conflict from a latent state to open confrontation between the parties. The fight is still being carried out with limited resources and is local in nature. The first test of strength occurs. At this phase, there are still real opportunities to stop the open struggle and resolve the conflict by other methods.
Further escalation of confrontation. To achieve their goals and block the enemy’s actions, new resources of the parties are introduced. Almost all opportunities to find a compromise are missed. The conflict is becoming increasingly unmanageable and unpredictable.
The conflict reaches its climax and takes the form of a total war using all possible forces and means. At this phase, the conflicting parties seem to forget real reasons and the goals of the conflict. The main goal of the confrontation is to inflict maximum damage on the enemy.

Conflict resolution stage
The duration and intensity of the conflict depend on the goals and attitudes of the parties, resources, means and methods of fighting, and reactions to the conflict environment, symbols of victory and defeat, available (and possible) ways (mechanisms) of finding consensus, etc.

Conflicts are also classified according to the degree of normative regulation, at one end of the continuum - institutionalized (such as a duel), and at the other - absolute conflicts (struggle until the opponent is completely destroyed). Between these extreme points there are conflicts of varying degrees of institutionalization.

At a certain stage in the development of the conflict, the opposing sides’ ideas about the capabilities of their own and the enemy may change significantly. There comes a moment of reassessment of values, due to new relationships, the balance of power, awareness of the real situation - the impossibility of achieving goals or the exorbitant price of success. All this stimulates a change in tactics and strategies of conflict behavior. In this case, the conflicting parties begin to look for ways of reconciliation and the intensity of the struggle, as a rule, subsides. From this moment the process of ending the conflict actually begins, which does not exclude new aggravations.

At the conflict resolution stage, possible scenarios for the development of events:

the obvious superiority of one of the parties allows it to impose its conditions for ending the conflict on the weaker opponent;
the fight goes on until one of the parties is completely defeated;
the struggle becomes protracted and sluggish due to lack of resources;
the parties make mutual concessions in the conflict, having exhausted resources and without identifying a clear (potential) winner;
the conflict can be stopped under pressure from a third force.

The social conflict will continue until real conditions for its cessation appear. In a fully institutionalized conflict, such conditions can be determined before the confrontation begins (as in a game, where the rules for its completion are determined), or they can be developed and agreed upon during development. If the conflict is partially institutionalized or not institutionalized at all, then additional problems of its completion arise.

There are also absolute conflicts, in which the struggle is waged until the complete destruction of one or both rivals. The more strictly defined the subject of the dispute, the more obvious the signs marking the victory and defeat of the parties, the greater the chances for its localization.

Methods for ending a conflict are aimed mainly at changing the conflict situation itself, either by influencing the participants, or by changing the characteristics of the object of the conflict, or in other ways. Let's look at some of these methods.

Eliminating the object of conflict.
Replacing one object with another.
Elimination of one side of the conflict.
Change of position of one of the parties.
Changing the characteristics of the object and subject of the conflict.
Obtaining new information about an object or creating additional conditions.
Preventing direct or indirect interaction between participants.
The parties to the conflict come to a common decision or appeal to the arbitrator, subject to submission to any of his decisions.

One of the forced methods of ending a conflict is coercion. For example, the military conflict between Bosnian Serbs, Muslims and Croats. Peacekeeping forces (NATO, UN) literally forced the conflicting parties to sit down at the negotiating table.

Negotiation
The final stage of the conflict resolution stage involves negotiations and legal registration reached agreements. In interpersonal and intergroup conflicts, the results of negotiations can take the form of oral agreements and mutual obligations of the parties. Usually one of the conditions for starting the negotiation process is a temporary truce. But options are possible when, at the stage of preliminary agreements, the parties not only do not stop hostilities, but escalate the conflict, trying to strengthen their positions in the negotiations.

Negotiations involve a mutual search for a compromise between the conflicting parties and include possible procedures.

Recognizing the presence of conflict.
Approval of procedural rules and regulations.
Identification of the main controversial issues (drawing up a “Protocol of Disagreements”).
Study possible options problem solving.
Search agreements for each controversial issue and conflict resolution in general.
Documentation of all agreements reached.
Fulfillment of all accepted mutual obligations.

Negotiations may differ both in the level of the contracting parties and in the existing disagreements. But the basic procedures (elements) of negotiations remain unchanged. The method of "principled negotiations" or "substantive negotiations" developed within the framework of Harvard Project on negotiations, outlined in the book "The Path to Agreement, or Negotiating Without Losing" by Roger Fisher and William Ury, comes down to four points.

People. Make a distinction between the negotiators and the subject of the negotiation.
Interests. Focus on interests, not positions.
Options. Identify the range of possibilities before making a decision.
Criteria. Insist that the outcome be based on some objective standard.

The negotiation process can be based on a compromise method, based on mutual concessions of the parties, or a consensus method, focused on jointly solving existing problems.

Negotiation methods and their results depend not only on the relationship between the warring parties, but also on the internal situation of each party, relations with allies and other non-conflict factors.

Post-conflict stage
The end of direct confrontation between the parties does not always mean that the conflict is completely resolved.

The degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the parties with the concluded peace agreements will largely depend on the following provisions:

to what extent it was possible to achieve the pursued goal during the conflict and subsequent negotiations;
what methods and methods were used to fight;
How great are the losses of the parties (human, material, territorial, etc.);
how great is the degree of infringement on the self-esteem of one or another party;
whether, as a result of the conclusion of peace, it was possible to relieve the emotional tension of the parties;
what methods were used as the basis for the negotiation process;
to what extent it was possible to balance the interests of the parties;
whether the compromise was imposed by one of the parties or a third party, or was the result mutual search conflict resolution;
what is the reaction of the surrounding social environment to the results of the conflict.

If the parties believe that the signed peace agreements infringe on their interests, then tensions will remain, and the end of the conflict may be perceived as a temporary respite. Peace concluded as a result of mutual depletion of resources is also not always able to resolve the main controversial issues. The most durable peace is one concluded on the basis of consensus, when the parties consider the conflict to be completely resolved and build their relations on the basis of trust and cooperation.

With any option for resolving the conflict, social tension in relations between former opponents will persist for a certain period of time. Sometimes it takes decades to remove mutual negative perceptions until new generations of people grow up who have not experienced all the horrors past conflict. On a subconscious level, such negative perceptions of former opponents can be passed on from generation to generation and each time “pop up” with the next escalation of controversial issues.

The post-conflict stage marks a new objective reality: new balance of power, new relationships of opponents to each other and to the environment social environment, a new vision of existing problems and a new assessment of one’s strengths and capabilities. For example, Chechen war literally forced the highest Russian leadership build our relations with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in a new way, take a fresh look at the situation in everything Caucasus region and more realistically assess Russia’s combat and economic potential.

After the typology of social conflicts, the stages and phases of the conflict should be considered, which provides the basis for searching for ways of regulation.

The emergence of a conflict is a latent stage, often not even noticeable to an outside observer. Actions develop at the socio-psychological level - conversations in the kitchen, smoking rooms, locker rooms. The development of this phase can be monitored by some indirect signs (an increase in the number of dismissals, absenteeism).

No social conflict arises instantly. Social tension and emotional irritation accumulate over some time, and the pre-conflict stage can be extended.

A characteristic feature of a social conflict is the presence of an object of conflict, the possession of which is associated with the frustration of the subjects drawn into the social conflict.

The pre-conflict stage is the period when the conflicting parties assess their resource capabilities. Such resources include material assets with which you can influence the opposite side; information; power; communications; allies whose support you can count on.

Initially, the parties to the conflict look for ways to achieve goals without influencing the rival side. When such attempts prove futile, the individual, the collective, or the social group determine the object that is interfering with the achievement of goals, the degree of its guilt, and the degree of possible resistance. This moment in the pre-conflict stage is called identification.

There are situations when the cause of frustration is hidden and difficult to identify. Then it is possible to select an object for social conflict that has nothing to do with blocking the need, that is, false identification occurs. Sometimes a false identification is created artificially in order to distract attention from the true source of frustration, social tension. In the most complex weave social life Experienced politicians quite often let off steam from social tension by creating false objects of frustration. For example, the head of an enterprise, unable to manage financial resources wisely, explains the non-payment wages actions of the central government.

The pre-conflict stage is also characterized by the development by each of the conflicting parties of a scenario or even several scenarios of their actions, and the choice of methods of influencing the opposing side. The pre-conflict stage is of scientific and practical interest for managers and sociologists, because when making the right choice strategies, ways of influencing participants can extinguish emerging conflicts or, conversely, inflate them, using certain political or other goals.

The initiating stage is the stage at which an event occurs that plays the role of a trigger. It forces the parties to act openly and actively. This could be verbal debates, rallies, deputations, hunger strikes, pickets, economic sanctions and even physical pressure, etc. Sometimes the actions of the parties to the conflict can be of a hidden nature, when rivals try to deceive and intimidate each other.

According to their content, social conflicts are divided into rational and emotional, although in practice it is difficult to separate one from the other. When a conflict occurs in rational form, then its participants do not move to the personal level and do not strive to form an image of the enemy in their minds. Respect for an opponent, recognition of his right to a share of the truth, the ability to enter into his position are characteristic features of conflicts that are rational in nature.

However, most often during conflict interactions, the aggression of its participants is transferred from the cause of the conflict to the individual, and hostility and even hatred towards rivals is formed. Thus, during interethnic conflicts, an image of a foreign nation is created, as a rule, uncultured, cruel, possessing all imaginable vices, and this image extends to the entire nation without exception.

The development of emotional conflicts is unpredictable, and in most cases they are difficult to manage, therefore the desire of some managers, for their own purposes, to artificially cause a conflict to resolve a conflict situation threatens with serious consequences, since the conflict can be controlled to a certain extent.

The peak stage is the critical point of the conflict, the stage when interactions between the conflicting parties reach maximum severity and strength. It is important to be able to determine the passage of this point, since after this the situation in to the greatest extent manageable. And at the same time, intervention in the conflict at the peak point is useless and even dangerous.

After passing the critical point, several scenarios for the development of the conflict are possible:

destruction of the core of the strike and transition to the extinction of the conflict, but the formation of a new core and a new escalation are possible;

reaching a compromise as a result of negotiations;

an escalating option for turning a strike into a tragic one, a dead end in its content, when a search for alternatives, new positions of the conflicting parties is required. In another version - hunger strikes, pogroms, militant actions, destruction of equipment.

The extinction of the conflict is associated either with the exhaustion of the resources of one of the parties, or with the achievement of an agreement. If the conflict is a forceful interaction, then participation in the conflict requires the presence of some force, a way of influencing the opponent, the opposing side.

Power is understood as the potential of a social group, which, by its action or threat of action, can force another social group to yield and satisfy demands.

Among the main sources of such power are:

formal power;

control over scarce resources (finance, control over information, decision-making processes, control over technology). The situation of air traffic controllers in civil aviation, miners, power engineers during the winter heating period, etc.

The potential of an individual social group consists of personal, social potential, financial resources, economic potential, technological potential, time resources and some other factors.

social conflict confrontation regulation

The external resources of the conflicting parties include: natural environment(positions of heat power engineers in the Far North), connections with funds mass media, political (court, law enforcement), possible allies, etc. Naturally, external resources can work for one of the parties to the conflict, and then the latter gains an advantage.

Of course, each of the parties to the conflict is driven by certain social interests, which are expressed in goals, needs, and policies. Interests can be real, real and inadequate - inflated, hypothetical (far-fetched), translated, that is, not the interests of a given group, but representing the interests of others social groups.

The interests of a social group are expressed during a conflict in certain demands. These may be demands for the payment of arrears of wages or their increase, disputes about the boundaries of responsibility, issues of employment and movement at work, actions in support of other teams or social groups. In addition, a conflict situation absorbs the entire set of conditions and causes that precede it. In conflict, the contradictions accumulated in the social organization are discharged; they are comparable to a lightning bolt, which absorbs all the accumulated energy.

It is generally accepted to distinguish the following stages of conflict: conflict situation, within which the determinants of the conflict are formed, provoking social tension; awareness social actors discrepancies between their interests and values, as well as the factors determining the formation of goals and ways to achieve them; open conflict interaction, Where special attention involve processes of escalation and de-escalation of the conflict; ending the conflict, where the greatest importance is given to taking into account the possible results and consequences of both the previous confrontation and the method of regulating it.

It is known that in practice it is not always possible to accurately determine the beginning of a conflict, the limit of transition of a conflict situation into open confrontation. It is even more difficult to determine the boundaries of the stages.

In Western socio-psychological literature, the dynamics of conflict are understood in two ways: broad and narrow. IN in a broad sense The word dynamics is interpreted as a sequential change of certain stages or stages that characterize the process of conflict unfolding from the emergence of a conflict situation to the resolution of the conflict. In the narrow sense of the word, the dynamics of the conflict are considered in the context of only one, but its most acute stage - conflict interaction.

For example:

The emergence of causes of conflict;

The emergence of a feeling of dissatisfaction (resentment, indignation);

Proposal to eliminate the causes of the conflict;

Failure to comply with this requirement;

Conflict.

IN in this case the beginning of the conflict is actually revealed, but the dynamics from the beginning of the conflict to its resolution are not shown.

Many authors, studying the dynamics of the conflict, focus on the relationship between objective and subjective factors, where the determining factor is still subjective (awareness of the conflict situation by at least one of the parties). Pointing out the importance of awareness of the conflict situation, they argue that social phenomena and processes are predictable and manageable. The personality, sometimes included in them regardless of her will and consciousness, can contribute to the development of events.

Thus, we note that conflict is a complex dynamic formation that has its own boundaries, content, stages and its own forms of dynamics.

All the variety of forms of conflict dynamics can be reduced to three main forms.

1. The conflict has cyclical character and goes through a predictable sequence of stages. The conflict arises, develops, the intensity of combat reaches its climax, and then, after measures have been taken to resolve the situation, the tension gradually or quickly subsides.

2. Conflict is phase process. The interaction of subjects leads to the transformation of the social situation. Living conditions, character and content change public relations, principles and rules of personal behavior, social structure and the status of individuals or social groups.

3. Conflict is interaction two subjects (individuals, social groups), in which the actions of one side are a reaction to the actions of the other side.

In real life public life these forms are rarely found in pure form. As a rule, conflicts have mixed forms. Very often, a conflict first takes one form and then moves into another. This is especially true for protracted conflicts. Even a strike, representing a relatively pure form of cyclic conflict with pronounced stages, can turn into a phase form.

Of greatest interest is almost universal scheme dynamics of conflict development, which distinguishes a latent (pre-conflict) period, an open period (the conflict itself), and a latent period (post-conflict situation).

A more complete and reliable understanding of the dynamics of the conflict involves identifying the following stages:

1) latent stage;

2) identification stage;

3) incident;

4) escalation stage;

5) critical stage;

6) de-escalation stage;

7) termination stage.

Latent stage potential rivals do not yet recognize themselves as such. This stage includes the following stages: the emergence of an objective problem situation; awareness of the objective problem situation by the subjects of interaction; attempts by the parties to resolve an objective problem situation in non-conflict ways; the emergence of a pre-conflict situation.

The emergence of an objective problem situation . Apart from cases of false conflict, conflict is usually generated by an objective problem situation. The essence of such a situation is the emergence of a contradiction between subjects (their goals, actions, motives, aspirations, etc.). Since the contradiction has not yet been realized and there are no conflicting actions, this situation is called problematic. It is the result of the action of predominantly objective reasons. Many problematic situations arise every day in production, business, everyday life, family and other areas of life. long time without showing yourself.

One of the conditions for such a transition is awareness of the objective problem situation.

Awareness of an objective problem situation. The perception of reality as problematic, the understanding of the need to take some action to resolve the contradiction constitute the meaning of this stage. The presence of an obstacle to the realization of interests contributes to the fact that the problem situation is perceived subjectively, with distortions. Subjectivity of perception is generated not only by the nature of the psyche, but also by the social differences of the participants in communication. These include values, social attitudes, ideals and interests. Individuality of awareness is also generated by differences in knowledge, needs, and other characteristics of the participants in the interaction. How the situation is more complicated and the faster it develops, the greater the likelihood of it being distorted by opponents.

An attempt by the parties to resolve an objective problem situation in non-conflict ways. Awareness of a contradiction does not always automatically entail conflicting opposition from the parties. Often at least one of them tries to solve the problem in non-conflict ways (persuasion, explanation, requests, informing the opposing side). Sometimes the participant in the interaction gives in, not wanting the problem situation to escalate into a conflict. In any case, at this stage the parties argue their interests and fix their positions.

The emergence of a pre-conflict situation. The conflict is perceived as a threat to the security of one of the parties to the interaction, a threat to some socially important interests. Moreover, the opponent’s actions are considered not as a potential threat (this is typical for a problematic situation), but as an immediate one. Exactly feeling of immediate threat contributes to the development of the situation towards conflict, is a “trigger” of conflict behavior.

Each of the conflicting parties is looking for ways to achieve goals without influencing the opponent. When all attempts to achieve the desired result are in vain, the individual or social group determines the object that interferes with the achievement of goals, the degree of its “guilt,” the strength and possibilities of counteraction. This moment in a pre-conflict situation is called identification. In other words, it is a search for those who interfere with the satisfaction of needs and against whom aggressive actions should be taken.

Distinctive feature The latent stage and the identification stage is that they form a prerequisite for the transition to active conflict actions aimed at directly or indirectly blocking the achievement of the opposing party’s intended goals and realizing one’s own intentions. Thus, an incident occurs one by one and the stage of escalation of the conflict begins.

Incident(from the Latin incidens - an incident that happens) represents the first collision of the parties, a test of strength, an attempt to use force to solve the problem in one’s favor. The incident of a conflict must be distinguished from its cause. Reason - this is the specific event that serves as an impetus, a subject for the beginning of conflict actions. Moreover, it may arise by chance, or it may be specially invented, but, in any case, the reason is not yet a conflict. In contrast, an incident is already a conflict, its beginning.

For example, the Sarajevo murder - the murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife, carried out on June 28, 1914 (new style) in the city of Sarajevo, was used by Austria-Hungary as occasion to start the First World War. Already on July 15, 1914, Austria-Hungary, under direct pressure from Germany, declared war on Serbia. And the direct invasion of Poland by Germany on September 1, 1939 is no longer a reason, but incident, indicating the beginning of World War II.

The incident reveals the positions of the parties and makes explicit division into “friends” and “strangers”, friends and enemies, allies and opponents. After the incident, “who is who” becomes clear, because the masks have already been dropped. However, the real strengths of the opponents are not yet fully known and it is unclear how far one or another participant in the conflict can go in the confrontation. And this uncertainty of the true forces and resources (material, physical, financial, mental, information, etc.) of the enemy is very important factor containing the development of the conflict at its initial stage. At the same time, this uncertainty contributes to the further development of the conflict. Because it is clear that if both sides had a clear understanding of the enemy’s potential and resources, then many conflicts would be stopped from the very beginning. More weak side would not, in many cases, aggravate the useless confrontation, and the stronger side, without hesitation, would suppress the enemy with its power. In both cases, the incident would have been resolved fairly quickly.

Thus, an incident often creates an ambivalent situation in the attitudes and actions of opponents of the conflict. On the one hand, you want to quickly “get into a fight” and win, but on the other hand, it is difficult to enter the water “without knowing the ford.”

Therefore, important elements of the development of the conflict at this stage are: “reconnaissance”, collecting information about the true capabilities and intentions of opponents, searching for allies and attracting additional forces to one’s side. Since the confrontation in the incident is local in nature, the full potential of the parties to the conflict has not yet been demonstrated. Although all forces are already beginning to be brought into combat mode.

However, even after the incident, it remains possible to resolve the conflict peacefully, through negotiations to reach compromise between the subjects of the conflict. And this opportunity should be used to the fullest.

If after the incident a compromise is found and prevented further development the conflict failed, then the first incident is followed by the second, third, etc. The conflict enters the next stage - it occurs escalation (increase). So, after the first incident in World War II - the German invasion of Poland - others followed, no less dangerous. Already in April - May 1940, German troops occupied Denmark and Norway, in May they invaded Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and then France. In April 1941, Germany captured the territory of Greece and Yugoslavia, and on June 22, 1941, attacked the Soviet Union.

Escalation of the conflict - This is its key, most intense stage, when all the contradictions between its participants intensify and all opportunities are used to win the confrontation.

The only question is: “who will win”, because this is no longer a local battle, but a full-scale battle. All resources are mobilized: material, political, financial, informational, physical, mental and others.

At this stage, any negotiations or other peaceful means of resolving the conflict become difficult. Emotions often begin to drown out reason, logic gives way to feelings. Main task is to inflict as much harm on the enemy as possible at any cost. Therefore, at this stage, the original cause and main goal of the conflict may be lost and new reasons and new goals will come to the fore. During this stage of the conflict, change is also possible value orientations, in particular, means-values and goal-values can change places. The development of the conflict becomes spontaneous and uncontrollable.

Among the main points characterizing the stage of conflict escalation, the following can be highlighted:

1) creating an image of the enemy;

2) demonstration of force and threat of its use;

3) use of violence;

4) a tendency to expand and deepen the conflict.

At the stage escalation , according to D. Pruitt and D. Rabin, the conflict is undergoing the following transformations.

1. From light to heavy. Conflict of lighter forms develops into conflict with more severe forms of interaction (for example, a simple difference in opinions, views, etc. develops into fierce rivalry).

2. From small to large. The parties are becoming increasingly involved in the struggle and attracting ever-increasing resources in an effort to achieve transformation.

3. From specific to general. During the escalation of the conflict, the “loss” of its object and purpose occurs. The subject area of the conflict is expanding.

4. From effective actions to victory and, further, to damage to the other party.

5. From few to many. Initially, episodic conflicts occur on individual issues. During the escalation, “clashes” become constant and for any reason.

Thus, even the most seemingly insignificant conflict can grow like a snowball, involving an increasing number of participants, acquiring new incidents and increasing tension between the warring parties.

Having reached its peak - critical stage the parties continue to provide balanced counteraction however, the intensity of the struggle is decreasing. The parties realize that continuing the conflict by force does not produce results, but actions to reach agreement have not yet been taken.

Extinction (de-escalation) of the conflict consists in the transition from conflict resistance to finding a solution to the problem and ending the conflict for any reason. At this stage of development of confrontation, a variety of possible situations, which encourage both parties or one of them to end the conflict. Such situations include:

A clear weakening of one or both sides or the exhaustion of their resources, which does not allow further confrontation;

The obvious futility of continuing the conflict and its awareness by its participants. This situation is associated with the belief that further struggle does not give advantages to either side and there is no end in sight to this struggle;

The revealed predominant superiority of one of the parties and its ability to suppress the opponent or impose its will on him;

The appearance of a third party in the conflict and its ability and desire to stop the confrontation.

Associated with these situations are ways to complete conflicts, which can also be very diverse. The most typical ones are the following:

1) elimination (destruction) of an opponent or both opponents of the confrontation;

2) elimination (destruction) of the object of the conflict;

3) change in the positions of both or one of the parties to the conflict;

4) participation in the conflict of a new force capable of ending it through coercion;

5) the appeal of the subjects of the conflict to the arbitrator and its completion through the mediation of an arbitrator;

6) negotiations as one of the most effective and common methods of conflict resolution.

By nature termination stage conflict can be:

1) with from the point of view of realizing the goals of confrontation:

victorious;

Compromise;

Defeatist;

2) from the point of view of the form of conflict resolution:

peaceful;

Violent;

3) from the point of view of conflict functions:

Constructive;

Destructive;

4) in terms of efficiency and completeness of resolution:

completely and radically completed;

Postponed for some (or indefinite) time.

It should be noted that the concepts of “conflict resolution” and “conflict resolution” are not identical. Conflict resolution is a special case, one of the forms of ending the conflict, and is expressed in positive, constructive solving the problem by the main parties to the conflict or a third party. But besides this forms The end of the conflict can be: settlement, attenuation (fading) of a conflict, elimination of a conflict, escalation of a conflict into another conflict.

Of course, all social conflicts cannot be fitted into a single universal scheme. There are conflicts like a fight, where you can only count on victory, conflicts like a debate, where disputes, maneuvers are possible, and both sides can count on a compromise. There are conflicts like a game, where the parties act within the same rules, etc. After the typology of social conflicts, the stages and phases of the conflict should be considered, which provides the basis for searching for ways of regulation. The origin of the conflict - latent stage, often not even noticeable to an external observer. Actions develop at the socio-psychological level - conversations in the kitchen, smoking rooms, locker rooms. The development of this phase can be monitored by some indirect signs (an increase in the number of dismissals, absenteeism). No social conflict arises instantly. Social tension and emotional irritation accumulate over some time, and the pre-conflict stage can be extended. A characteristic feature of a social conflict is the presence of an object of conflict, the possession of which is associated with the frustration of the subjects drawn into the social conflict. Pre-conflict stage - this is the period when the conflicting parties evaluate their resource capabilities. Such resources include material assets with which you can influence the opposite side; information; power; communications; allies whose support you can count on. Initially, the parties to the conflict look for ways to achieve goals without influencing the rival side. When such attempts prove futile, the individual, the collective, or the social group determine the object that is interfering with the achievement of goals, the degree of its guilt, and the degree of possible resistance. This moment in the pre-conflict stage is called identification. There are situations when the cause of frustration is hidden and difficult to identify. Then it is possible to select an object for social conflict that has nothing to do with blocking the need, that is, false identification occurs. Sometimes a false identification is created artificially in order to distract attention from the true source of frustration, social tension. In the most complex interweaving of social life, experienced politicians quite often let off the steam of social tension by creating false objects of frustration. For example, the head of an enterprise, unable to manage financial resources wisely, explains the non-payment of wages by the actions of the central government. The pre-conflict stage is also characterized by the development by each of the conflicting parties of a scenario or even several scenarios of their actions, and the choice of methods of influencing the opposing side. The pre-conflict stage is of scientific and practical interest for managers and sociologists, since with the right choice of strategy and methods of influencing participants, it is possible to extinguish emerging conflicts or, conversely, inflate them, using certain political or other goals. Initiating is stage , at which an event occurs that plays the role of a trigger. It forces the parties to act openly and actively. This could be verbal debates, rallies, deputations, hunger strikes, pickets, economic sanctions and even physical pressure, etc. Sometimes the actions of the parties to the conflict can be of a hidden nature, when rivals try to deceive and intimidate each other. According to their content, social conflicts are divided into rational and emotional, although in practice it is difficult to separate one from the other. When a conflict occurs in a rational form, its participants do not move to the personal level and do not strive to form an image of an enemy in their minds. Respect for an opponent, recognition of his right to a share of the truth, the ability to enter into his position are characteristic features of conflicts that are rational in nature. However, most often during conflict interactions, the aggression of its participants is transferred from the cause of the conflict to the individual, and hostility and even hatred towards rivals is formed. Thus, during interethnic conflicts, an image of a foreign nation is created, as a rule, uncultured, cruel, possessing all imaginable vices, and this image extends to the entire nation without exception. The development of emotional conflicts is unpredictable, and in most cases they are difficult to manage, therefore the desire of some managers, for their own purposes, to artificially cause a conflict to resolve a conflict situation threatens with serious consequences, since the conflict can be controlled to a certain extent. Peak stage - the critical point of the conflict, the stage when interactions between the conflicting parties reach maximum severity and strength. It is important to be able to determine the passage of this point, since after this the situation is most manageable. And at the same time, intervention in the conflict at the peak point is useless and even dangerous.

After passing the critical point, several scenarios for the development of the conflict are possible:

destruction of the core of the strike and transition to the extinction of the conflict, but the formation of a new core and a new escalation are possible;
reaching a compromise as a result of negotiations;
an escalating option for turning a strike into a tragic one, a dead end in its content, when a search for alternatives, new positions of the conflicting parties is required. In another version - hunger strikes, pogroms, militant actions, destruction of equipment.

Fading Conflict is associated either with the exhaustion of the resources of one of the parties, or with the achievement of an agreement. If the conflict is a forceful interaction, then participation in the conflict requires the presence of some force, a way of influencing the opponent, the opposing side. Power is understood as the potential of a social group, which, by its action or threat of action, can force another social group to yield and satisfy demands.

Among the main sources of such power are:

formal power;
control over scarce resources (finance, control over information, decision-making processes, control over technology). The situation of air traffic controllers in civil aviation, miners, power engineers during the winter heating period, etc.

The potential of an individual social group consists of personal, social potential, financial resources, economic potential, technological potential, time resources and some other factors. The external resources of the conflicting parties include: the natural environment (positions of thermal power engineers in the Far North), connections with the media, political (court, law enforcement agencies), possible allies, etc. Naturally, external resources can work for one of the parties to the conflict, and then it gains an advantage. Of course, each of the parties to the conflict is driven by certain social interests, which are expressed in goals, needs, and policies. Interests can be real, real and inadequate - inflated, hypothetical (far-fetched), translated, that is, not the interests of a given group, but representing the interests of other social groups. The interests of a social group are expressed during a conflict in certain demands. These may be demands for the payment of arrears of wages or their increase, disputes about the boundaries of responsibility, issues of employment and movement at work, actions in support of other teams or social groups. In addition, a conflict situation absorbs the entire set of conditions and causes that precede it. In conflict, the contradictions accumulated in the social organization are discharged; they are comparable to a lightning bolt, which absorbs all the accumulated energy.