The foundations and stages of development of social conflict

Living in a society cannot be free from it. Inevitably in some moments is a collision of interests that must be resolved. So what is the nature of social conflict? How it starts and what are the risks? Can the stage of development of social conflict have positive consequences? All these questions are relevant because this form of interaction is somehow familiar to everyone.

Sociology and related Sciences

A lot of scientists from various fields study various aspects of human life. This is the psychology involving multiple areas, anthropology, philosophy, and Economics and sociology. The latter is a relatively young science, because it became independent only in the XIX century. And she is studying what happens to ordinary people every day - the process of their interaction. Anyway, all members of society have to communicate with each other. And what happens, how people behave in different situations (from the point of view of others) - the main subject of interest of sociology. By the way, despite its relatively short history, this science has yet sufficiently to develop and branch out into several schools and currents, considering different phenomena with different perspectives. Different opinions and views allow you to form more or less coherent picture, though active research is still continuing, because society is changing, it observed the new phenomena, while others become obsolete and a thing of the past.

Social interactions

In society always occur in some processes involving a number of people. There is social interaction connected with each other. They can always learn on a number of grounds:

• They are subject, that is, have the purpose and reason;
• They are expressed outwardly, that is, they can be observed;
• They are situational and vary depending on the situation;
• Finally, they Express subjective interests, or intentions of the parties.

The Process of interaction is not always through verbal communication and this is taken into account. In addition, it is inherent feedback in one form or another, although it may not always be visible. By the way, here are no laws of physics, and not every action provokes some kind of response - such is human nature.

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Social scientists distinguish three basic forms of social interactions: cooperation, or cooperation, competition and conflict. They all have the same right to exist and occur constantly, even if imperceptibly. The latter form can be observed in different species and among different number of people. And it even engaged in some degree separate science - conflictology. Because this form of interaction can look different and have very different nature.

Conflicts

Many will at least once in my life seen a couple argue, a mother scolding a child, or a teenager who doesn't want to talk to the parents. This is the phenomena which studying sociology. Social conflict is the highest degree of manifestation of disagreement between people or groups struggle for their interests. This word came in Russian language from Latin, where it means "collision". The struggle of opinions can be different, have their causes, consequences etc. But the emergence of social conflict always starts with subjective or objective infringement of someone's rights or interest that causes a reaction. There are contradictions all the time, but the stage of development of social conflict become visible only when the situation escalates.

Basics and nature

The Society is diverse, and the benefits are distributed among its members equally. Throughout its history, humanity has consistently sought to organize life so that all was fair, but so far all attempts to do so have failed. This heterogeneity is precisely the soil which is the basis of social conflict at the macro level. So the main cause is a sharp contradiction, everything else is added to this stem.

Unlike the competition, which can be confused with the conflict, the interaction can occur in a very aggressive way, up to the violence. Of course, this does not always happen, but the number of wars, strikes, riots and demonstrations shows that sometimes things can be very serious.

Classification

There are many types of conflicts, which vary depending on the applied criteria. The key can be called such:

• Number of participants: internal, interpersonal, intragroup, intergroup, and conflicts with the external environment;
• Coverage: local, national, international, global;
• Duration: short-term and long-term;
• The spheres of life and the basis of economic, political, sociocultural, ideological, domestic, moral, labor, legal;
• Appearance: spontaneous and intentional;
• Using various means: violent and nonviolent;
• Consequences: successful, unsuccessful, constructive, destructive.

It is Obvious that, considering the specific impact, it is necessary to remember allthese factors. Only this will help to highlight some latent, that is hidden, causes and processes, as well as to understand how to resolve the conflict. On the other hand, ignoring some of them, it is possible to consider certain aspects in much more detail.

In fact, many researchers believe that hidden conflicts are most serious. Silent opposition is not only unhelpful - it's like a bomb with slow mechanism that can explode at any moment. It is therefore necessary to somehow Express the differences, if they exist: a large number of different opinions can often help to make serious decisions that would satisfy all interested parties.

Stages of

Directly participating in the conflict, it is not easy to distance yourself and think about something else, because the contradiction is sharp. However, watching from the sidelines, it's easy to allocate the main stages of social conflict. Different scientists sometimes discriminate different number of them, but basically saying four.

1. The pre-conflict state. This is not itself a clash of interests, but the situation inevitably leads to him, the contradictions between the subjects appear and accumulate, gradually increasing the tension. Then there is some event or action, which becomes the so-called trigger, that is the reason for the beginning of active actions.
2. Directly conflict. Stage of the escalation is the most active: the parties shall cooperate in one form or another, seeking not only the release of frustration, but also a way to solve the problem. Sometimes there are solutions, sometimes confrontation is destructive. Not always all parties to the conflict have taken active steps, but each of them plays a role. In addition to the two directly communicating parties, often at this stage intervene the middlemen, or mediators, seeking to go towards resolving the problems. Can also be the so-called instigators or provocateurs - people, consciously or not undertaking actions to further escalation of the conflict. As a rule, actively one of the parties they support.
3. Resolution of the conflict. There comes a time when the parties have expressed all of the claims and is ready to seek a way out. At this stage are active and often constructive talks. However, in order to find a solution, you need to remember some important conditions. First, the parties to the conflict must understand its true causes. Second, they must be interested in reconciliation. Thirdly, you need to calm down, to think about mutual respect. Finally, the last condition is that the search is not General recommendations, and develop concrete steps to remove the contradictions.
4. Post-conflict period. At this time begins the implementation of all the decisions that have been taken to reconciliation. Some time the parties may be in some tension, remains the so-called "sludge", but with time everything passes, and the relations return to a peaceful course.

These stages of development of social conflict familiar practice to everyone. As a rule, the second period is the long and painful, sometimes very long can't move on to constructive discussion of further steps. Fight drags on and spoils the mood. But sooner or later, the third stage occurs.

Tactics

In the social conflicts of a scale happen all the time. They can walk very quietly and can be very serious, especially if both parties are being unreasonable and inflated small contradictions to huge problems.

There are five main social models of how people act in a pre-conflict situation or at the stage of escalation. They are conventionally also associated with animals, noticing similar values and aspirations. They all - in varying degrees - in a constructive and reasonable, but the choice of each one depends on many factors. So, in the first stage, social conflict and the subsequent development of events occurs one of the following:

1. Fixture (bear). This tactic involves one of the parties to complete the sacrifice of their interests. In this case, from the point of view of "bear", it is more important to restore calm and stability, not to resolve differences.
2. Compromise (the Fox). This is a more neutral model, in which the subject of the dispute are roughly equally important for both sides. This type of conflict resolution assumes that both opponents will be satisfied only partially.
3. Collaboration (owl). This method is needed, when compromise cannot be considered. It is the best option if you want to not only return, but also to strengthen interpersonal relationships. But it is suitable only for those who are willing to lay their grievances aside and to think constructively.
4. Ignoring (turtle). One side of all the forces avoids open confrontation, hoping for independent dispute resolution. Sometimes the use of this tactic need to get a breather and to ease the tension.
5. Competition (the shark). Typically, one party unilaterally takes a decision aimed at resolving the problem. This is possible only in the presence of a sufficient amount of knowledge and expertise.

As the development of social conflict moves from one stage to another, behaviors can change. The process depends on many factors and may depend on how it ends. If parties are not able to cope on their own, you might need a mediator, i.e. the mediator, or arbitration.

Consequences

Why is it assumed that the collision of different points of view does not carry anything good. But it is not, because every phenomenon has as a negative side, and positive. So, there are the consequences of social conflicts that can be called positive. Among them we highlight the following:

• Search for new solutions to various problems;
• The emergence of the understanding of the values and priorities of others;
• Strengthening intra-group relationships, if we are talking about the external differences.

However it also has negative aspects:

• Tension
• The destruction of interpersonal relationships;
• A distraction from more important issues.

Most scientists do not assess the consequences of social conflict by far. Even each concrete example should only be considered in the future, evaluating the long-term impact of all decisions taken. But, once disputes arise, then they are for some reason necessary. Though it is hard to believe, remembering the terrible examples from the history that led to bloody wars, violent riots and executions.

Functions

The Role of social conflict is not so simple as it may seem. This kind of interaction is one of the most effective. In addition, according to many researchers, it is a clash of interest is an inexhaustible source of development of society. Alternate economic models, political regimes and whole civilizations - and all because of global conflicts. But this happens only when the differences in the society reached its climax, and there is an acute crisis.

One way or another, but many sociologists believe that there are ultimately only two scenario in the event of acute contradictions: the collapse of the core of the system, either finding a compromise or consensus. Everything else sooner or later leads to one of these paths.

When?

If you remember the essence of social conflict, it becomes clear that any interaction in this form initially has a grain of truth. So, from a sociological point of view, even open confrontation - it is a normal type of interaction.

The only Problem is that people are irrational and often go on about the emotions, and can also use them for their own purposes, and then the stage of development of social conflict escalation linger on and return time and time again to her. The purpose is lost, that does not lead to anything good. But blindly avoid conflicts, constantly sacrificing their own interests, is wrong. The peacefulness in this case is not completely necessary, it is sometimes necessary to stand up for themselves.