Essay on Nature and Characteristics of Conflict: – 1. Conflict is Universal: Conflict or clash of interests is universal in nature. It is present in almost all the societies.
In some societies conflict may be very acute and vigorous while in some others it may be very mild. Karl Marx, Frederich Engels, Saint Simon, Gumplowicz and others have emphasised the role of conflict as a fundamental factor in the social life of man.
Karl Marx, the architect of communism, has said that the history of the hitherto existing human society is nothing but the history of the class struggle. He has mentioned the capitalists and the labourers as belonging to two distinct social classes which have mutually opposite interests.
Image Source: johnmurphyinternational.com
ADVERTISEMENTS:
2. Conflict is a Conscious Action:
Individuals and groups who are involved in conflict are aware of the fact that they are conflicting. As Park and Burgess have pointed out conflict is always conscious and evokes the deepest emotions and strongest passions.
3. Conflict is Personal:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
When competition is personalised it leads to conflict. In the struggle to overcome the other person or group, the goal is temporarily relagated to a level of secondary importance.
4. Conflict is not Continuous but Intermittent:
Conflict never takes place continuously. It takes place occasionally. No society can sustain itself in a state of continuous conflict.
5. Conflict Defines Issues about which individuals differ a lot:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
A great part of human history consists of information about conflicts of one sort or the other. These conflicts may be between social classes, religious groups, social groups, political groups and nations. The pattern of struggle or conflict always changes as a result of changes in values, ideals, goals, religious notions, attitudes, ideologies, national interests, and so on.
6. Conflict is conditioned by Culture:
Conflict is affected by the nature of the group and its particular culture. The objects of conflicts may be property, power and status, freedom of action and thought, or any other highly desired value. When the stability of a political order is threatened, political conflict may be the result. If sectarianism is rife, we may expect conflict to occur in region. The culturally determined values of a society will set the stage for its struggles.
7. Conflicts and Norms:
Not only culture modifies conflict and its forms but also controls and governs it. When conflict is infrequent and when no adequate techniques have been worked out, more violent and unpredictable sorts of conflict such as race riots arise.
8. Conflict may be Personal or Impersonal:
Conflict may assume a variety of forms. We may observe conflicts between two individuals, families, classes, races, nations and groups of nations. It may take place between smaller or larger groups.
9. Ways of Resolving Conflict:
Conflict can be resolved in two main ways: (a) accommodation, and (b) assimilation. Accommodation refers to the adjustment of hostile individuals or groups. It is a temporary solution to the conflict.
It either suspends stops or postpones the conflicts for some time. It may assume various forms such as – coercion, compromise, arbitration and conciliation, toleration, rationalisation, sublimation and conversion.
Assimilation is “a process whereby individuals or groups once dissimilar become similar, and identified in their interests and outlook.” It is a permanent way of settling conflicts.
10. Frustration and Insecurity Promote Conflicts:
Sometimes, factors like frustration and insecurity promote conflicts within the same society. Individuals feel frustrated if they are thoroughly disturbed in their attempts to reach their goals.
These goals may be desire for power, position, prestige, status, wealth, money, etc. Insecurities like economic crisis, unemployment, the fear of deprivation of love and affection may add to the frustration.
In extreme cases of this sort one may even lose mental balance or even commit suicide. A society marked by widespread insecurity is one in which conflict is potential.