Definition of Conflict:

Conflict is an ever present process in human relations. It has been defined by A. W.

Green “as the deliberate attempt to oppose, resist or coerce the will of another or
others. According to Gillin and Gillin, “Conflict is the social process in which individuals
or groups seek their ends by directly challenging the antagonist by violence or threat of
violence.”

According to Mazumdar, Conflict is opposition or struggle involving (a) an emotional

altitude of hostility as well as (b) violent interference with one’s autonomous choice.

Briefly, the following characteristics of conflict may be noted:

(i) Conflict is a conscious action. It is a deliberate intent to oppose.

(ii) Conflict is a personal activity.

(iii) Conflict lacks continuity.

(iv) Conflict is universal.

Causes of Conflict:
Conflict is universal. It occurs in all Limes and places. There has never been a Lime or a
society in which some individuals or groups did not come into conflict. According to
Malthus, reduced supply of the means of subsistence is the cause of conflict. According
to Darwin, the principles of struggle for existence and survival of the fittest are the main
causes of conflict.

According to Freud and some other psychologists the innate instinct for aggression in
man is the main cause of conflicts. Thus various causes have been mentioned leading
to conflicts. It arises primarily from a clash of interests within groups and societies and
between groups and societies. Conflicts also ensue as a result of the difference
between the rate of change in the moral norms of a society and men’s desire, hopes,
dissatisfactions and demands.

The moral norms that children should obey their parents have persisted in our country
since times immemorial but now the younger generation wants to go its own way. In
consequence, there is more parent—youth conflict than even before. Sometimes the
moral norms are so broad in scope that conflicting parties can often claim similar norms
to justify their separate demands.

or instance, the employees would justify their strike on the plea of deserving high wages
in this age of inflating prices whereas the management would justify its stand of
reducing them by advancing the excuse of its deficits in this age of competition.

Briefly stated the causes of conflict are:

(i) Individual Differences:
No two men are alike in their nature, attitudes, ideals and interests. On account of these
differences they fail to accommodate themselves which may lead to conflict among
them.

(ii) Cultural Differences:

Culture is the way of life of a group. The culture of a group differs from the culture of the
other group. The cultural differences among the groups sometimes cause tension and
lead to conflict. The religious differences have occasionally led to wars and persecution
in history. India was partitioned in the name of religious differences.

(iii) Clash of Interests:

The interests of different people or groups occasionally clash. Thus he interests of the
workers clash with those of the employers which leads to conflict among them.

(iv) Social Change:

Social change becomes a cause of conflict when a part of society does net change
along with changes in the other parts. Social change causes cultural lag which leads to
conflict. The parent-youth conflict is the result of social change. In short, conflict is an
expression of social disequilibrium.

Types of Conflict:
Simmel distinguished four types of conflict:

(i) War

(ii) feud or fictional strife

(iii) litigation

(iv) conflict of impersonal ideals.

War is the kind of group conflict we are most familiar with. Prior to the development of
inter-territorial trade, war provided the only means of contact between alien groups. In
this case, war although dissociative in character, has a definitely associative effect.

Simmel attributed war to a deep seated antagonistic impulse in man. But to bring this
antagonistic impulse to action some definite objective is needed which may be the
desire to gain material interest. It may be said that antagonistic impulse provides a
foundation for conflict.

Feud is an intra-group form of war which may arise because of injustice alleged to have
been done by one group to the other.
Litigation is a judicial form of conflict when someone, individual or group, asserts its
claims to certain rights on the basis of objective factors, subjective factors being
excluded.

Conflict of impersonal ideals is a conflict carried on by the individuals not for themselves
but for an ideal. In such a conflict each party attempts to justify truthfulness of its own
ideals, for example, the conflict carried on by the communists and capitalists to prove
that their own system can bring in a better world order.

Gillin and Gillin has mentioned five types of conflict:

(i) Personal conflict

(ii) Racial conflict

(iii) Class conflict

(iv) Political conflict 

(v) International conflict.

Personal conflict is conflict between two persons within the same group. A conflict
between two students is a personal conflict. Racial conflict between the Whites and
Negroes in the U. S. A is an example of racial conflict. The class conflict is conflict
between two classes.

According to Karl Marx, society has always been divided between two economic
classes—the exploiters and the exploited, which have always been al conflict with each
other. The political conflict is conflict between parties for political power.

Thus the conflict between the Congress Party and Opposition Parties is political conflict.
International conflict is conflict between two nations. The conflict between India and
Pakistan over Kashmir issue is international conflict.

Conflict can also be of the following types:

(i) Latent and overt conflict:
Conflict is usually described as latent or overt. In most cases, long before conflict erupts
in hostile action; it has existed in latent form in social tension and dissatisfaction. Latent
conflict becomes overt conflict when an issue is declared and when hostile action is
taken.

The overt conflict occurs when one side or the other feels strong and wishes to take
advantage of this fact. Sometimes actual conflict may exist in latent form for years
before there is a formulation of issue or a crisis. The latent conflict between China and
India may become overt in the form of outbreak of war over the boundary issue.
(ii) Corporate and personal conflict:
Conflicts are also classified as corporate and personal. Corporate conflict occurs among
the groups within a’ society or between two societies. Race riots, communal upheavals,
religious persecution, labour- management conflict and war between nations are the
examples of corporate conflict.

Personal conflict, on the other hand, occurs within the group. Though it is more severely
condemned than corporate Conflict, yet it is likewise universal. The group as a whole
has little to gain from Internal conflict or quarrels among its members. Personal conflicts
arise on account of various motives, envy, hostility, betrayal of trust being the most
predominant.

Role of Conflict:
As said above conflict is a fundamental human and societal trait. Some sociologists like
Ratzenhofer and Gumplowicz regard it as underlying social evolution and progress.
According to Gumplowicz, human societies are characterized by ‘syngenism’, a
primordial feeling of the members that they belong together. Their development was
marked by a ceaseless struggle.

According to Ratzenhofer, the struggle for life takes the form of conflict in interests.
Simmel maintained that a conflict free harmonious group is practically an impossibility.
There is no denying the fact that society requires for its formation and growth both
harmony and disharmony, association and disassociation. Conflict serves constructive
and positive end. Mack and Young write, “At its most rudimentary level, conflicts results
in the elimination or annihilation of the opponent. In human society, however, most
conflicts end in some sort of agreement or accommodation or in the fusion of the two
opposing elements.”

In corporate conflicts, that is, in conflict between groups and societies, solidarity and
fellow feelings are increased. It is aptly remarked that in corporate conflicts each nation
gains cohesion and strength through emphasising its own destiny as against that of
other nations. Internal harmony and external conflict are, therefore, opposite sides of
the same shield.

That is why war is held to be inevitable in a world of sovereign nations. But conflict
which causes war or takes hostile form may destroy lives and property of the people,
and what is more, may cause great psychological and moral damage.

The results of personal conflict i.e. intra- group conflict are largely negative in that such
a struggle lowers the morale and weakens the solidarity of the group. Personal conflict
of course has its positive side also.

The opposition of the individual by the other is the only way in which the continued
relationship can be made personally tolerable. Vicious gossip aimed at an unpopular
officer at times permits subordinates to funnel off their aggression without quitting the
job or attacking him physically. Similarly, the verbal conflicts of friends, lovers and
married couples often clear the air and permit once again the acceptance of the
relationship.

H. T. Majumdar has mentioned the following positive functions of conflict:

(i) Conflict ‘tends to stiffen the morale and promote the solidarity of the in-group.

(ii) Conflict, concluded with victory, leads to the enlargement of the victor group.

(iii) Conflict leads to redefinition of value systems.

(iv) Conflict may lead to the working out of non-violent techniques for resolving crises.

(v) Conflict may lead to change in the relative status of the conflicting parties.

(vi) Conflict may lead to a new consensus.

Horton and Hunt have classified the effects of conflict as follows:

Integrative Effects:
Defines issues

Leads to resolution of issues

Increases group cohesion

Leads to Alliances with other groups

Keeps groups alert to members’ interests

Disintegrative Effects:
Increases bitterness

Leads to destruction and bloodshed

Leads to intergroup tension

Disrupts normal channels of co-operation

Diverts member’s attention from group objectives.

Conflict has always captured the attention of the people and the society. It is the stuff
that drama feeds on. Conflict assumes that between two parties there is no common
ground, no end higher than the interests who divide them, and that the only solution is
to eliminate the one or the other.
Society makes efforts to control conflict, but the irony is that, it itself has created conflict
situations and perhaps cannot avoid doing so. By allowing different status to different
occupations, it has laid the basis for envy and resentment.

By giving authority to one person over the other it lays open the door for the abuse of
authority and consequently retaliation. By creating ends that are competitive, it makes it
possible for competition to take the form of conflict.

The truth is that there are elements of conflict in all situations. It is a part of human
society. Individuals are separate organisms. They can co-operate for certain ends but
not for all. They have ends that are mutually exclusive. For the attainment of these ends
they come into conflict with others who are also after seeking these very ends.

Since human groups are loose units as compared to the body or even the insect colony
the miracle is not how much conflict there is, but how little. Efforts, no doubt, are made
to smooth over conflict through certain social mechanisms but these are not universally
successful.

Distinction between Conflict and Competition:

From what we have so far read about conflict and competition, it will be clear that they
are not identical terms. They should not, therefore, be confused. Conflict differs from
competition in so many ways. For example, conflict involves contact; it takes place on a
conscious level, it is personal, it involves violence or at least the threat of violence.

Conflict always includes awareness of an adversary and overt conflict always includes
doing something to an adversary.

Much competition, however, occurs without actual knowledge of the other’s existence
as in taking a civil service examination or applying for a job. In competition, two or more
parties want something all cannot share, but they do not strive for the purpose of
denying or opposing others—else the action would become overt.

Again, competition is always governed by moral norms while much of conflict is not, as
is proved by the maxim “everything is fair in war.” The line dividing competition from
conflict is admittedly thin. The desire to gain one’s ends for one’s self or for one’s group
is often so strong that competition crosses over into conflict.

Lastly, whereas competition is a continuous process, conflict is intermittent. Conflict has

the tendency of occurring again as the differences are seldom resolved permanently. It
is this starts and stops character of conflict which helps to distinguish it from
competition.

To clarify the distinction between conflict and competition the following points
may be noted:
(i) Conflict involves contact, competition does not.
(ii) Conflict takes place on a conscious level, competition is unconscious.

(iii) Conflict is an intermittent process, competition is a continuous process.

(iv) Competition is non-violent, conflict may involve violence.

(v) Conflict disregards social norms; competition does care for these norms.

(vi) Competition is impersonal, conflict becomes personalised.

Co-operation and Conflict go together:

Co-operation and conflict are universal elements in social life. They occur among
animals as well as among human beings and they often come together. As in the
physical world where there are forces of attraction and repulsion simultaneously
operative and determinant of the position of bodies in space, so in social world there is
a combination of co-operation and conflict revealed in the operations of men and of
groups.

They resemble in this respect the equivalent of linked emotions of love and hate. The
psychologists have shown how these two emotions may exist in the same individual. A
child may love his mother for the satisfaction and pleasures she provides; yet dislike her
too because of the discipline she imposes. In the same way co- operation and conflict
often go together.

According to Cooley, conflict and co-operation are not separable things but phases of
one process which always involves something of both. Even in the friendliest relations
and in the most intimate associations there is some point where interests diverge or
where attitudes are not in accord.

They cannot, therefore, co-operate beyond that point and conflict is inevitable. The
closest co-operation, for instance, within the family does not prevent the occurrence of
quarrels. Cooley writes, “It seems that there must always be an element of conflict in
our relations with others as well as one of mutual aid; the whole plan of life calls for it;
our very physiognomy reflects it, and love and strife sit side by side upon the brow of
man. The forms of opposition change, but the amount of it, if not constant, are at any
rate subject to no general law of diminution.”

“Conflict of some sort is the life of society, and progress emerges from a struggle in
which each individual, class or institution seeks to realize its own ideals of good. The
intensity of this struggle varies with the vigour of the people, and its cessation, if
conceivable, would be death.”

Co-operation is a condition of conflict. Internal harmony and external conflicts are the
opposite sides of the same shield. It is difficult to eliminate conflict altogether from-
society. As regards intra-group conflict the world is not as yet organized as one social
entity and for this reason alone intra-group conflict cannot be eliminated.
As for inter-group conflict every group tries to eliminate it as far as possible. Conflict
threatens group solidarity, but despite it all conflict cannot be eliminated. Though there
are common ends for which the individuals unite into group, yet there are also ends
which relate to the person himself.

For realization of social standing, the individual comes into conflict with the members of
his own group. Even if open conflict can somehow be eliminated, conflict in its partial
form continues. It is an inescapable part of social life. Indeed there is no form of social
conflict that does not involve co-operative activity.

For instance, inter-group conflict is a patent source of intra-group co-operation.

Sometimes, to unify a society, conflicts are created with outsiders who are made to
appear as enemies. It is difficult to exaggerate the part that external struggle plays in
consolidating a group internally.

If it does not eliminate intra-group conflict, it at least subdues it. In other words, it is
difficult to exaggerate the part that struggle plays in consolidating a group internally. It
suffers least from internal conflict when it is engaged in external conflict with an enemy.
Nothing has done more in recent years to strengthen the unity of Jews than the revival
of onslaughts against them everywhere.

Conversely there are no examples of co-operative enterprises in society within which

conflict in some form is not present. MacIver rightly states that co-operation crossed by
conflict marks society wherever it is revealed—in the Co-operative culture” of the Zuni
Indians of South-West America, in the collectivized economy of Soviet Russia or the
competitive economies of other nations, in the formal debating club and so on.

WHY IS THERE A CONFLICT?

 A conflict is more than just a disagreement. It is a situation in which one or
both parties perceive a threat (whether or not the threat is real).

 Conflicts continue to fester when ignored. Because conflicts involve

perceived threats to our well-being and survival, they stay with us until we face
and resolve them.

 We respond to conflicts based on our perceptions of the situation, not

necessarily to an objective review of the facts. Our perceptions are influenced
by our life experiences, culture, values, and beliefs.
  Conflicts trigger strong emotions. If you aren’t comfortable with your
emotions or able to manage them in times of stress, you won’t be able to
resolve conflict successfully.

 Conflicts are an opportunity for growth. When you’re able to resolve

conflict in a relationship, it builds trust. You can feel secure knowing your
relationship can survive challenges and disagreements.

Conflict arises from differences, both large and small. It occurs whenever people
disagree over their values, motivations, perceptions, ideas, or desires. Sometimes these
differences appear trivial, but when a conflict triggers strong feelings, a deep personal
need is often at the core of the problem. These needs can range from the need to feel
safe and secure or respected and valued, to the need for greater closeness and
intimacy.

Why does conflict occur?

We all have our own objectives, goals, values and priorities that we consider to be
important. These however, may not be the same as our colleagues, and can cause
conflict.

Popular reasons for conflict within the workplace include

● Differences in personalities

● Competitive nature

● Poor communication

● A difference in values

● Performance issues

REASON BEHIND CONFLICT

Conflict is positive when it:
 Causes people to consider different ideas and alternatives
 Results in increased participation and more commitment to the decisions and goals of the group
 Results in issue clarification and/or reassessment
 Helps build cohesiveness as people learn more about each other
 

Conflict is destructive when it:

 Leads to bullying, harassment, or discrimination
 Diverts energy from more important issues and tasks
 Polarizes groups so that cooperation is reduced
 Destroys the morale of people, or reinforces poor self-concepts
  Wars are a major cause of poverty, underdevelopment, and ill health in poor countries
 The incidence of war has been rising since 1950, with most wars being within states
 Wars often have cultural dimensions related to ethnicity or religion, but there are
invariably underlying economic causes too
 Major root causes include political, economic, and social inequalities; extreme poverty;
economic stagnation; poor government services; high unemployment; environmental
degradation; and individual (economic) incentives to fight
 To reduce the likelihood of wars it is essential to promote inclusive development; reduce
inequalities between groups; tackle unemployment; and, via national and international
control over illicit trade, reduce private incentives to fight

PAIN AND RELIGIOUS TOLERATION (PRACTICES AND BELIEFS)