Conflict transformation: why it matters and how it works – Conflict and Violence (Senior 1 History and Citizenship) | Ganzaa

Conflict and Violence

Lessons

Senior 1 · History and Citizenship

Conflict and Violence

5 lessons

Lesson 3 of 5

Conflict transformation: why it matters and how it works

25 min

Read the diagram: the conflict cycle

Conflicts are not frozen. They move through stages, and at each stage there is something people can do. Figure 3 shows a five-stage model widely used in peace education.

Figure 3. The conflict cycle. Each box names a stage, what it looks like, and (in bold italics) the action that can transform the conflict at that stage. Drawn by Ganzaa, after the stages of conflict described by Simon Fisher and colleagues in Working with Conflict (2000).

Worked example: placing real events on the cycle

Use the Kenya case from Lesson 2 and Figure 3.

Pre-conflict (before December 2007). Land grievances, poverty and politics organised by ethnic group created hidden tension.
Confrontation (late December 2007). The disputed election result brought the quarrel into the open, with protests.
Crisis (January to February 2008). Violence spread; at least 1,133 people died and more than 300,000 fled their homes.
Outcome (28 February 2008). The two leaders signed an agreement to share power.
Post-conflict (2008 onwards). Kenya began work on the roots, including a new Constitution, approved in a referendum in August 2010.

Lesson of the cycle: the earlier people act, the cheaper peace is. Dialogue in stage 1 costs little; stopping a crisis in stage 3 costs lives.

Definition

Conflict transformation: changing a conflict at its roots, so that the relationships, attitudes and unfair structures behind it change too, not just the fighting. The idea is closely linked with the peace scholar John Paul Lederach. Example: Kenya's 2010 Constitution, which addressed causes of the 2008 crisis.

Definition

Conflict resolution: ending a particular dispute through an agreement or decision. It settles the issue on the table, but may leave the deeper causes in place.

Definition

Dialogue: open, respectful conversation in which each side listens to understand the other, not to win. Example: a class meeting to discuss a quarrel over the football pitch.

Definition

Negotiation: a discussion in which the two sides bargain directly to reach an agreement both can accept.

Definition

Mediation: a process in which a neutral third person, the mediator, helps the two sides talk and find their own solution; the mediator does not decide for them. Example: Rwanda's Abunzi (Lesson 4).

Definition

Arbitration: a process in which the two sides agree to let a neutral third person, the arbitrator, hear both sides and make a decision that they must accept.

Definition

Reconciliation: the rebuilding of trust and a working relationship between people or groups after a conflict or a serious wrong. Example: neighbours who once quarrelled now farming together.

The steps of transformation

People can respond to a conflict in several ways. Figure 4 arranges them as a staircase: the higher the step, the more control passes from the two sides to an outsider. Whatever step is used, the goal is the same: reconciliation.

Figure 4. Ways of handling a conflict. On the green steps the two sides keep control of the solution; on the orange steps a third party decides. Reconciliation is the goal of all of them. Drawn by Ganzaa.

Good dialogue and mediation usually follow the same steps:

Cool down and agree to talk, in a safe place, with ground rules (no insults, one person speaks at a time).
Each side tells its story while the other listens.
Find the real interests: what does each side actually need?
Brainstorm solutions that meet both sides' needs.
Agree on a solution, write it down if needed, and follow up to check it works.
Repair the relationship: apology, forgiveness and working together again.

Important

A conflict passes through five stages: pre-conflict, confrontation, crisis, outcome and post-conflict.
Transformation deals with the roots and the relationships; resolution settles the immediate dispute.
Main steps: dialogue, negotiation, mediation (the parties decide), arbitration and courts (an outsider decides), with reconciliation as the goal.

Case study: African mediators end Kenya's crisis

In January 2008, as violence spread in Kenya, the African Union sent a Panel of Eminent African Personalities: Kofi Annan of Ghana (the chair), former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa and Graça Machel of Mozambique. Formal talks between the two sides began on 29 January 2008.

Mediation, not orders. The panel could not force a solution; it helped the two teams talk. When talks stalled, Annan met the two leaders, President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, directly.
The outcome. On 28 February 2008 they signed the National Accord: Kibaki remained President, and a new post of Prime Minister went to Odinga. The violence ended.
Transformation. The accord also committed Kenya to tackle the roots: land, inequality, and the rules for power. A new Constitution, which shared power more widely, including with 47 new counties, was approved in a referendum in August 2010.

The case shows the difference between the two ideas in this lesson. The power-sharing deal resolved the crisis; the constitutional and land reforms aimed to transform it.

Discussion

Why do you think African leaders, rather than leaders from outside Africa, were chosen to mediate in Kenya? What makes a good mediator? List three qualities and explain each.

Tip

Memory hook: "Talk, Bargain, Help, Rule, Judge". Dialogue (talk), negotiation (bargain), mediation (a helper), arbitration (someone rules), court (a judge). Then add the goal: reconcile.

John Filson, peace studies teacher: "Conflict Transformation vs. Conflict Resolution: What's the Difference?" (2 minutes). Listen for why conflicts that are "resolved" often come back, and link his answer to the roots in Figure 2.

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Practice

Name the five stages of the conflict cycle in order.
What is the difference between mediation and arbitration?
Explain the difference between conflict resolution and conflict transformation.
Put these responses in order from most control by the two sides to least: court, dialogue, arbitration, mediation, negotiation.
Two pupils quarrel over a lost textbook. Describe how a peer mediator would guide them through the six steps of mediation.
In the Kenya case, which event was the outcome stage, and which reform belonged to the post-conflict stage?
"Reconciliation is only needed after wars, not after small quarrels." Do you agree? Give reasons.

Show answersHide answers

Pre-conflict, confrontation, crisis, outcome, post-conflict.
In mediation a neutral helper guides the two sides to find their own solution; in arbitration a neutral person hears both sides and makes a decision they must accept.
Resolution ends a particular dispute through an agreement or decision; transformation also changes the roots, relationships and unfair structures behind it, so the conflict does not return.
Dialogue, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, court.
Cool down and agree ground rules; each pupil tells the story while the other listens; find what each really needs (the book, or respect); brainstorm solutions (search together, share a book, report the loss); agree and follow up; repair the friendship, for example with an apology.
Outcome: the National Accord of 28 February 2008. Post-conflict: the new Constitution approved in August 2010 (and land reforms).
No. Small quarrels also damage trust; if the relationship is not repaired, resentment can grow into a bigger conflict later. Reconciliation after a small quarrel is easier and prevents escalation.

Sources and credits

Photo: Kofi Annan 2012, United States Mission Geneva, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Figure 3 follows the stages of conflict in Simon Fisher, Dekha Ibrahim Abdi, Jawed Ludin, Richard Smith, Steve Williams and Sue Williams, Working with Conflict: Skills and Strategies for Action (Zed Books, 2000); the diagram and wording are by Ganzaa.
The Kenya mediation was checked against news reports of the National Accord of 28 February 2008 and the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis article (Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and rewritten by Ganzaa.
Video: "Conflict Transformation vs. Conflict Resolution - What's the Difference?", John Filson, embedded from YouTube.
Figure 4, the practice items and the rest of this lesson were written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1Read the diagram: the conflict cycle

2The steps of transformation

3Case study: African mediators end Kenya's crisis

4Discussion

Read the diagram: the conflict cycle

The steps of transformation

Case study: African mediators end Kenya's crisis

Discussion