Jim, author of this blog, is a conflict management expert and PhD candidate in the field of conflict management. He also has an MBA-MILR and deep background in social change.
This is the formula: The Total power available related to any goal is inversely proportional to the power difference between the mot powerful and dedicated parties in conflict.
Conflict requires definition and process. The definition is the same for all conflict. That definition is “Two or more people who want the same “rival goal” and are not able to “tear the baby in half” or share it in a way acceptable to both, neither will they stop trying to obtain their goal. This is not about the old adage, “You want the seeds, and I want the fruit.” It is about “I want the one job the company offers and so do you!” “I want to win first prize and so do you.” “I want to be able to leave this country without being killed and you don’t want me to…so you will kill me if I try.” It is about, “I want more market share and so do you…and we are in the exact same market.”
A rival goal is goal that cannot be divided, like keeping the bus seat or allowing someone else to force you out of it (Rosa Parks & Tanya Rosenblit). Human rights are a rival goal too. Either you have them or someone else it taking them from you under duress or threat.
People can be individuals or groups. A person who blames the self in a way that creates guilt, angst, “conflicted feelings”, dissonance, or any type of self-blaming mentality does not make a social conflict. This is a psychological problem rather than a social conflict.
Power is implied because reaching a goal requires power. Each conflict on this site is reviewed to assess each party’s ability to reach their goal. There is power between the parties that compares the innate ability to achieve what the parties desire at the expense, often, of the other. There is a power surrounding the parties that is “socially created” through rules and the equal or non equal enforcement of those rules. The greater the power difference between parties, the less creative development there will be in the context of the goal desired. Power is the most crucial factor in all the daily analysis.
