The parties in a conflict are always part of some sort of relationship, or a group of two or more that shares a sense of interdependence formed around:
These groups could be:
IN CONTEXT
As social animals, we feel that we have a relationship with our fellow humans that manifests itself within our communities, with our friends, and with our families.
We have different kinds of relationships, but they all develop from ongoing shared experiences: When in school, we may meet friends and form relationships with them; if we’re raising children, we might form relationships with other families who have children; at work, we form relationships with the people we're collaborating on projects with.
All the different places we go in our lives, from community clubs to places of worship, bring us into contact with people with whom we form relationships.
Then, out of these relationships comes an interdependence, or a state in which each member of a relationship is mutually dependent on the others.
This reliance and responsibility can be:
The more experiences we share together, or the more long-term the relationship is, the more we experience a sense of belonging together. We feel that we have to care for one another, as our mutual interests are in each other's welfare and needs.
EXAMPLE
When there's been a natural disaster or community tragedy, people bind together as citizens to help one another work through it. We also see it very close to home in those we consider family. We say we'd do anything to protect them, and we become dependent on people in the community to help protect us as well.Thus these dependencies form within:
EXAMPLE
Someone who has experienced homelessness may feel a strong connection to others currently experiencing it. They have dedicated their life to volunteering their time and resources to help build programs and create policies to end homelessness and help those affected by it.On a larger level, we feel interdependence as the need to protect these mutual interests, but we certainly also feel it on a personal level in the need to protect our families.
Source: Adapted from Sophia tutorial by Marlene Johnson.