Hi, I'm Julie Tietz, and welcome to Conflict Resolution-- Putting the Pieces Together. Today we're going to talk about conflict analysis and specifically looking at the first stage of analyzing a conflict, which is identifying the parties involved, and looking at the context in which the conflict occurs.
So the first step in which we do in conflict analysis is identifying the parties, and we find that in conflicts, we will have direct parties which are those people or groups or individuals actively involved in the conflict. We also find that there are indirect parties, and these are people, groups, or individuals that are not necessarily actively involved in the conflict, but are affected by the conflict in some way or another, whether it's the outcome or they're an ally or a sympathizer to one of the direct parties.
And then once we identify the parties, we can find the context of the conflict. So here we're going to look for the history of the conflict. So we're going to ask about specific events that occurred, get the responses of the parties to these events, look at attitudes and perceptions. So getting a more broader overview and a bigger picture of the conflict and the environment in which the conflict is embedded in.
We know that there are direct and indirect parties involved within a conflict at times, and direct parties may know or may not know that there are indirect parties involved in the conflict. And as we go through the various stages of the conflict, these indirect parties may actually become involved and, in turn, become direct parties. So switching from an indirect party to a direct party.
Let's look at some examples of this so we can have a better idea of what we're talking about. Let's say, for example, we have an environmental conflict. So we have a company that is throwing waste into a river and a town in which the company is located on this river. And we're having a conflict between this town and the company.
But as we go further along through the various stages of the conflict, the once-indirect parties of the individuals, let's say, that lived in other towns along the river are becoming directly involved in the conflict because they have become affected by their polluted river water. So that's an example on how we may look at a conflict and see that there are direct parties involved, but as we go through the stages, indirect parties can also become involved.
Another example could be through an organization conflict. So maybe at a workplace, conflict starts out small and between two co-workers, but then they enlist some allies and sympathizers, and through the various stages they also become involved and it spreads like a spiderweb throughout this whole organization.
Similarly, we see this as well with international conflict. There could be a small conflict between, let's say, two different ethnic groups, and as it intensifies and grows, it can involve other individuals outside of the ethnic group within that particular country. And it could even also then spread to neighboring countries as well being pulled in as allies to assist on the ground, perhaps, giving troops and money. So another example on how we have various direct parties and indirect parties becoming involved further through the various stages of conflict.
When we are doing a conflict analysis, we are typically going to do some sort of conflict mapping as we go along so we can really get a better and clearer picture of what's going on in the context of the conflict. So through a conflict mapping, we will figure out the context of the conflict-- so the history of events that make up the specific conflict.
And as we're going along finding out the various events and context of the conflict, we may discover that this one conflict that we are analyzing and mapping out may be actually a part or an aspect of a larger conflict. So a conflict embedded within a conflict if that makes any sense to you. A mini-conflict inside of a bigger conflict.
And when we discover this, it can have or it may affect our resolution-- so how you might go about assisting the parties in figuring out ways to resolve their conflict. So for example, we may be dealing with two co-workers that are having a conflict or two different-- two work teams within a specific organization that are having a conflict.
And as we are identifying the issues and really getting to find out the history, we see that rather than this being just one specific conflict, it really stems out to other conflicts or systemic issues revolving around rules and regulations of this specific company. And we may be able to work with the work groups that are having a conflict on maybe some interpersonal issues, but how are we going to really look at those larger systemic issues of the company? And that may be or require some more further analysis on figuring out effective resolution for this larger issue.
Let's look at our key points on conflict analysis and identifying parties and contexts of conflict. We know that the first stage in conflict analysis involves identifying parties, and we have direct and indirect parties involved. And at times, direct parties may or may not be aware of the involvement of indirect parties within a specific conflict.
And as we go through some conflict mapping to really identify the issues and see the context of the specific conflict, we can also identify or see that maybe the conflict that we are looking at is a part of a larger conflict. So going back to our example of the organizational conflict.
And as we are understanding this and analyzing it, it can have an effect on how we resolve this conflict and open up other avenues and ways in which other issues should be addressed.
Here are your key terms before we go, feel free to posit look at them a little bit closer. Thank you so much for taking the time out, I hope that you learned something, and I can't wait to catch you again next time.
