Transforming Conflict

What is the social role of conflict as it relates to the issue of climate change? What are the possible opportunities embedded in the problem?

If one views conflict as an opportunity to address differences in a way that will make relationships more complete, through agreement and understanding, then the social role of conflict is to aid humans' collective consciousness towards collaboration and fairness. Viewing conflict in this way is very much at odds with the current international conflict engagement system's foundation of self-interest and individuality. Climate change is a global issue and regardless of whose predictions are right or wrong, climate change provides a lens through which to see inherent flaws in the way we as a global community interact. As the world community advances, knowledge provides a catalyst for change. Much has been discovered about conflict since the Westphalia agreement that created sovereignty and a minimum requirement to be an accepted global citizen. The good news is conflict resolution practitioners have developed more productive ways to engage in conflict, which maximize mutual gain. The bad news is implementing these changes requires those with power and prestige to relinquish it with the understanding that the collective good is paramount to their own. This idea is not at odds with human needs but is at odds with some cultural and economic systems. If harnessed, the opportunity to transform global dialogue away from adversarial tendencies towards collective gains is one that would have a profound positive effect for the future of human interactions as a whole. I like to think of this transformation as a responsibility of everyone to choose what kind of world we create for ourselves.

What are the different types of power involved?

Climate change is not a singular issue. It requires inclusion of nation states, individuals and everything in between. Distinguishing what types of power exist across all aspects of human interaction is an undertaking of mammoth proportions and the findings would be all inclusive. One must look at culture, values, history, emotions, communication, structure and a host of other issues. In any dispute, knowledge of the power dynamics will assist in moving it forward, if the participants understand how to use power wisely. Mayer gives some example of the types of power dynamics that cut across conflicts in pairs: formal-informal, structural-personal, integrative-distributive, reward-sanction, individual-social, legitimate-illegitimate, time limited-ongoing and implied-applied (Mayer 2009, 3). If one assumes that the ADR field is uniquely qualified to facilitate the above mentioned transformation then an understanding of power is required insofar as power surfaces during the engagement of dispute. A well-designed system will bring all relevant parties into the discussion and educate them on how to use power wisely but the parties themselves must decide how to brandish their power.

What would a socially constructive dialogue look like? In your opinion, has there been constructive dialogue?

A socially constructive dialogue on climate change would be a worldwide conversation where those involved have an understanding that to cling to self-interest would be detrimental to everyone's interests. I believe that the beginning of this dialogue has started with various treaties and agreements including the Kyoto Protocol, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Clean Air Act, and the Climate Conference in Copenhagen. In my opinion, the majority of the work remains to be done. These accords are the start of a global understanding that can open the door for the larger transformation. This transformation, as I see it, is actually a reframing. Currently, the issue is simply the extent to which each party is willing to concede to the other. Eventually, this tense dynamic should morph into one in which the parties become more willing to contribute their full resources in order to reach a compromise. Only then can the opposing parties resolve their conflict through openness, which generates new fuller resolutions.

Works Cited

Mayer, Bernard S. 2009. Staying with Conflict: a Strategic Approach to Ongoing Disputes. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Print.