Understanding Conflict

Experience, Structure and Dynamics

"The descriptions that naturally emerge in people's efforts to talk about their problems provide a resource for the aware conflict manager."

Most discussions of conflict start by defining what “conflict” is. We prefer to start by asking what conflict is like. Think for a minute. How would you complete these sentences: Conflict is like…? My family does conflict like a…? I do conflict like a…?

What images come to your mind? What symbols or metaphors? Consider, for example, the broad differences that exist between Western and Eastern conceptions. In the Western world, “conflict” is rooted in the Latin word confligere. Literally this means “to strike together.” It leaves us with an image of flint and stone, sparks, heat and fire. “Heat” is one of the most common metaphors for conflict. How many times have you heard or used one of these phrases: a “heated” discussion; “boiling” mad; an issue too “hot” to handle; or problems “simmering” below the surface? The Chinese, on the other hand, form the symbol for “crisis,” which we associate with conflict, by combining two terms: danger and opportunity. Such a view does not perceive conflict in terms of collision, force and heat, but rather as a challenge…

Lederach, John Paul. “Understanding Conflict: Experience, Structure and Dynamics.” In Mediation and Facilitation Training Manual: Foundations and Skills for Constructive Conflict Transformation, edited by Carolyn Schrock-Shenk, 4th ed., 70–72. Akron, Pennsylvania: Mennonite Conciliation Service, 2000.

Republished by and shared with the permission of the Mennonite Central Committee, previously called the Mennonite Conciliation Service.