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The Culture of Conflict and Its Routinisation

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The Palgrave Handbook of Global Political Psychology

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Political Psychology Series ((PSPP))

Abstract

Intergroup conflicts are an inherent aspect of human relations and they have occurred repeatedly on a large scale for millennia. But of special interest are intergroup conflicts that are termed ‘intractable’ with their distinct characteristics. Intractable conflicts occur when groups have conflicting goals that they consider to be essential for their survival. Such conflicts are violent and are perceived by the parties involved as having a zero-sum nature and hence as being irresolvable. They deeply involve the engaged societies, which invest vast resources in their continuation, and they last for at least a generation (Bar-Tal, 1998, 2007a, 2013; Kriesberg, 1993, 2007). The long lasting conflicts with the prolonged and imprinting collective experiences lead to the development of a culture of conflict. The evolved culture of conflict with the continuous violence is the key feature of intractable conflicts. These vicious conflicts figure prominently in the history of civilisation. Examples in ancient times include the protracted struggles between the Greek ‘city-states’ and Persia and between Rome and Carthage; examples in later periods include struggles between France and England and between France and Prussia. In the twentieth century, some intractable conflicts were resolved; these include the conflicts in Algeria and South Africa. But to this day, such conflicts rage in other areas, for example, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Chechnya and the Middle East.

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Authors
  1. Daniel Bar-Tal
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  2. Guy Abutbul-Selinger
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  3. Amiram Raviv
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Huron University College, Canada

    Paul Nesbitt-Larking

  2. Department of Political Science, Lund University, Sweden

    Catarina Kinnvall

  3. Department of Politics, University of Surrey, UK

    Tereza Capelos

  4. Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, The Netherlands

    Henk Dekker

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© 2014 Daniel Bar-Tal, Guy Abutbul-Selinger and Amiram Raviv

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Bar-Tal, D., Abutbul-Selinger, G., Raviv, A. (2014). The Culture of Conflict and Its Routinisation. In: Nesbitt-Larking, P., Kinnvall, C., Capelos, T., Dekker, H. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Political Psychology. Palgrave Studies in Political Psychology Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-29118-9_21

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