Protracted social conflict is a technical term that generally refers to conflicts which are complex, severe, enduring, and often violent. The term was first presented in a theory developed by Edward Azar and contemporary researchers and conflict scholars continue to use it.
There are a number of sources and preconditions that lead to protracted social conflict. One understanding focuses on hostile interactions between groups that are based in deep-seated racial, ethnic, religious and cultural hatred. These conflicts often also have other causes, such as entrenched economic inequality and differentials in political power. They usually persist over long periods of time with sporadic outbreaks of violence. When a group's identity is threatened or frustrated, protracted social conflict is more likely to occur.Fisher 2001: 307. (Fisher, Ronald J. (2001) Cyprus: The Failure of Mediation and the Escalation of an Identity-Based Conflict to an Adversarial Impasse. Journal of Peace Research 38(3), 307–26.)
There are a number of different methods utilized for resolving protracted social conflict. Some of these include the ARIA model, the STAR model, truth and reconciliation commissions, contact models, identity affirmation frameworks, and amnesty models.
Protracted social conflicts have proliferated throughout the world. Examples include the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Kashmir conflict, the Sri Lankan civil war, the Cyprus problem, the first, second, and current Sudanese civil wars, apartheid in South Africa, the Rohingya genocide, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the Western Sahara conflict.
Definition Protracted social conflict describes a theory originally developed by Edward Azar. The term refers to conflict situations characterized by prolonged and often violent struggle between communal groups for such basic needs as security, recognition, acceptance, fair access to political institutions, and economic participation.Ramsbotham, Oliver. Contemporary Conflict Resolution, 2008: 84.
The communal groups may experience deep-seated cleavages based upon racial, religious, cultural or ethnic lines. These cleavages are characterized by continuing hostility with sporadic outbreaks of violence. They are caused by the frustration of human needs for security, recognition, and distributive justice. Cross-cuttiness is also very common along cleavage structures where divisions within society overlap and “cross-cut" on another group that may have similarities in ethnicity, religion, or social background. Greater association with ethnicity and religious affiliation leads to solidified loyalty groups, motivating harmony on social issues and reducing the chances of civil war onset which hinders protracted social conflict.
Such identity-driven rifts are the result of an underlying fear of extinction that often grows within vulnerable ethnic groups who live with the memories or fear of persecution and massacre.Haddad 2002: 317 Ethnic divisions and perceived threats often result in the domination of the state machinery by a single group or coalition of elites who deny access to basic human needs for the majority of the population.Ramsbotham, Oliver. Contemporary Conflict Resolution, 2008: 86–87.
Causes and preconditions
The causes of protracted social conflicts are diverse and numerous. However, there are often common themes: disputes over land, entrenched racial or ethnic tension, political marginalization of certain groups, and prolonged structural inequality are all examples. Since Azar's original work on protracted social conflict, other scholars have developed and continue to contribute to our understanding of its causes and preconditions.
Conflicts tend to be intractable if the adversaries have incompatible goals. This may involve fights over items that cannot be divided, shared, compromised, or substituted. A conflict may be protracted even if, for example, a contested piece of land could theoretically be divided. The dynamics of a conflict may involve a repeated action–reaction sequence leading to escalation of violence as well as increased military mobilization and enlargement of the conflict by involving neighbor territories and external support (proxy war). Leaders of the conflicting adversaries may become entrapped by their own rhetoric and propaganda so that they are continuing the conflict in order to save face and to stay in office.
Asymmetric conflicts are often protracted because of unequal negotiating power. A negotiated peace agreement is unlikely to be satisfactory to a weak party with weak negotiating power. The conflict is likely to flare up again as long as the grievances of the weak party are not addressed in a satisfactory way.
Azar's preconditions Azar argued that the denial of basic human needs to a large portion of the population initiated instances of protracted social violence. Four preconditions are isolated by Azar as the predominant sources of protracted social conflict: communal content, deprivation of human needs, governance and the state's role, and international linkages.Ramsbotham, Oliver. Contemporary Conflict Resolution, 2008: 85–87.
Communal content This element, which contributes to the initial creation of protracted social conflict, consists of the fact that people involved in protracted social conflicts create their own identity groups. Azar notes, "that it is the relationship between identity groups and the states, which is at the core of the problem." He also cited the "disarticulation between the state and society as a whole" as a source of violence within a society.Ramsbotham, Oliver. Contemporary Conflict Resolution, 2008: 85.
This precondition also involves the reliance that many people have on their social groups; because governments in areas that experience protracted social conflict are often unable, incapable or unwilling to provide basic human necessities to the population, individuals turn to their social groups for stability. The resultant disconnection of society and the state can be linked to the colonial legacy, which, "artificially imposed European ideas of territorial statehood onto a multitude of communal groups."Ramsbotham, Oliver. Contemporary Conflict Resolution, 2008: 86.
This results in the domination of certain identity groups over others. The dominant group isolates itself from the needs of other groups, leading to an even bigger separation between groups even within an ethnicity. To overcome this division of society, national identity must be stressed over individual group identity.
Deprivation of human needs To alleviate the "underdevelopments" Azar holds responsible for protracted social violence, and in turn overcome the conflict resulting from underdevelopment, Azar points to the needs of security, development, political access and identity in terms of cultural and religious expression. Azar refers to these needs as non-negotiable; therefore, if these needs are not met, people will inevitably want a structural change to take place. Such a need for structural change is likely to result in a violent conflict.
This in turn emphasizes Azar's theory that the "deprivation of human needs is the underlying source of protracted social conflict" where conflict is emphasized by the collective grievances of a group of people. To overcome this deprivation of human needs to entire groups of people, the government must offer security on a multiplicity of levels to all of the constituent population.
Governance and the state's role With government being "endowed with the authority to govern and use force where necessary to regulate society, to protect citizens, and to provide collective goods," the government plays a leading role in the satisfaction or lack of satisfaction of minority and identity groups.
Azar states that protracted social conflicts can be characterized by "incompetent, parochial, fragile, and authoritarian governments that fail to satisfy basic human needs."Ramsbotham, Oliver. Contemporary Conflict Resolution, 2008: 87. It is said that governments, expected to be unbiased and impartial, tend to be dominated by the leading identity groups or those groups that have been able to monopolize power within a country or territorial entity. This creates a "crisis of legitimacy" in the governance of these countries. The structure of the government needs to be changed so that all citizens are equally cared for and equally represented without bias or corruption.
International linkages This involves the "political-economic relations of economic dependency within the international economic system, and the network of political-military linkages constituting regional and global patterns of clientage and cross-border interest."
Weaker states, like those often involved in protracted social conflict, tend to be more influenced by outside connections both economically and politically. For example, many states are dependent on an external supply of armament. To overcome the dominance of the international economy, the country in question must work to build institutions that can ease global dependency and stimulate domestic economic growth.
Historical trauma One increasingly discussed cause of protracted social conflict is historical trauma, which is the collection of adverse responses and experiences groups have after being subjected to violence such as colonization, ethnocide, and structural inequalities. In this view, historical trauma is a very common underlying causes of protracted social conflict and is often under-addressed in conflict resolution processes.
Resolving protracted social conflict As Edward Azar stated:
Conflict resolution approaches that focus on resources, or the interests of parties, may be appropriate means of conflict resolution in conflicts where the only issues are those of resource and interests; however, in protracted social conflicts the main issue is identity-based. Therefore, to be effective, a conflict resolution framework must specifically emphasize the needs and identities of the conflicting parties.
One conflict resolution model, known as STAR or Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience, may also show promise as a strategy for resolving protracted conflicts: this model specifically emphasizes historical trauma as a root cause of violence.
ARIA model Rothman developed a unique approach of conflict resolution that is specifically designed to mitigate protracted social conflict. He terms this approach the ARIA model. In contrast to the model of interactive conflict resolution (ICR) that Fisher proposed in 1996, which includes identity as one of many human needs, the ARIA model "keeps its focus more narrowly attuned to identity issues in particular."Rothman, Jay, Resolving Identity-Based Conflict In Nations, Organizations, and Communities (Jossey Bass, 1997)Rothman, Jay and Marie L. Olson, "From Interest to Identities: Towards a New Emphasis in Interactive Conflict Resolution." Journal of Peace Research, 2001; 38: p. 289. Rothman and Olson suggest that conflict can only be truly resolved when identity issues have been sufficiently addressed.
The ARIA model is a comprehensive, yet specific approach to resolving protracted social conflict. It attempts to break down "the barrier of identity through a four-phased process." The various stages of the ARIA model are outlined below:
Antagonism (adversarial framing) This first step focuses on the tangible "what of the conflict." It is defined in "us" versus "them" terms and calls on the various entities to elaborate and make clear their underlying values and needs. By bringing animosities to the forefront, it is hoped that the mutual benefits of ending the conflict can be realized.
Resonance (reflexive–reframing)