Conflicting Pressures of Conflict and Peace

Conflicting Pressures of Conflict and Peace
Whenever we are talking about international human relations we are also going to have to look at “conflict” in a variety of forms. As countries modernize, they experience change with varying degrees of conflict involved. Countries that have modernization occur rapidly are hotbeds for Fundamentalist movements. They are especially vulnerable if they are “Third World Nations” who lack a system of national education. There appears to be a strong correlation to technological/educational growth to religious abatement.

“A fundamental question about the determinants of civil conflict is the relative importance of political freedoms versus economic development. MacCulloch and Pezzini took a new approach to provide an answer by using micro-data based on surveys of revolutionary tastes of 130,000 people living in 61 nations between 1981 and 1997. Controlling for personal characteristics, country and year fixed effects, more freedom and economic growth both reduce revolutionary support. Losing one level of freedom, equivalent to a shift from the US to Turkey, increases support for revolt by 4 percentage points. To reduce support by the same amount requires adding 14 percentage points onto the GDP growth rate. Being Muslim in a free country has no effect on the probability of supporting revolt compared to a non-religious person. However being Muslim in a country that is not free increases it by 13 percentage points. Being Christian in a free country decreases the chance of supporting revolt by 4 percentage points, compared to a non-religious person, and in a not-free country by 1 percentage point.”

(MacCulloch, Pezzini, 2002). [Italics added]

Sometimes a Positive Tension Leads to Growth
For over 4 years I conducted an experiment in a traditional class I taught, called "Group and Organizational Management." I would darken the room of the class, and then shine a light on the wall. Sometimes I used a laser light from inside a box with a slit in it. I directed everyone to watch the wall, where the light would shine. I would shine the light directly in the center of the wall, always. There is an illusion when the lights go out that the light moves away from you if you see it at an angle. So, everyone on both sides of the perimeters would often say it moved about an inch to a quarter of an inch: if they sat on the right, they would say it moved left; if they sat on the left, they would say it moved right about the same distance. Everyone in the middle would say it did not move at all. Conflict over who has the right “perception” was inevitable. They then realized after talking to one another: Their perception was an illusion and that it did not move at all. However, they would not have been able to do that on their own, as individuals. It took a positive tension from their disagreement over whether it moved. It was not the tension that brought them to the realization; it was their “full participation.” Those that did not watch for the light often also did not come to the realization that their own thoughts unchallenged, are often wrong to the degree they delay examining them.



MacCulloch, R. and Pezzini, S., (2002), “The Role of Freedom, Growth and Religion in the Taste for Revolution,” http://repec.org/res2003/Pezzini.pdf [web pdf]

Online Resources
"Agreeing and Disagreeing in Love" Mennonite Church USA http://peace.mennolink.org/agree.html
Code of Ethics of the Unitarian Universalist Church http://www.uurockford.org/Code.htm
"United We Live ... Divided We Die" http://www.earthsite.org/united.htm
"Love - Truth: A technique for achieving unity, that permits diversity" http://www.wowzone.com/lovtruth.htm
Circle of Concern / Circle of Influence http://www.breakoutofthebox.com/circle.htm
Circle of Influence http://www.lightningdiving.freeservers.com/circle_of_influence.htm "Grant me the courage to change the things that I can control, the serenity to accept the things that I cannot control and the wisdom to know the difference"
Interpersonal Conflict: Dangers and Solutions http://www.lacalle.com/interpersonal_conflict_resolution.htm
The Many Costs of Conflict http://www.resolutionworks.org/article_manycosts.htm
Ten Tips for Managing Conflict, Tension and Anger http://mentalhealth.about.com/library/weekly/aa032601a.htm
The Purpose of Conflict http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/walmsley5.html
How to Fight Fair So That Everyone Wins http://www.upenn.edu/fsap/conflict.htm
Peacemaking: Positive Peace in the Workplace http://www.manageconflict.com/Peace13.htm and Teach Your Employees Conflict Management Skills http://www.manageconflict.com/Peace12.htm
Barriers to Every Day Communication http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/foster.cfm
Don't Let the Foozles Get the Best of Your Classroom! http://www.yesiteach.org/peace.htm
A Conflict Resolution Protocol for Elementary Classrooms ( PDF file) http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/PDF_files/feature_10.PDF
Win-Win Approach to Conflict Resolution http://www.mckeownconsulting.tv/html/conflict_resolution.html
You add peace of mind by dividing your anxieties http://www.theolympian.com/home/specialsections/StateWorkers/20030120/11801.shtml

An excerpt from the book: “International Human Relations, Interpersonal Work Skills” by Frank Mueller and Dena Mueller due out in May of 2010. © 2008 All rights Reserved