ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part begins with the logically self-evident, but nevertheless crucial, fact that the actual playing-out of conflict is impossible without people “doing” it. It utilizes both impoliteness strategies and impoliteness evaluations. The part discusses behavioural phenomena with clear relevance to conflict, involving different kinds of oppositional stance taken towards what someone has done or said. It examines the applicability to the study of conflict of one particular approach to interaction. The part explores instances of conflict, and often also its avoidance and resolution, in a variety of domains and settings. It argues that underlying all terms is the notion of opposition but points out that many of them seem to involve the idea that conflict additionally involves some features of the people doing the disagreeing.
