ABSTRACT
In conflict situations, resources are mobilised to force the other party to change their behaviour according to one's own wishes. Mismanaged conflict erupts in violence, consequently resulting in the destruction of a community. Conflict relations reveal the structure of a family, a community and an international system. Power differentials in conflict situations are based on the ability to mobilise both material and symbolic resources that are critical to determining the outcome of the conflict. In many instances, conflict in a contemporary political system reveals policy failures and public insecurities. Efforts are made to frame conflict behaviour within the recognised sets of rules of social order. The processes of dispute resolution, not connected to conflict resolution theories, have been developed out of the idiosyncratic expertise of institutionally approved practitioners. Conflict situations need to be transformed in such a way to identify and support structures that tend to consolidate peace.
