ABSTRACT

The increasing interaction among cultural groups due to the impact of globalization has not only made the relationship between conflict and culture more interdependent and complicated, but also demands that a new way be found for studying conflict management and resolution from a more dynamic perspective. Eastern and Western cultures are distinct societies in terms of axiological, epistemological and methodological assumptions. The axiological assumptions are especially useful for understanding the differences between Eastern and Western conflict behaviors. From the perspective of human interaction, the dynamic nature of culture can be more specifically displayed intraculturally by internal variations and interculturally by the continuum-like nature of cultural values. Geography and ethnicity are two important factors that account for the internal variations of a culture. The impact of geographic structure is also reflected, especially in China, in the different dialects and various communication styles that are used by people in different regions of a country.