Students of conflict management and international negotiation processes are keenly aware that the international system is changing in profound ways. Much of the earlier and contemporary discussion on conflict prevention is rooted in the liberal internationalist paradigm insofar as it stresses the importance of strengthening governance and the development of democracy at the national level, and international and regional institutions at the systemic and subsystemic levels. This chapter discusses how the international system is changing and the opportunities and risks some of these changes present for diplomacy, negotiation, mediation and the peaceful settlement of disputes. It also discusses all the some kinds of conflict patterns. A source of conflict that plays into perceptions of political identity and legitimacy is religion. A first, more familiar category of conflict results from state fragility or failure leading to political collapse, a vacuum of authority, and humanitarian crisis. The next category of conflicts revolves around the perception of existential threats.