![]() ![]() This article provides a review dealing with different perspectives on conflict escalation. ![]() Given its dynamics and, to a certain degree, its autonomous nature, an escalating conflict represents both an evolving process and a self-stabilizing structure, or, in other words, a social system in its own right. Conflict escalation is characterized by processes of circular interaction that “lead to the growth and restructuring of the parties, generating new reasons and pretexts for applying additional means, thus leading to an expansion and fundamentalization of the content of the conflict” (Eckert & Willems, 2003, p. This evolution, referred to as conflict escalation, is understood as an intensification of a conflict with regard to the observed extent and the means used (Pruitt, Kim, & Rubin, 2003, pp. It is thus crucial to understand how trivial contradictions can become meaningful conflicts in a broader societal context. Most conflicts manifest themselves as cursory bagatelles, but a few end up in situations of organized, collective violence (e.g., armed conflict). However, there is a large diversity of conflict in all these spheres of social life. From a life partner who refuses to do the dishes, to a labor union striking to demand higher wages, to a government and an opposition disputing mutual claims, conflict is an ubiquitous element of everyday life. ![]()
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