Nature & Structure of Conflict - A Model

Nature & Structure of Conflict - A Model

A conflict has characteristics of its own, and it is possible to analyze its structure and
behavior. A simple model to easily understand the structure of conflicts is provided by
C.R.Mitchell in his book “The Structure of International Conflict.” Though the model
was created to describe political and military conflicts in an international scenario, it is
also equally well applicable to the complex conflict situations between individuals in
an office or organizational environment.
According to C.R.Mitchell, conflict structure consists of three parts: attitudes, behavior
and situations and the interaction among these three parts create conflicts between
individuals or groups.
According to Mitchell:
1. The situation impacts behavior – failure to reach targeted goals creates
frustration and prompts people to strive to reach those goals.
2. The situation impacts attitudes – incompatible goals increase the suspicion
and distrust between the people.
3. Behavior impacts the situation – success can introduce new questions in the
conflict as demands increases.
4. Behavior impacts attitudes – destruction increases hatred, success can impact
the group solidarity and the notion of “us”.
5. Attitudes impact behavior – expectations such as “our traditional enemies will
attack again” will impact the defensive planning and preventive actions.
6. Attitudes impact the situation – the longer the conflict continues, the more questions
will be introduced.
Mitchell contends that conflicts are caused by mixed-motive relationships where both
the involved parties have cooperative and competitive goals. The competitive element
creates conflict and the cooperative element creates incentives to negotiate an
agreement.