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• v.57(3); 2017

Insights into the Belgian Linguistic Conflict from a (Social) Psychological Perspective: Introduction to the Special Issue

Nicolas van der linden.

1 Université Libre de Bruxelles, BE

2 Ghent University, BE

“If you think you understand the Belgian linguistic conflict, then obviously no one explained it properly to you” (Unknown).

In some way, Belgium is a contradiction. On the one hand, the country has greatly contributed to the political construction of Europe. On the other hand, it remains mired in the ongoing conflict between the two main linguistic groups: Flemings, 1 who inhabit the northern part of the country and speak Dutch, and French-speakers or Francophones, who mainly live in Wallonia (the south of Belgium) and Brussels (which is geographically located in Flanders but is predominantly French speaking). This seemingly intractable conflict has culminated in two major recent political crises (in 2007–2008 and 2010–2011), which have fueled fears in some people that Belgium would eventually split ( De Winter & Baudewyns, 2009 ; Rimé, Bouchat, Klein, & Licata, 2015 ).

Confronted with the dual movement of supranational integration and subnational regionalism, Belgian political institutions have been profoundly transformed since World War II. In response to requests stemming from both sides of the conflict, the Kingdom of Belgium has moved from a unitary to a federal state ( Covell, 1986 ; Swenden & Jans, 2006 ). With 11 million inhabitants, it is now composed of three regions, which are defined on a territorial basis and deal with economic policy: Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels representing, respectively, 58, 32, and 10% of the population. It also comprises three communities, which are defined on a linguistic basis and deal with cultural and educational policies: the Dutch-speaking community, the French-speaking community, and a small German-speaking community representing, respectively, approximately 56, 43.5, and .5% of the population. The Dutch- and French-speaking communities are both active in Brussels in a ratio of 1:9 ( Hooghe, 2004 ). 2 In other words, two layers of federal entities coexist within the same national territory. This reality is sometimes puzzling to the outside observer. Under the heading “Belgian is a small country with a complicated political structure”, The Washington Post ( Titeca, 2017 ) even proposed to draw lessons from African politics in order to shed light on the apparent disorder prevailing in the land of surrealism.

Because of its intricate political and linguistic makeup, Belgium provides researchers interested in intergroup relations and intergroup conflict with a particularly rich field of investigation. However, Olivier Klein and Bernard Rimé, who convened a symposium titled “What has psychology to say about the Belgian linguistic conflict?” during the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Belgian Association for Psychological Sciences, noted that psychology in general, and social psychology in particular, still had to make a major contribution to the understanding of the Belgian linguistic conflict. This Special Issue aims to make a start in filling this void.

Belgium: Historical and political contexts

The current dynamics of the Belgian linguistic conflict cannot be fully grasped without knowledge of the historical processes that created Belgium’s institutions and political culture. The history of the conflict can be divided into four episodes ( Mnookin & Verbeke, 2009 ): Domination by the French-speaking elites, breakthrough of the Flemish movement, role-reversal in economic prosperity, and a changing institutional structure.

Belgium gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1830. Back then, the linguistic distribution of the population was very similar to the current one: a majority of Dutch-speakers, a minority of French-speakers, and a much smaller minority of German-speakers ( Hooghe, 2004 ). However, the state was unitary and unilingual. Throughout the territory, the language of power and administration was French. Language use was also a marker of social status: In general, people speaking Dutch or German were from modest backgrounds, whereas people speaking French were from the upper classes or the nobility ( Dassargues, Perrez, & Reuchamps, 2014 ).

In reaction to the domination of the French-speaking elites, which persisted until the 1960s, a Flemish movement was established ( Vos, 2002 ). After years of struggle, it obtained the recognition of Dutch as an official language in 1898. Whereas its initial claim was a better recognition of Flemish culture and language within a unified Belgium, the Flemish movement evolved towards a sub-nationalism defined in ethnic terms ( Martiniello, 1998 ).

The rise of Walloon nationalism came only after World War II ( Hooghe, 2004 ). Until then, the steel and mining industries of Wallonia had been the engines of Belgium’s prosperity. However, after World War II, Wallonia’s economy started to decline, whereas the Flemish economy experienced a boom. The balance between the two regions’ gross domestic product per capita occurred in 1965. By the end of the 1980s, Flanders’ economy had established a considerable lead, and this gap was further widened in the 1990s. In reaction to this new situation, Walloon elites requested more autonomy in order to develop policies more adapted to the region’s struggling economy ( Dassargues et al., 2014 ).

Requests for more linguistic and cultural autonomy from Flemish political parties and requests for more economic autonomy from French-speaking political parties provided the backdrop for the radical institutional transformations that have occurred in Belgium since the 1960s. In 1962 and 1963, legislation was approved which created a permanent language border and resulted in the division of the territory in three monolingual (i.e., Dutch, French, and German) areas ( Vos, 2002 ). Within this legislation, Brussels received a special status as a bilingual area. The linguistic border was subsequently used to define the limits of the constituent parts (i.e., the communities and regions) of the Belgian federation. With time, more and more powers were transferred from the federal level to the communities and regions. Currently, French-speaking political parties consider these evolutions sufficient, whereas some Dutch-speaking political parties want more constitutional reforms. The latter request the abrogation of language facilities, which were granted to municipalities adjacent to the language border as part of the language legislation. Six of those currently crystallize the linguistic tensions ( Hooghe, 2004 ). In these Flemish municipalities surrounding Brussels, French-speakers, who often form a considerable part of the population, have the right to deal with the authorities in their mother tongue. However, a more contentious issue is related to the control and allocation of governmental resources ( Mnookin & Verbeke, 2009 ). Specifically, some Flemish representatives take issue with the fact that Wallonia receives more in terms of public expenditures than it contributes to the state revenues. In other words, they perceive that the “lazy” Walloons are unjustly benefiting from the hard earned wealth of their northern neighbors and call for the regionalization of national entitlement programs. The largest political party in both Flanders and Belgium, the Flemish nationalist N-VA, is at the forefront of these requests. Its president, Bart De Wever, has come to embody French-speakers’ fears that Belgium would eventually split (for an overview of the Belgian political landscape, see Meeusen, Boonen & Dassonneville, this issue).

The presentation of two other, overlapping, episodes allows drawing a more complete picture of the language divide in Belgium. Diverging representations associated with the two great wars have weighted heavily on relations between the two main linguistic groups ( Vos, 2002 ). Although reality is much more nuanced, French-speakers usually believe that their ancestors were more often resistance fighters and Flemings more often collaborators during both wars, whereas Flemings usually believe that the repression of collaborators was more severe in Flanders than in Wallonia. 3 Despite requests from Flemish representatives, no amnesty was granted to convicted collaborators up to now, a situation that continues to spur public debates ( De Meulemeester, 2014 ; see also De Guissmé, Lastrego, Mélotte, and Licata, this issue).

The great wars transformed Belgium in another way. After World War I, German-speaking territories, located to the east of the country, were ceded from Germany to Belgium in compensation for losses and damages caused by the war. They were regained by Germany during World War II only to be ceded back to Belgium after the war. Because of (mostly alleged) sympathies and collaboration with the Nazi occupier, German-speakers were discriminated against ( Dewulf, 2009 ). For instance, after the war, French became the only language in administration and education ( Markusse, 1999 ). Charged with treason by their fellow Belgians and in a social climate of suspicion, they responded by showcasing themselves as “good” Belgians. They also isolated themselves from the other federal entities ( Wagener, 2013 ). This has translated in two contrasting attitudes, the most prevalent being disinterest and distrust of politics, the other being aspiration for more autonomy. The latter attitude has led to requests that powers bestowed on the regions (e.g., economy) be transferred to the German-speaking community. Because of its small size and limited contribution to institutional reforms, the German-speaking community has usually been neglected in analyses of the Belgian linguistic conflict (see Luminet et al., 2012 ; Swenden, 2002 ). The article by Asbrock and Van Hiel (this issue) marks a sharp break with this trend.

Belgium as a case study for (social) psychology

A fruitful strategy for investigating the dynamics of intergroup conflict involves considering these dynamics in a specific national context and across multiple levels of analysis ( Pettigrew, 1998 ; Tajfel, 1982 ). Such requirements flow naturally from the recognition that the relevance, meaning, and intensity of constructs, as well as their embeddedness in a complex of influential factors, may vary in different (national) contexts ( Vollhardt, & Bilali, 2008 ).

There are good reasons to single out Belgium as a case study. First, although the linguistic conflict has been intense at times, it has been confined to electoral competition and non-violent street protest ( Hooghe, 2004 ). This opens up the possibility to study the dynamics of intergroup conflict in a setting where structural ‘violence’ (i.e., covert violence that harms individuals slowly through societal arrangements, such as the uneven distribution of resources and power) rather than direct violence (i.e., overt violence that involves immediate attacks on someone’s well-being and can quickly cause harm; Galtung, 1981 ) characterizes intergroup relations. Such approach has not been systematically adopted for some psychological concepts relevant to the study of intergroup conflict (e.g., collective victimhood; but see Jasini, Delvaux, Mesquita, this issue).

Secondly, Belgium is a multilingual society where members of the different linguistic communities not only live to a large extent in territorially distinct territories but also partake in different public spheres ( Sinardet, 2009 ). Many factors have contributed to this state of affairs, starting with limited linguistic knowledge within the population: whereas more than half of the Flemish population has a good to excellent command of French, people having a good to excellent command of Dutch represent only 31 and 16% of the population in Brussels and Wallonia, respectively. Knowledge of German is even less widespread as people having a good to excellent command of this language represent only 19, 12, and 2% of the population in Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia, respectively ( Van Parys & Wauters, 2006 ). 4 The institutional changes initiated in the 1960’s have also led to separations between Dutch-, French-, and German-speaking political and media systems. The once unitary political system broke into three linguistic segments between which there is no electoral competition. Except for Brussels and the facility municipalities, all Belgian geographical areas are under strictly monolingual regime. Hence, the political system provides no incentive to respond to the demands from the two other communities ( Swenden, 2002 ). The same can be said about the media system, with each community having its own public broadcasting organization, while the commercial radio and television stations are also monolingual. Moreover, media report only to a limited extent on news about the other communities, and political debates about nationally relevant topics are conducted almost exclusively with representatives of the ingroup ( Sinardet, De Swert, & Dandoy, 2007 ). The most tangible consequence of these breakdowns is that Belgian citizens know little or nothing about the other communities ( Billiet, Maddens, & Frognier, 2006 ). According to Sinardet ( 2009 ), in such a segregated context, the development of a national identity is hardly possible, whereas attempts at (mis)representing the different Belgian linguistic communities as homogeneous groups with opposed public opinions are made easier, which creates a breeding ground for ethno-nationalist discourse. This context also has direct implications in terms of the type of threat that Flemings or French-speakers elicit in the eyes of the other group (see Meuleman, Abts, & Meeusen, this issue).

A third reason Belgium is worthy of selection as a case study for testing, revising or developing models of intergroup conflict is that it provides an ideal setting to examine relative groups status in flux. Indeed, a few studies have suggested that the relative status of the two main linguistic groups is not self-evident. From an objective standpoint, whereas Flemings are a majority in Belgium, they are a minority in Brussels, the opposite being true for French-speakers ( Klein & Azzi, 2001 ). From a subjective standpoint, Klein et al. ( 2012 ) pointed out that some of the central traits of the Flemish stereotypes about French-speakers are typically associated with high-status groups. These traits, commonly found in surveys, are “arrogant”, “contemptuous”, “haughty”, or “feeling superior” (e.g., Nuttin, 1976 ). However, this high status association does not reflect a material reality: on most objective indices (numerical size, power, etc.), French-speakers constitute a lower-status group. One can only interpret these traits as a function of the frame of reference provided by a representation of Flanders’ history in which French-speakers “dominated” the region. Based on these and other observations, Klein et al. ( 2012 ) proposed that perceived relative status varies depending on which dimension of the conflict (linguistic vs. economic) is most salient at a given time (evidence substantiating this model is presented in Klein, Bouchat, Azzi, and Luminet, this issue). Such observations and analysis run counter to widely used psychological theorizing like social identity theory ( Tajfel, 1982 ) or the stereotype content model ( Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002 ), according to which the relative status is determined mainly, if not exclusively, by numerical size, status (or prestige), and power.

Individually, none of the previous characteristics is unique to the Belgian conflict. Canada and Switzerland, for instance, are also hosts to nonviolent conflicts between their linguistic communities, which, like Dutch-, French-, and German-speakers in Belgium, are living mainly in territorially distinct regions ( Bougie, Usborne, de la Sablonnière, & Taylor, 2011 ; Stojanovic, 2009 ). And in the case of Northern Ireland, double minority and double majority models have been developed to account for the fact that the perceived relative status of Catholics and Protestants is elusive: The members of each group can feel or act as either minority or majority members depending on the interpersonal or intergroup context ( Stevenson, Condor, & Abell, 2007 ). However, the combination of these characteristics probably makes for a unique conflict setting in Belgium.

Review of past research

Although still relatively rare, some attempts by psychologists have been made to understand the dynamics of the Belgian intergroup conflict. These included studies on stereotypes and intergroup attitudes ( Klein et al., 2012 ; Leyens & Yzerbyt, 1992 ; Mesquita, Delvaux, Klein, Licata, Mercy, & Rimé, 2010 ; Nuttin, 1976 ), (sub-)national identification ( Rimé et al., 2015 ) citizenship representations ( Duriez, Reijerse, Luyckx, Vanbeselaere, & Meeus, 2013 ; Meeus, Duriez, Vanbeselaere, & Boen, 2010 ; Sanchez-Mazas, Van Humskerken, & Casini, 2003 ), attributions ( Klein & Licata, 2001 ), justice perceptions ( Klein & Azzi, 2001 ; Klein et al., 2012 ), the impact of the media ( Euwema & Verbeke, 2009 ), as well as collective memory and intergroup emotions ( Alarcón-Henríquez, Licata, Leys, Van der Linden, Klein, & Mercy, 2010 ; Heenen-Wolff, Verougstraete, & Bazan, 2012 ; Klein et al., 2012 ; Mesquita et al., 2010 ; Rimé et al., 2015 ). Although the most frequent approach has been to use the Belgian linguistic conflict to answer questions and test predictions derived from psychological theories (e.g., Leyens & Yzerbyt, 1992 ), a few studies have taken the conflict as a starting point for their analysis (e.g., Klein et al., 2012 ).

In line with the results of studies in sociology and political sciences (e.g., Billiet, Maddens, & Frognier, 2006 ), analyses conducted by Rimé et al. ( 2015 ) revealed that Flemings identified less with Belgium and more with their region than French-speakers did. Besides variations in levels of identification, past research also documented differences in citizenship representations ( Duriez, Reijerse, Luyckx, Vanbeselaere, & Meeus, 2013 ; Sanchez-Mazas, Van Humskerken, & Casini, 2003 ): whereas Flemings tend to define citizenship in ethnic terms, French-speakers tend to define it in civic terms. Moreover, two studies by Meeus, Duriez, Vanbeselaere, and Boen ( 2010 ) sought an explanation for the positive association usually observed among Flemings between subnational identification and outgroup derogation, and found support for a mediation hypothesis whereby identification with Flanders was associated with a more ethnic representation of citizenship, and consequentially a greater inclination to display ethnic prejudice.

Most of the recent research has concentrated on collective memory and intergroup emotions. Results of a recent comparative survey ( Mesquita et al., 2010 ) found that Flemings and French-speakers punctuated the conflict differently: Flemings (particularly Flemish nationalists) tended to view the conflict as more ancient (median year of the onset of the conflict = 1830) than French-speakers (median = 1930), for whom the linguistic issue became a reality only when the Flemish movement radicalized. Both groups therefore view themselves as victims: Flemings as past victims of arrogant French-speakers; and French-speakers as present victims of dominant and nationalist Flemings. However, there was widespread consensus among respondents, irrespective of their mother tongue, that Flemings had suffered more from French-speakers than the other way around. Alarcón-Henríquez et al. ( 2010 ) further showed that recognition of shared past suffering can improve intergroup attitudes and lead to reconciliation between Flemings and French-speakers provided that intergroup trust is present. More recently, Rimé et al. ( 2015 ) tested the possibility that reconstructions of the past are shaped by current social conditions and interests. More specifically, they expected collective memories of victimization by French-speakers to fade among younger generations of Flemings because these collective memories would fail to provide an adequate account for the much-improved social conditions in which they are presently living compared to their ancestors. Surveying three generations of Dutch- and French-speakers, they observed generational differences consistent with their expectation: Younger generations demonstrated less consensus concerning the date of onset of the conflict, expressed a reduced perception of victimization of the in-group and an increased perception of victimization of the outgroup. Although present in the two language groups, this generational evolution was more pronounced among Flemish participants and was accompanied by corresponding changes in social identifications, intergroup attitudes, and political aspirations. Finally, closing the loop, Rimé et al. presented results suggesting that the decline in collective memories is the mechanism responsible for the lower levels of nationalist orientation observed among younger Flemings. These findings offer a possible fruitful perspective for understanding the recent decision of the N-VA not to put community issues high on its agenda during the next elections ( Rousseau, 2017 ), a decision which has puzzled many observers (B. Rimé, personal communication, September 14, 2017).

In sum, psychological studies on the Belgian linguistic conflict, although limited in number and scope, revealed some differences (in e.g., (sub-)national identification or collective memory) between Flemings and French-speakers. More importantly though, this line of research also highlighted that social psychological differences between the linguistic groups are not fixed, as they evolve partly because of changing economic and structural circumstances. Evidence from Belgium also stressed the importance of taking account of the multiplicity of identities, as the very definition of the subgroups composing the country is far from self-evident.

Summary of the contributions to the Special Issue

Building on this previous research, the different contributions to this Special Issue tackle three broad issues: 1) the differences and similarities in perspective of the different linguistic groups on specific, common issues, 2) attitudes and prejudices towards the other linguistic group(s), and 3) pathways to reconciliation between the members of the different communities.

With regard to the first theme, Klein, Bouchat, Azzi, and Luminet provide an inquiry into the differences between Flemish and Francophone citizens in the justice principles they endorse in the context of the linguistic conflict. In their two-wave longitudinal study, the authors demonstrate that such differences occur on two dimensions: language territoriality and distribution of resources. In particular, whereas among Flemish citizens (and a specific subgroup in particular), the principles of linguistic territoriality and an equity-based distribution of resources are dominant, principles of free choice in linguistic idiom and distribution based on need are most dominant among Francophone citizens. Of particular interest, these divergences are inflated in times of political conflict between the two communities, yet deflate in times of pacification.

In the second contribution within this theme, De Guissmé, Lastrego, Mélotte, and Licata reflect on the collective memories of the Flemish and Francophone communities. From this perspective, they direct their investigation to linguistic group differences with regard to attitudes towards World War II collaboration and amnesty. In two studies they demonstrate that although attitudes towards collaboration and amnesty are generally negative across groups, respondents in Flanders are less adamant in their condemnation, especially when they identified strongly with their linguistic group.

The third contribution investigates the differences and similarities between Flemish and Francophone citizens in the structure of their attitudes towards outgroups, including linguistic outgroups. As such, the study of Meeusen, Boonen and Dassonville also bridges to the second major theme in this Special Issue: intergroup stereotyping and prejudice between the different linguistic groups in Belgium. Their extensive investigation demonstrates that in citizens from both linguistic communities, negative attitudes towards the other linguistic group are part of an overarching generalized prejudice construct, which also incorporates prejudice towards other outgroups such as immigrants, homosexuals, and Jews. However, these specific prejudices have differential relationships with voting tendencies: whereas anti-immigrant feelings guide party preferences in both regions, negative attitudes towards the other linguistic group is only informative of party preference in Flanders, but has no informative value for citizens propensity to vote in Wallonia.

The similarities and differences between prejudices that specifically target the other linguistic group versus prejudice that targets immigrant groups are further dissected by Meuleman, Abts and Meeusen within a Flemish voter sample. In line with the previous contribution, the authors found a strong communality between anti-immigrant and anti-Francophone sentiment, with economic and cultural threat perceptions as a common basis. However, whereas regional ingroup identification was hardly relevant for anti-immigrant attitudes, it showed to be most relevant in explaining anti-Francophone attitudes.

Strong regional ingroup identification also proved to be an important mobilizing factor in the study of Jasini, Delvaux and Mesquita, who provide an extensive examination of the role of collective victimhood in explaining emotional responses and behavioral tendencies towards the perpetrating outgroup. In their study, the authors demonstrate that collective victimhood is negatively associated with intergroup affiliative emotions and positively with intergroup distancing emotions in Flemish as well as Francophone respondents. These emotional responses in turn predict behavioral tendencies of intergroup contact versus intergroup exclusion and revenge in both groups. As such, collective victimhood and its emotional correlates prove to be valuable to further our understanding of the dynamics of intergroup conflict, not only in violent confrontations, but also in in non-violent contexts such as the Belgian linguistic conflict.

Specifically focusing on the role of regional ingroup identification, Asbrock and Van Hiel investigate the unique and rarely studied German-speaking minority population of Belgium. Their research shows that minority members’ identification with their German-speaking community is associated with positive attitudes towards the community, without resulting in negative attitudes towards the two other communities. Disidentification with Belgium as a superordinate group, however, is associated with negative perceptions of all Belgian communities, the perception of severe inter-group conflict, and demands for dissolution of the Belgian federal state into independent regions. These results are particularly interesting because they show that a strong regional identity is not necessarily associated with negative attitudes towards other groups, but that especially disidentification with the superordinate (i.e., national) community may be problematic in this respect.

Finally, as a closing contribution to this Special Issue, Van Assche, Bostyn, De keersmaecker, Dardenne and Hansenne provide an investigation into the road to reconciliation between members of the linguistic communities, focusing on the role of cognitive style, ideology and intergroup emotions. In their work, the authors show that, in both Flemish and Francophone citizens, need for cognitive closure drives right-wing attitudes and essentialist thinking, which in turn is associated with less outgroup empathy and trust, and more outgroup anger. However, the presence of the positive emotions of outgroup trust and empathy, rather than the mere absence of outgroup anger proved to be critical as the affective basis for reconciliation.

Concluding remarks and acknowledgments

The source of inspiration of the special issue was the above mentioned symposium during which the conveners, Olivier Klein and Bernard Rimé, called on Belgian psychologists to contribute their expertise in areas like “social identity”, “collective memories”, “prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination”, and “emotions and communication” to the study of the intergroup issues raised by the Belgian linguistic conflict. To a certain extent, this call seems to have been heard (see Luminet et al., 2012 ). We hope this special issue will stand as another step in that direction.

Two experts in the respective field reviewed each article. When possible, we requested and received the contributions of one Belgian and one non-Belgian reviewer. We followed this procedure with the aim of striking a balance between contextual relevance and theoretical integration, between particularism and universalism. These reviewers were (in alphabetical order): Alejandra Alarcón, Boris Bizumic, Asteria Brylka, Ellen Delvaux, Stéphanie Demoulin, Kristof Dhont, Olivier Klein, Giovanna Leone, Christophe Leys, Olivier Luminet, Christina Matschke, Cecil Meeusen, Charles B. Stone, and Vincent Yzerbyt. We thank these reviewers for their invaluable contributions to this Special Issue.

The term ‘Flemings’ is used interchangeably with the term ‘Dutch speakers’, although a minority of Flemings define themselves as French-speaking, whereas French speakers include Walloons as well as inhabitants of Brussels and its surroundings who generally do not consider themselves as Walloons ( Deprez et al., 1996–97 ).

When reading these figures, one should bear in mind that it is very difficult to know the exact number of Dutch-, French-, and German-speakers because linguistic census is forbidden by law.

In this respect, recent research learned that collaboration within linguistic groups differed in kind rather than in degree. Whereas in Flanders, leaders of the Flemish movement collaborated with the promise they would be granted independence, in Wallonia, collaborators more often sought their self-interest. Evidence also suggests that repression was proportionally not more frequent in Flanders than in Wallonia (e.g., Beyen, 2002 ).

To the best of our knowledge, figures relating to linguistic knowledge of the members of the German-speaking community are not available.

Competing Interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

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Language in Conflict – building an academic and practitioner community

University of Huddersfield research into the use of language in conflict resolution has resulted in a number of successful initiatives to educate and assist professionals involved in mediation. The methods developed have been incorporated by a number of mediation and conflict resolution organisations, while the website has generated international interest and debate in several countries.

What was the problem?

Human beings tend to categorise experience and people into complementary (ie; mutually exclusive) opposites. The judgements they make can shape how conflicts arise, develop and become intractable. People’s identities can also affect what they do or don’t say in a given situation. The Language in Conflict researchers propose that conflict can be caused or exacerbated by ignoring these tendencies or transformed by understanding them.

Benefits of this research

Language in Conflict research has resulted in a number of successful initiatives to educate and assist professionals involved in mediation. It has led to the development and delivery of training materials to enhance linguistic awareness and analytic skills, as well as the creation of a web-based meeting point for linguists and mediation/conflict resolution practitioners. The methods developed have been incorporated by a number of mediation and conflict resolution organisations, while the website has generated interest and debate in several countries. Wider awareness of the research and its implications has also been achieved through media appearances, including on BBC Radio 4.

The project has been recognised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Conflict Issues, whose advisor has acknowledged the “exciting implications for both the theory of conflict and the delivery of new skills for practitioners and policymakers.”

What did we do?

The University of Huddersfield’s Language in Conflict project is a multi-faceted initiative, which aims to bring the insights and expertise of linguistics into the fields of mediation, conflict resolution and peace studies. The project draws on research into the application of stylistic methods to non-literary texts, with a particular focus on the textual construction of opposition. It also draws upon the concept of face as a way to explain why people don’t say literally what they mean. It explores the interpersonal effects of this universal practice, as well as providing a framework for considering participation roles in interaction.

Together, members of the Stylistics Research Centre and the Centre for Intercultural Politeness Research, are working to enhance the linguistic skills and understanding of mediators and international negotiators through the development and delivery of training materials. They have held training workshops in Belfast, Brighton, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Dumfries, Edinburgh, Huddersfield, London and Manchester, involving more than two hundred participants from local councils and mediation services.

In 2013, they also launched the Language in Conflict website – a meeting point for linguists and mediation/conflict resolution practitioners. The site features a set of learning materials (the linguistic toolbox) and articles written by members of the Language in Conflict team, conflict professionals and students of conflict studies. The articles published not only inform the reader on approaches and developments in conflict studies, but also encourage discussion and debate to foster a sense of community between the users.

What happened next?

Feedback from the workshop attendees was extremely positive and illustrated that participants have gone on to apply Language in Conflict’s methods in their own work. The website and Twitter feed have also attracted a diverse range of users and followers both locally and internationally. Researchers were invited to present at the annual conference of the London Community Mediation Council on three years in a row, providing accredited CPD training for mediators. Professor Jeffries has also been invited to deliver one of the plenary lectures in 2017.

Professor Lesley Jeffries’ book Opposition in Discourse – The Construction of Oppositional Meaning has been reissued as part of the Bloomsbury Classics in Linguistics series. Starting from socio-cultural viewpoints, moving to original research and then concluding with a new theoretical formulation, this book introduces and consolidates a significant new approach to the analysis of oppositional meaning.

It closes with a discussion of the importance of constructed opposition in hegemonic practice and makes a case for the inclusion of opposition as a central tool of critical discourse analysis. As its reissue signals, the book is now essential reading for researchers and graduates in stylistics, linguistics and language studies.

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Language in conflict: Linguistics in mediation

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• linguistics Social Sciences 79%
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• peace Social Sciences 32%
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• methodology Social Sciences 20%
• resources Social Sciences 17%
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Applying Linguistics: Language and the Impact Agenda

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Language in conflict : Linguistics in mediation. / Jeffries, Lesley; O'Driscoll, Jim ; Evans, Matthew .

T1 - Language in conflict

T2 - Linguistics in mediation

AU - Jeffries, Lesley

AU - O'Driscoll, Jim

AU - Evans, Matthew

PY - 2018/4/9

Y1 - 2018/4/9

N2 - This chapter tells the story of – and critically reflects on - our progress to date in applying linguistics to conflict and its mediation. It begins by outlining our original motivation for this project, the identifying of a lacuna in the world of conflict/peace studies which linguistics can fill, and the theoretical approach underpinning our activities aimed at filling it. It then briefly describes the three main strands of our activities: the website which serves as a meeting place and resource for practitioners; research case studies; and our workshops for mediators. The last of these is described in more detail in the following two sections, first showing examples of what linguistic concepts and methodologies can offer, then discussing the practical exigencies of conducting this kind of activity and the major hurdle to be jumped (i.e. access to genuine mediation data) in order to develop our work with mediators further. The chapter concludes by stepping back and critically reflecting on our progress and experience to date in the context of the wider impact agenda, particularly its British incarnation in the form of the REF, where it is found there are stresses and strains which can distract us from our original aim.

AB - This chapter tells the story of – and critically reflects on - our progress to date in applying linguistics to conflict and its mediation. It begins by outlining our original motivation for this project, the identifying of a lacuna in the world of conflict/peace studies which linguistics can fill, and the theoretical approach underpinning our activities aimed at filling it. It then briefly describes the three main strands of our activities: the website which serves as a meeting place and resource for practitioners; research case studies; and our workshops for mediators. The last of these is described in more detail in the following two sections, first showing examples of what linguistic concepts and methodologies can offer, then discussing the practical exigencies of conducting this kind of activity and the major hurdle to be jumped (i.e. access to genuine mediation data) in order to develop our work with mediators further. The chapter concludes by stepping back and critically reflecting on our progress and experience to date in the context of the wider impact agenda, particularly its British incarnation in the form of the REF, where it is found there are stresses and strains which can distract us from our original aim.

KW - Linguistics

KW - Conflict

KW - Mediation

UR - https://www.routledge.com/Applying-Linguistics-Language-and-the-Impact-Agenda/McIntyre-Price/p/book/9781138237513

U2 - 10.4324/9781351055185-10

DO - 10.4324/9781351055185-10

M3 - Chapter

SN - 9781138237506

SN - 9781138237513

BT - Applying Linguistics

A2 - McIntyre, Dan

A2 - Price, Hazel

PB - Routledge

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Communicating conflict : multilingual case studies of the news media

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• 1. The news story as rhetoric: P R R White (University of Adelaide, Australia) and Elizabeth Thomson (University of Wollongong, Australia)
• I: Conflict between Nation States
• 2. Variation in 'reporter voice': Annabelle Lukin (Macquarie University, Australia)
• 3. Evaluating 'reporter voice': Elizabeth Thomson (University of Wollongong, Australia) and Nagisa Fukui (University of New South Wales, Australia)
• 4. America's War on Terror: a Vietnamese perspective: Tran Thi Hong Van
• 5. Symbolising ideology: Motoki Sano
• 6. Ideologically opposed news stories: Alice Caffarel (University of Sydney, Australia)
• 7. Debating Taiwanese authorities in the Chinese media: Edward McDonald
• 8. Australian and Indonesian reporting of military clashes in Indonesia: Ari Poespodihardjo and Philip Kitley
• II: Conflict within Nation States
• 9. Construing death in the Thai media: John Knox (Macquarie University, Australia) and Pattama Patpong (Macquarie University, Australia)
• 10. 'Reporter voice' in the reporting of conflict in Finland: Maj-Britt Hoglund
• 11. Evaluation in news images: comparative studies of the detention of refugees: Dorothy Economou
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

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Welcome to the MIC Case Studies page.

Here you will find more than fifty different case studies, developed by our former participants from the Master of Advanced Studies in Intercultural Communication. The richness of this material is that it contains real-life experiences in intercultural communication problems in various settings, such as war, family, negotiations, inter-religious conflicts, business, workplace, and others. 

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28 The Role of Language in Conflict and Conflict Resolution

Paul Taylor, Fylde College, Lancaster University

• Published: 01 July 2014
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Conflicts are a ubiquitous part of social life. This chapter explores the role of language in shaping the way conflicts unfold and resolve. The first section examines the functions of language in conflict and how different communicative acts relate to speakers’ motivational goals and conflict outcome. The second section examines these acts as part of an unfolding interaction. At the microlevel, it examines different forms of cue-response sequences and their role in managing information exchange and structuring relationships in conflict. At the macro-level, it examines how episodes of language produce phases and cycles that escalate conflict or move it toward a resolution. The final section examines the link between thought and talk, showing that basic language choices have a profound effect on perceptions and cooperation, which in turn shape language. The chapter ends by posing unanswered research questions that address the social psychological theory of language in conflict and the practical issue of how to better use language in conflict resolution.

The US government recently adopted the term “the good stranger” to refer to military personnel who are adept at gaining cooperation from civilians who might otherwise be antagonistic or distrustful ( DARPA, 2011 ). The term reflects what has no doubt been observed through extended military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq ( Goodwin, 2005 ): adopting a certain demeanor and communicative style is critical in conflicts where one must work with another whose priorities and beliefs are very different from one’s own. Of course, the value of understanding what makes a “good stranger” is not confined to military peacekeeping. It instantiates a question about the nature of what escalates and deescalates conflicts in contexts as diverse as marital conflict ( Gottman, Markman, & Notarius, 1977 ), teacher–school board disputes ( Putnam, Wilson, & Turner, 1990 ), and negotiations with hostage takers ( Giebels & Taylor, 2009 ). This chapter explores one aspect of what makes a good stranger; namely, what is known about the role of language in educing cooperation and resolving conflicts.

Language of Conflict and Conflict Resolution

Competition and cooperation.

The basis of much of the social psychological research on language and conflict is a distinction between competitive and cooperative communication. Competitive language is characterized by behaviors such as justifications, irrelevant arguments, personal attacks, and excessive demands and threats ( Giebels & Noelanders, 2004 ; Olekalns & Smith, 2003 ). By contrast, cooperative language is associated with behaviors such as proposals and counterproposals, agreements, expressions of confidence in the other’s ability, and humor ( Donohue & Roberto, 1996 ; Putnam & Jones, 1982 ). A person’s use of these two forms of language depends on their orientation to the conflict. The use of competitive language is associated with a focus on self and a motivation to maximize personal outcome even at the expense of the other party (often referred to as a distributive or pro-self orientation ). The use of cooperative language is associated with a focus on fairness and a desire to find ways to satisfy the needs of all parties (often referred to as a integrative or pro-social orientation ). The extent to which these orientations to communication are used during a conflict has been found to depend on a range of factors. These include person factors such as culture (e.g., Adair & Brett, 2005 ) and individual differences (e.g., Park & Antonioni, 2007 ) and situational factors such as power differences (e.g., Giebels, De Dreu, & Van de Vliert, 2000 ) and emotions (e.g., van Kleef, De Dreu, & Manstead, 2004 ).

As one might expect, the use of competitive and cooperative language impacts the outcome of conflict. Cooperative language tends to promote conflict resolution and increases efforts to identify solutions that benefit both parties ( Taylor, 2002 a ). By contrast, competitive language is associated with conflict spiraling and a failure to identify areas of common ground and “win-win” solutions ( Weingart, Prietula, Hyder, & Genovesse, 1999 ). However, the associations between language and outcome are not clear-cut. On some occasions, the use of cooperative language has negative consequences, such as when a shrewd counterpart takes advantage of a cooperator’s goodwill ( Murnigham, Babcock, Thompson, & Pillutla, 1999 ) or when cooperative messages are overshadowed by the messages of a single “hawk” ( Steinel, De Dreu, Ouwehand, & Ramirez-Marin, 2008 ). Similarly, in certain low-stakes scenarios, use of competitive language, such as expressions of anger, may lead to preferential outcomes, at least for self ( Van Kleef, van Dijk, Steinel, Harinck, & van Beest, 2008 ). However, in high-stakes scenarios, the use of aggressive language often leads to reciprocal aggression and conflict spiraling ( Donohue & Taylor, 2003 ; Giebels & Taylor, 2009 ). Thus, depending on context, the use of cooperative and competitive language may play an important role for the “good stranger” who seeks to resolve a conflict. Identifying when and how both types of language work to resolve conflict remains a dominant topic of research in the field.

Motivational Goals

The distinction between competitive and cooperative language is a broad one that captures a person’s overall orientation to conflict. As such, it does not speak to the variety of motives or goals that underlie a communicative act ( Taylor, 2002 b ; Wilson & Putnam, 1990 ). For example, consider a hostage siege in which the police enquire about the hostages’ welfare and offer to deliver food, while the perpetrator complains about the police snipers and the fact his threats are not taken seriously. These messages serve different purposes: the police are trying to establish information and initiate a substantive exchange over food; the perpetrator is trying to assert his “identity” and relay his concerns about personal safety. Thus, communication may address different aspects of a conflict, as determined by a person’s strategic choice ( De Dreu & Carnevale, 2003 ), their perceptions of the other’s intentions ( Sillars, Coletti, Parry, & Rogers, 1982 ), and the way in which an individual “frames” the interaction ( Drake & Donohue, 1996 ).

Of the possible communicative frames, by far the most studied is how language allows people to resolve substantive or “instrumental” issues. This is understandable, given the strong grounding of early conflict resolution research in game theory and social exchange paradigms ( Roloff, 1981 ; Schelling, 1960 ). Instrumental goals are broadly concerned with material “transactions,” which speakers resolve through positional arguments, offers and counteroffers, rationale persuasion, and so on. This kind of behavior most easily aligns with a view that actors are “motivated information processors” ( De Dreu & Carnevale, 2003 ) who seek to make sense of the other person’s communication in order to understand their goals and beliefs. The language of the motivated information processor is thus a direct response to his or her inferences about how best to achieve a desired outcome, and, if he or she is orientated cooperatively, about how best to achieve the other person’s desired outcome at the same time. When interactants fail to act in ways that maximize their material reward from the interaction, this is explained by a set of sociocognitive barriers. As De Dreu, Beersma, Steinel, and van Kleef (2007) identify, three salient barriers are heuristics-led judgments, whereby the listener attends to only the salient features of the other’s message; a naïve realism, whereby the listener interprets the other’s actions as being motivated by an equivalent set of goals; and ego defensiveness, whereby conflict triggers a “contend” reaction that leads to competitive behavior against the other. Support for the importance of these barriers comes from research showing that such biases can be reduced when individuals are motivated to process the other party’s messages in detail ( De Dreu & Van Kleef, 2004 ; Galinsky & Mussweiler, 2001 ).

A second, quite different kind of language use concerns the “relational” dynamic between the parties. These messages are less concerned with resolving the substantive disagreements of the conflict and more concerned with shaping the affiliation and interdependence between the parties ( Donohue, 2001 ). Speakers manage relational goals by expressing affiliation and liking (e.g., humor), asserting rights and obligations (e.g., justifications and appeals), establishing trust and rapport (e.g., reassurances and promises), and so on. These behaviors are particularly important outside of the laboratory, where interactants are mindful of their reputations, are keen to build long-term relationships, and are more likely to be under the spotlight of external perceptions ( Donohue & Taylor, 2007 ). Thus, relational language is evident, for example, in messages promoting violent extremism, which tend to highlight ingroup norms, outgroup immorality, and peer acclimations over instrumental for-and-against arguments ( Prentice, Taylor, Rayson, Hoskins, & O’Loughlin, 2011 ). It becomes the prevalent focus of communication in contexts where the value of relationships is salient because of factors such as cultural norms ( Cross, Morris, & Gore, 2002 ), “power moves” by one party ( Donohue & Hoobler, 2002 ), or a perception that the interaction has consequences beyond the current conflict ( Greenhalgh & Gilkey, 1993 ). It is also linked to the success of conflict resolution, serving particularly to establish the interactional roles and trust necessary for information sharing and problem solving at later stages ( Wilson & Putnam, 1990 ).

A third motivational focus for language concerns the manipulation of interactants’ identity or “face.” Face may be conceived broadly as an “individual’s claimed sense of positive image in the context of social interaction” (p. 398, Oetzel, Ting-Toomey, Yokochi, Masumoto, & Takai, 2000 ; see also Ting-Toomey, chapter 28). A person’s face can be undermined by competitive “attacking” message that are direct, such as insults or criticisms, or indirect, such as negative emotions and commands. Alternatively, face may be addressed cooperatively by messages that “give” or “restore” face, such as compliments and apologies ( Ting-Tooney, 1994 ). These messages can have a profound impact on the resolution of conflict because people respond to defend not only their material interests but also their self-image and social honor. Rogan and Hammer (1994) present clear evidence of this in their study of crisis negotiations in which the perpetrator was contemplating suicide. In these interactions, the language of the police negotiators focused on restoring the perpetrators’ face, whereas the language of the perpetrator focused on restoring self-face and, critically for the incident that ended in suicide, attacking self-face. However, it is important to realize that identity-focused messages also impact on conflicts not necessarily driven by issues related to personal crises. For example, disputes between eBay buyers and sellers are perceived as having a higher likelihood of settlement following interaction in which sellers offer apologies and confessions and a lower likelihood of settlement following interactions dominated by commands or negative emotions ( Brett et al., 2007 ). Similarly, in cross-cultural conflicts, having one’s honor harmed or insulted can provoke behavioral reactions of retaliation against the transgressor ( Nisbett & Cohen, 1996 ). Interactants with cultural backgrounds in which face is important respond particularly poorly to implied threats and attempts at intimidation ( Adair & Brett, 2005 ; Giebels & Taylor, 2009 ).

Language Intensity

A final facet to consider when examining the nature of language in conflict is the role of language intensity. This aspect of language is often overlooked in studies that examine utterance content alone (e.g., from a transcript) rather than content alongside the form of delivery. High-intensity dialogue includes anger and threats, profanity, obscure metaphors, dramatic changes in intonation, unqualified compliance, and so on ( Bowers, 1963 ). It reflects “deviat[ion] from neutrality” ( Bowers, 1963 ) in terms of emotional stress and relational affect ( Bradac, Bowers, & Courtright, 1979 ; Donohue, 2001 ), as well as a rigidity of commitment on substantive factors such as persuasion or threat conviction ( Hamilton & Stewart, 1993 ). For example, relentlessly threatening action if a demand is not met signifies a high degree of concern for a substantive issue because it does not allow communication to deviate to alternative possibilities ( Taylor, 2002 b ). Similarly, Matsumoto, Hwang, and Frank (2012) demonstrated that leaders of ideologically motivated groups tend to increase their expressions of anger, contempt, and disgust in public speeches immediately before acts of violence. Interestingly, although strategic use of intensity can direct the other party’s attention to an issue of personal concern and can enhance message clarity ( Hamilton, Hunter, & Burgoon, 1990 ), overuse of language intensifiers can reduce the credibility of an argument, particularly when this use contravenes the receiver’s expectations ( Burgoon & Stewart, 1974 ).

The Structure of Language in Conflict

Recently, the various facets of language use just described have been shown to be part of a single communication “structure” in which the various distinctions relate to one another in distinct ways. Across a number of studies ( Bilsky, Tebrugge, & Webel-Therhorn, 2010 ; Taylor, 2002 b ; Taylor & Donald, 2004 , 2007 ), individuals have been shown to adopt an avoidant, competitive, or cooperative orientation to interaction and, at any one time, pursue either identity, instrumental, or relational goals with varying degrees of intensity. As individuals progress through a conflict, so do they move through these different regions of discussion, ideally moving toward a cooperative interaction. This coming together of the different facets of language can be depicted graphically as a cylinder, as shown in Figure 28.1 . Over time within a conflict, dialogue may be characterized as being focused on the different areas of the cylinder. On some occasions, for example, a couple may yell abuse and insults as they thrash out competitive identity-related issues. When they discuss their child, however, they may revert to more cooperative, instrumental behavior as they seek to do what’s best for their child.

Schematic representation of language use during conflict.

The cylinder structure highlights other important aspects of the nature of language in conflict. First, the model encompasses an “avoidant” orientation. People in conflict often engage in withdrawal behaviors, remaining inactive and avoiding their counterparts as a result of either fear or strategic intention ( Wang, Fink, & Cai, 2012 ). When used strategically, avoidance allows an interactant to work around an issue that is likely to disrupt wider progress ( Roloff & Ifert, 2000 ) or stonewall or devalue the other person and the relationship through a lack of engagement ( Loving, Le, & Crockett, 2009 ). Second, the model’s structure suggests that there is a linear relationship from avoidance to competitive to cooperative behavior, such that a move from avoidance to cooperation requires a move through competition. This reasserts the importance of competitive and cooperative language to successful conflict resolution, and it is consistent with research showing that a “differentiation” of issues (i.e., in which parties mark their interests) typically precedes an “integration” of possibilities (i.e., in which parties find mutually beneficial solutions; De Dreu et al., 2007 ; Olekalns, Brett, & Weingart, 2003 ). Third, the identity, relational, and instrumental goals that interactants may pursue are orthogonal to the possible orientations that they may adopt while pursuing their goal. Interactants may take an avoidance, competitive, or cooperative approach to each of their different goals, demonstrating the importance of not conflating a particular orientation to interaction (e.g., cooperation) with a particular communicative goal. This is sometimes forgotten within the literature, with some authors conceptualizing relational language as a friendly, cooperative act and instrumental language as primarily competitive ( Pinkley, 1990 ). Fourth, the model brings together the distinct sociocognitive systems cited as explanations for each of the various forms of language use. An individual’s overall orientation to the conflict will be governed in part by his or her social motivation ( Liu & Wilson, 2011 ), instrumental behavior governed by motivated information processing ( De Dreu et al., 2007 ), relational behavior by evaluations of emotion as social information ( van Kleef, 2009 ), and so on.

So how do “good strangers” use the various forms of language mapped out in Figure 28.1 ? An early answer to this question is provided in Ormerod, Barrett, and Taylor’s (2008) analysis of interactions during hostage negotiations. They showed that interactants match one another’s communicative goals and orientations for sustained periods, with this matching increasing over time for conflicts that ended peacefully but decreasing over time for those that ended violently. Part of this divergence in matching appeared to be due to the fact that, in successful incidents, police negotiators were more likely to switch their language style to that of the perpetrator. The behavior of these negotiators is consistent with “active listening,” which is a communication technique that involves the listener beginning his or her response with a reiteration of what he or she has just heard, in order to confirm a common understanding of what has been said ( Royce, 2005 ). In successful resolutions, police negotiators reduced the amount they spoke by more than 40 percent during transitional periods in which the motivation behind a perpetrator’s communication was unclear, presumably in an attempt to reengage their sense of the perpetrator’s concerns.

The Process of Conflict Resolution

Building blocks of conflict resolution.

The different forms of language described in the last section are, of course, the result of an unfolding exchange of cues and responses. Understanding how conflict occurs at this micro-level is important to our understanding of how language builds into the larger patterns of observed cooperation and conflict spiraling. This is illustrated in an early study by Gottman, Markman, and Notarius (1977) , which showed that marital discussion could be decomposed into two-behavior loops and three-behavior chains (e.g., probe feeling, mind reading). These sequences served a variety of functions, such as “ascertaining the other party’s concerns,” “forming a ‘contract’ regarding future behavior,” and “summarizing self versus other’s feelings.” The relative use of these communicative “building blocks” by couples was sufficient to differentiate those in distressed and nondistressed relationships.

A body of research has examined the nature of this “lawfulness and inter-connectedness” ( Auld & White, 1959 , p. 100) of utterances. The goal of this research is to derive generalizations about how language organizes over time with a view to understanding the types of building blocks that differentiate successful and unsuccessful interactions ( Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 1968 ). Kelley (1997) , in particular, described the importance of a sequence of four behaviors comprising an initial cue, a response by the second speaker, a subsequent adjustment by the initial speaker, and a final closure message that moves the interaction in a particular direction ( Cappella & Planalp, 1981 ; Taylor & Donald, 2003 ; Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 1968 ). This “triple interact” may be viewed as a local context or “move” in which interactants modify one another’s understanding and transition to a new position. The importance of this triple interact is borne out in studies of the interaction sequence. When modeling interactions using Markov chain analysis or similar techniques, researchers are typically only able to predict a person’s behavior when two ( Krain, 1973 ; Mark, 1971 ; Weick, 1969 ) or three ( Cappella & Planalp, 1981 ; Mishler, 1975 ; Watzlawick et al., 1968 ) previous behaviors are taken into account. Thus, a person’s behavior in conflict is not a mere reaction to the previous cue of his or her counterpart, but a response dependent on at least both parties’ prior behaviors.

The cue–response sequences that tend to dominate conflict interactions are those that reciprocate or “match” the other party’s actions ( Smith, Pruitt, & Carnevale, 1982 ). Reciprocity allows interactants to confirm their common perspectives and understanding of the issues at hand while preventing exploitation by parties who strategically compete to gain advantage ( Putnam, 1990 ; Putnam & Jones, 1982 ). Although reciprocation is usually associated with the positive impact it has when parties develop a common solution, the reciprocation of competitive language is equally difficult to break away from ( O’Connor & Arnold, 2001 ). Even warning parties about the dangers of conflict spiraling from reciprocal competition does not reduce the tendency for it to occur ( Weingart et al., 1999 ). Yet, breaking a chain of reciprocal competition is possible. Brett, Shapiro, and Lytle (1998) show how negotiators can do this by adopting a form of language that combines a competitive position with a more cooperative possibility and by changing their orientation to one of avoidance (e.g., by labeling the process as ineffectual). These two acts move dialogue in opposing directions on the orientation axes of the cylinder model in Figure 28.1 , nicely reflecting the different ways in which behavioral chains shape interaction.

As the Brett et al. study suggests, a “good stranger” must ideally do more than reciprocate cooperation and avoid competition if she or he is to resolve a conflict. Indeed, dyads that follow a tight, predictable pattern of reciprocating the other sides’ behavior are more likely to reach impasse ( Putnam & Jones, 1982 ). Examining how interactants achieve a more dynamic pattern of behavior has led researchers to identify two other kinds of language sequence. One of these is the complementary sequence, which is formed when speakers match one another’s language orientation but not their strategic goal. For example, a complementary chain would be a speaker who focuses on the partner’s feelings in response to an utterance about a potential custodial solution over the child. This kind of sequence is often associated with impasse, even when it involves complementary cooperative behaviors ( Olekalns & Smith, 2000 ). Oleklans and Smith argue that the reason for this failure is that complementarity reflects speakers having different interests at any one time and a failure to blend cooperative and competitive behavior to address either party’s issues. A second kind of nonreciprocal sequence is a mismatching of orientations. Although mixing competitive and cooperative behaviors often leads to a win-lose outcome, it is not always a detrimental sequence. Mismatching in early phases of a conflict can be beneficial because it allows one side to gain a better understanding of the partner’s bargaining strengths and limits ( Pruitt & Carnevale, 1993 ). Similarly, as a deadline looms, it may be more beneficial to mismatch in order to reach an agreement and avoid impasse ( Pruitt & Carnevale, 1993 ).

Consistent with the research on general language use, some evidence suggests that interactants’ preferences for different cue–response sequences is affected by individual difference and context variables. For example, Donohue, Diez, and Hamilton (1984) found strong role differences in the kinds of messages communicated during labor–management negotiations. In general, the labor representatives were more likely to reciprocate the actions of the management representatives, whereas management were more likely to respond in a complementary way to the labor negotiators ( Donohue et al., 1984 ). Donohue et al. also compared these interactions to a set of simulated conflict interactions and, in doing so, demonstrated that conflict resolution in natural settings involves more sequences of attacking behavior than found in simulated interactions. This is a critical finding because it suggests that the composition of the language building blocks that characterize “real-world” conflicts is qualitatively different from that of experimental interactions, even though both may yield successful and unsuccessful outcomes.

The influence of external variables also extends to sequences involving relational and identity concerns ( Beune, Giebels, & Taylor, 2010 ). This is particularly true of cross-cultural research, in which these goals can take on particular importance because they shape how people engage with strategic sequences. For example, Adair and Brett (2005) compared a group of negotiators from high-context cultures (e.g., Japan, Russia) whose communication is often implicit and reliant on social expectations with a group of negotiators from low-context cultures (e.g., Germany, United States) whose communication is explicit, with meaning transmitted through the message itself. They found that complementary sequences play a more central role for high-context communicators because the increased diversity of communication provides the flexibility needed to manage the indirect, relational nature of the expected interaction. Giebels and Taylor (2009) also examined the differences across high- and low-context communicators but in the high-stakes context of hostage negotiation. Using a more flexible measure of the interrelationships among behaviors known as proximity coefficients , they found that high-context hostage takers were less likely to engage in persuasive arguments or to respond to them positively and that high-context perpetrators were more likely to reciprocate threats, particularly when they were made about self. This, they argue, is because high-context communicators expect strategic sequences to emphasize relational and identity issues over the exchange of rational arguments, such that they fail to engage in the persuasive sequences and respond negatively when the identity dynamic is challenged. This is consistent with subsequent findings of Beune, Giebels, and Taylor (2010) who showed that high-context rather than low-context suspects responded negatively to police efforts at being kind, but positively to intimidating behavior when it was directed toward the social group rather than toward self.

Building Blocks Make Phases

Although studies of interaction sequences reveal how different kinds of utterances structure the local cue–response exchange, they tell us less about how such dialogue comes together to produce a complete conflict interaction. To address this question, other research has sought to understand how dialogue comprises episodes or phases of talk that serve distinct purposes. These efforts are well illustrated by case study research on historic conflicts. For example, in his analysis of negotiations between Spain and the United States over military base rights, Druckman (1986) showed the cyclical nature of behavior over time. This multistage negotiation moved through periods of negotiators using competitive tactics, such as retractions and threats, and cooperative tactics, such as initiations and promises. As the weaker party, the Spanish government typically defended its position by using three times more competitive tactics than the US team. However, there were occasions when the opposite was true; US negotiators “ramped up” their competitive behavior, with the result that the Spanish responded with more cooperative behavior. This observed mirroring in behavior instantiates what is often referred to as the “negotiation dance,” with interactants engaging in a “dynamic processes of mutual accommodation” ( Schelling, 1960 , p. 102).

The idea that conflicts move through a series of stages is encapsulated in phase models of interaction. A phase model presents either a descriptive or prescriptive account of how a set of coherent stages of communication change as a conflict unfolds ( Holmes, 1992 ). For example, in her field observations of private disputes, Douglas (1957) found that interactions move through three phases that cannot be skipped or ordered differently. These were establishing the conflict parameters through a competitive exchange, a cooperative reconnoitering to identify possible solutions, and a final period of competition to “sort out the final details.” Others have since refined Douglas’s proposition by suggesting additional phases. For example, in his analysis of conflict interactions across several contexts, Gulliver (1979) identifies eight phases: search for an arena, agenda formation, exploration of the issue range, narrowing of the differences, preliminaries, final bargaining, ritual confirmation, and execution of the settlement. As the Douglas and Gulliver examples illustrate, the number of phases identified by researchers depends on the granularity of the analysis undertaken. Indeed, Gulliver’s eight phases are often paired to produce the four phases of establishing contact, relationship building, problem solving, and resolution (e.g., Donohue, Kaufmann, Smith, & Ramesh, 1991 ; Holmes, 1992 ).

The majority of studies of conflict utilize phase models in a prescriptive sense by dividing the interaction under examination into the requisite number of periods. If a four-phase model is considered an appropriate framework for understanding the organization of the interaction, then the dialogue itself is broken into four, equally-sized segments and changes in language are examined across these segments. Although this approach ignores the possibility that phases may take different amounts of time to complete ( Taylor, 2002 b ), it nevertheless reveals some important patterns in language use. For example, proposals increase in a linear fashion over time, with the use of instrumental language peaking during the second and particularly third quarter of the negotiation, in line with the idea of a problem-solving phase ( Lytle, Brett, & Shapiro, 1999 ). By contrast, use of affect during conflict tends to peak during the early establishing contact stage of interaction, only then to reemerge during the problem-solving stage as parties compete over position ( Adair & Brett, 2005 ; Rogan & Hammer, 1995 ). This second peak in language affect appears particularly prominent in high-stakes scenarios in which impasse and threats of withdrawal may dominate prior to the “endgame” ( Abbott, 1986 ).

Although a significant number of studies use phase models as frameworks for examining interaction over time, only a few have tested whether moving through the prescribed phases promotes successful conflict resolution. If prescribed phase models do not promote conflict resolution, then there is little point in the “good stranger” trying to adhere to the event order that the models prescribe. In an early study, Hirokawa (1983) compared the phases of discussion produced by groups who developed successful and unsuccessful solutions to a traffic-flow problem. He found no clear distinction in the set of phases associated with success or failure, but a clear difference in the timing with which successful and unsuccessful groups engaged in problem solving; successful groups began a problem-solving phase of interaction far sooner than did their unsuccessful counterparts. In a more detailed study, Sambamurthy and Poole (1992) examined the relationship of conflict management phases to the degree of consensus change, perceptions of decision quality, and satisfaction with the resolution. Groups who showed the most consensus change and the highest decision quality moved through phases of interaction that map onto the prescribed phase sequences for negotiations. This is consistent with research showing that negotiation supports systems that guide users through prescribed phases of negotiation, increase the joint outcome from a conflict, and produce more balanced contracts ( Foroughi, Perkins, & Jelassi, 1995 ).

One of the key questions for phase models of dialogue is what prompts changes in the focus of an interaction. In conflict research, these points are often referred to as turning points , defined as the “events or processes that mark passage from one stage to the next, signaling progress from earlier to later phases” ( Druckman, 1997 , p. 92). Druckman (2001) identifies three causes of turning points: procedural (e.g., a change from public to private venue), substantive (e.g., new concepts introduced), or external (e.g., introduction of a third party). One precursor for turning points appears to be a crisis that jeopardizes the interactions ( Druckman, 1986 ). For example, Harinck and De Dreu (2004) examined what occurred after a period of temporary impasses, when two parties deadlocked on a particular issue. They found early competitive language was related to impasses within a negotiation, but that such impasses were valuable in the long run because they prompted problem-solving dialogue later in the interaction. It appears that impasse allows negotiators to step back from the interaction in a way that facilitates a switch away from escalating conflict.

The Link Between Thought and Talk

In examining the language of conflict resolution, it is easy to focus on the content and outcome of communication while giving little consideration to how the message is being consumed ( Olekalns & Smith, 2005 ). For many purposes, it is quite reasonable to assume that speakers process the messages of the other party in a way consistent with their own orientations and goals. However, to derive a full account of how cooperation emerges, it is useful to model the factors that influence the way in which individuals makes sense of a counterpart’s communication. The importance of addressing the issue of interpretation is made clear in Sillars, Roberts, Leonard, and Dun’s (2000) analysis of partners’ in vivo thoughts during marital conflict. Sillars et al. video taped couples discussing a current issue on which they were in conflict and then presented this recording to each partner, asking him or her to describe his or her thoughts and feelings as experienced across the interaction. Overall, spouses viewed their own communication in more favorable terms than their partner’s communication. In particular, the extent to which speakers believed that they were acting in a confrontational manner and the extent to which their partners believed that they were acting in a confrontational manner was negatively correlated, suggesting that partners in conflict build opposing interpretative frameworks of what is being discussed. Husbands, in particular, perceived their messages as being far more cooperative than independent judges who rated their language use.

So, what is the relationship between goals, interpretations, and talk? According to communication accommodation theory ( Giles & Coupland, 1991 ), individuals’ use of language is important to the creation and maintenance of the social dynamic between themselves and the other party. The interaction alignment model (Pickering, this volume) takes this one step further by arguing that successful dialogue and shared understanding is achieved through a mechanistic process of coordination across multiple levels of language, from lexical choice, to syntactic and semantic preferences, to message framing. In this model, a speaker’s lexical, syntactic, and semantic choices are part of his cognitive representation of the conflict. Their utterance leads to the activation of a matching representation in the other speaker, which has the behavioral consequence of shaping that person’s response. This exchange reciprocates until speakers come to view the world in a similar way. The key implication of this model is that progress toward cooperation comes not only from high-level alignment of orientation and goal, as explored in the previous section, but also from a more basic coordination of language.

The notion that conflict is played out at the level of word use, as well as at the level of strategic choice is supported by research. Indirect support comes from evidence showing that the persuasive effectiveness of a message is positively related to perceived communicator–recipient similarity in lexical diversity ( Bradac et al., 1979 ), language intensity ( Aune & Kikuchi, 1993 ), and speech rate ( Street, Brady, & Putnam, 1983 ). Since persuasion is an important facet of language use in conflict ( Giebels & Taylor, 2009 ), these correlates suggest that language similarity may impact conflict outcome. More direct evidence comes from studies showing that the use of assents and positive emotional language has a positive impact on negotiation success, whereas the use of negative emotional language may promote competition ( Curhan & Pentland, 2007 ; Van Beest, Van Kleef, & Van Dijk, 2008 ). This pattern of language is also evidence in coalition formation in multiparty negotiations, in which group members show greater convergence in language use as they move toward agreement and divergence when they move apart ( Huffaker, Swaab, & Diermeier, 2011 ).

What is perhaps particularly interesting about the link between language use and conflict outcome is that cooperation appears to be associated with the coordination of language style. A person’s language style is constructed by his or her choice of function words and reflects not the content of his or her message but the way in which it is being conveyed. These function words include articles, auxiliary verbs, and pronouns and are typically understood to be outside of conscious control ( Ireland & Pennebaker, 2010 ). Using a specific measure of function word coordination known as language style matching (LSM; see Pennebaker, this volume), a number of studies have shown a positive relationship between LSM and interaction outcome. Gonzales, Hancock, and Pennebaker (2010) found that cooperation in small-group activities goes hand in hand with greater matching of categories of word use. Scissors, Gill, and Gergle (2009) linked increased language mimicry with less likelihood of defecting in a trader task. Taylor and Thomas (2008) showed that successful hostage negotiations were associated with higher aggregate levels of LSM than were unsuccessful negotiations due to dramatic fluctuations of LSM during unsuccessful negotiations. Negotiators in these situations appeared unable to maintain the constant levels of rapport and coordination that occurred in successful negotiations. Moreover, by examining LSM at the local turn-by-turn level, Taylor and Thomas further revealed complex but organized variations in behavior across outcome. In comparison to unsuccessful negotiations, the dialogue of successful negotiations involved greater coordination of turn taking, a focus on the present rather than the past, reciprocation of positive affect, and a focus on alternatives rather than on competition.

The impact of language on thought can be quick, with people’s opening words in a conflict impacting the subsequent outcome of their interaction. In their examination of the first 5 minutes of a simulated employment negotiation, Curhan and Pentland (2007) found that conversational engagement, prosodic emphasis, and vocal mirroring predicted 30 percent of the variance in individual outcomes. The conversational dynamics associated with success among high-status parties were different from those associated with success among low-status parties. Examining whether the timing of language mimicry matters to outcome, Swaab, Maddux, and Sinaceur (2011) found that high levels of language mimicry in the first 10 minutes of an interaction was conducive of better negotiation outcomes than high levels of language mimicry in the last 10 minutes of interaction. This was because early mimicry elicited more trust from the speaker’s counterpart, which in turned allowed individuals to maximize their outcomes. By contrast, late mimickers tended to mimic language that was more accommodating to the other negotiator. Such mimicking of accommodating language in the final phase of interaction seemed to impair individuals’ ability to protect their own interests.

Being the Good Stranger

This chapter has set out some of the major themes in research on the social psychology of language in conflict resolution. In doing so, it has shown how educing cooperation from those who may have alternative motivations and goals requires a comprehensive understanding of interaction processes. Conflict resolution cannot be distilled into an examination of positions or to the use of particular influence tactics. It is a process in which different levels and different kinds of language may shape progression, be that in the first 10 seconds or in the 10th hour of negotiations. As a process, it is also not isolated to language. Critical to many conflict resolution scenarios is also a set of nonverbal dynamics, contextual constraints such as expectations from social groups, and preconceptions and emotional history that can radically shape expectations and behavior. However, what is clear is that language is the vehicle for much of what occurs across a conflict. Thus, learning how language structures an unfolding conflict and its move toward resolution will play a key role in identifying the “good stranger.”

Unanswered Research Questions

What role, if any, do interpersonal skills in impression management and interpersonal sensitivity play in efforts to engender cooperation?

How do we reconcile the top-down cognitive model of conflict behavior, as encapsulated by theories such as motivated information processor, with bottom-up models of interaction processes?

To what extent do findings from experimental studies of conflict resolution translate to real world conflicts?

How can third parities be effective?

How does language interact with nonverbal behavior to shape cooperation?

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Linguistic Landscape as an Antidote to the Commodification of Study Abroad Language Programs: A Case Study in the Center of Madrid

• First Online: 05 February 2021

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• Alberto Bruzos 15  

Part of the book series: Educational Linguistics ((EDUL,volume 49))

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This chapter presents a pedagogical model to counteract the influence of the discourses and practices of tourism on the subjectivities and experiences of study abroad participants . In order to situate this model, I examine the debates on the impact of tourism on study abroad and, more broadly, language education; I also consider the importance of tourism and language tourism in Spain. Then, I describe a project in which students had to explore and contrast the linguistic landscape of five different neighborhoods in the center of Madrid. I argue that the linguistic landscape is an approach with the potential to resist the commodification of the study abroad experience by positioning language learners as ‘researchers’ and not ‘tourists,’ and by situating language learning in contexts that require engaging with political and social meanings (Shohamy E, Waksman S. Linguistic landscape as an ecological arena: modalities, meanings, negotiations, education. In: Shohamy E, Gorter D (eds) Linguistic landscape: expanding the scenery. Routledge, New York, pp 313–330, 2009; Rubdy R. Conflict and exclusion: the linguistic landscape as an arena of contestation. In: Rubdy R, Ben Said S (eds) Conflict, exclusion and dissent in the linguistic landscape. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire; New York, pp. 1–24, 2015a), thus mobilizing and fostering linguistic, critical, historical and sociocultural competences. Finally, I discuss the results of the linguistic landscape project completed by the students, evaluating its impact in the development of a critical, dynamic, nuanced, and non-essentialist view of Spanish culture.

• Linguistic landscape
• Academic tourism
• Study abroad
• City as text
• Spanish culture
• Cosmopolitanism

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For the 1994–1995 data, see Institute of International Education ( 1996 ). For the 2004–2005 data, see Comp ( 2010 ).

With 32,411 students, in 2017–2018 Spain was the third preferred destination by U.S. college students, topped only by the United Kingdom (39,403) and Italy (36,945) (IIE 2019 ).

The Instituto Cervantes was created in 1991 to centralize the field of Spanish language teaching in Spain and promote Spanish in the international linguistic market (Ley 7/ 1991 ). As noted by del Valle ( 2014 , p. 363), “the institute also plays a significant role within Spanish cultural diplomacy and repeatedly states its commitment to promoting Spain as a brand name and securing the country’s soft power.”

According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística. See https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/es/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736169169&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735576863 Accessed 22 March 2020.

Retrieved from http://www.ailmadrid.com/pdf/AIL-Madrid-Spanish-School%20-%20brochure.pdf . Accessed 18 June 2018.

U.S. universities have been criticized for preaching the gospel of “internationalization” while adopting monolingual, English-only approaches. The ADFL Bulletin ( 2015 ) has a good selection of articles on this topic, including Hart’s ( 2015 ) lucid evaluation of the drawbacks inherent in this visible trend toward internationalization in English. I owe this reference to the editors of this book.

Which, by the way, was exactly the length of our program.

Part I, Chapter VIII. See https://cvc.cervantes.es/literatura/clasicos/quijote/edicion/parte1/cap08/default.htm Accessed 16 November 2017.

Or even earlier. In fact, Cervantes often recurred to an affected and archaic variety of Spanish to parody the language typically employed in novels of cavalry, the type of books that drove Don Quixote mad. See Lapesa ( 1981 ), Penny ( 2000 ) and Pountain ( 2001 ) for details on the evolution of Spanish.

That weekend, a student recorded a reflection along the same lines on the private travel journal that students had to keep in Blackboard Learn, our course management system: “Our last stop was the discoteca . I was surprised to see both cultural similarities and differences in the party scene. One of the first things I noticed was the amount of American music that was played, and the fact that all the locals knew them by heart” (posted on 5 June 2016).

See https://www.esmadrid.com/sites/default/files/mapa_turistico_madrid.pdf . Accessed 17 June 2018.

“Americanization can be defined as the propagation of American ideas, customs, social patterns, industry, and capital around the world” (Ritzer 2004 , p. 85).

A retailer that focuses on urban-style clothing and accessories for young people, Pull&Bear is part of Inditex, the Spanish multinational clothing company that also owns Zara brand.

We can see the same idea in Salazar ( 2010 , 2015 ), who considers local guides as models of cosmopolitanism from below: “They substantiate the idea that cosmopolitanism is by no means a privilege of the rich and well-connected (although, in comparison, the guides may be richer and more connected than many other people around them). Furthermore, they prove that physical or spatial mobility is not a necessary condition to become cosmopolitan” ( 2010 , p. 67).

See https://www.esmadrid.com/diversidad-madrid . Accessed 5 December 2017. See Sequera ( 2014 ) for a critique of the ways in which Madrid’s multiculturalism and social diversity is commodified to promote certain residential areas and touristic destinations.

See Fernández-Kelly and Konczal ( 2005 ) for a similar analysis of the adoption of graffiti and hip hop by young working-class Cubans in Hialeah, a working-class Miami district.

ADFL Bulletin. (2015). Monolingual international. ADFL Bulletin, 43 (2), 9–36.

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Bruzos, A. (2020). Linguistic Landscape as an Antidote to the Commodification of Study Abroad Language Programs: A Case Study in the Center of Madrid. In: Malinowski, D., Maxim, H.H., Dubreil, S. (eds) Language Teaching in the Linguistic Landscape. Educational Linguistics, vol 49. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55761-4_12

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Frontiers in Educational Research , 2023, 6(7); doi: 10.25236/FER.2023.060707 .

A Sociolinguistics Perspective on Family Conflict Talk—A Case Study of Good Luck Charlie

Lin Zhixin 1 , Sun Xueqi 2

1 Business English, Jinan University, Shenzhen, China

2 Music Communicationm, Communication University of China, Beijing, China

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Conflicts are everywhere in social life, and when expressed in the form of language, they form discourse conflicts. Discourse conflict is a kind of linguistic behavior, which is the phenomenon of discourse non-cooperation that occurs in the process of language communication due to each person's personality, value orientation, and different views and attitudes towards someone or something. This article takes the family discourse conflicts in the American drama "Good Luck Charlie" as the expected source. From the perspective of sociolinguistics, it is more important for the American middle class in terms of face, power, gender, occupation and language factors in the intonation and lexicon. Analyzing the discourse conflicts of the nuclear family with children aims to summarize the basic characteristics and reasons of the family discourse conflicts. And the construction of gender, power and identity has a permeating effect in every kind of family conflict.

Family Conflict Talk; Gender; Identity; Linguistic factors; Power; Sociolinguistics; Social Factors

Cite This Paper

Lin Zhixin, Sun Xueqi. A Sociolinguistics Perspective on Family Conflict Talk—A Case Study of Good Luck Charlie. Frontiers in Educational Research (2023) Vol. 6, Issue 7: 37-42. https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2023.060707.

[1] Grimshaw A.D. (1990). Conflict talk: sociolinguistic investigations of arguments in conversations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

[2] Brenneis D., & Lein, L. (1977), ‘You fruithead’: A sociolinguistic approach to children’s dispute settlement. In S. Ervin-Tripp&C. Mitchell-Kernan (Ed.), Child Discourse (pp. 49-65. New York, NY: Academic Press.

[3] Eisenberg& Garvey (1981). Children’s use of verbal strategies in resolving conflicts [Electronic version]. Discourse Process, 4, 149-170

[4] Pomerantz A. (1984). Agreeing and disagreeing with assessments: some features of preferred/dispreferred turn shapes. In M. Atkinson, & J. Heritage (Ed.), Structures of social action: studies in conversation analysis (pp.57-101). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[5] Schiffrin D. (1985). Everyday argument: the organization of diversity in talk. In T. A. Van Dijk (Ed.), Handbook of discourse analysis, vol. 3 (pp.35-46).London, UK: Academic Press.

[6] Knoblauch C. H. (1988). Rhetorical constructions: dialogue and commitment. College English, 50(2), 125-140.doi:10.2307/377638

[7] Antaki C. (1994). Explaining and arguing: The social organization of accounts. London & Thousand Oaks: Sage

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Case Study of Conflict Management: To Resolve Disputes and Manage Conflicts, Assume a Neutral 3rd Party Role

Here is a case study of conflict management emphasizing the importance of hearing all sides in a dispute.

By PON Staff — on January 11th, 2024 / Conflict Resolution

In their book Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most (Penguin Putnam, 2000), authors Douglas Stone , Bruce Patton , and Sheila Heen tell us how to engage in the conversations in our professional or personal lives that make us uncomfortable by examining a case study of conflict management. Tough, honest conversations are critical for managers, whether they need to change the group culture, manage conflict within a team, give a negative performance evaluation, disagree with others in a group, or offer an apology.

To set the stage for a productive discussion, open a difficult conversation with the “Third Story,” advise the authors of Difficult Conversations . The Third Story is one an impartial observer, such as a mediator, would tell; it’s a version of events both sides can agree on. “The key is learning to describe the gap—or difference—between your story and the other person’s story. Whatever else you may think and feel, you can at least agree that you and the other person see things differently,” Stone, Patton, and Heen write.

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In our FREE special report from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School - The New Conflict Management: Effective Conflict Resolution Strategies to Avoid Litigation – renowned negotiation experts uncover unconventional approaches to conflict management that can turn adversaries into partners.

Suppose two regional sales reps share responsibility for sending weekly updates to their manager. Brad always submits them on time, but Frank often turns them in late. Saying, “Frank, you’ve turned in the sales reports late again” would only put Frank on the defensive. Instead, Brad opens the conversation this way: “Frank, you and I place a different value on deadlines. I want to explain why meeting them is important to me, and then I’d like to hear your take on them.”

Brad learns that Frank, when faced with the choice of possibly making a sale or compiling the report, thinks he should focus on the sale. With this insight, Brad proposes another way to share responsibilities: Brad will complete the report when it’s Frank’s turn to do so, as long as Frank gives Brad two hours’ notice and a share in any commission Frank earns as a result of being able to continue pursuing a lead.

What are your favorite conflict management methods?

Related Conflict Resolution Article: Conflict Management Skills When Dealing with an Angry Public – Here is some negotiation advice drawn from a case study of conflict management dealing with an angry public.

Adapted from “How to Say What Matters Most,” by Susan Hackley (former managing director, Program on Negotiation), first published in the  Negotiation  newsletter.

Originally published in 2010.

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Case Study #7: Empowered Process---Skilled Leadership: Diffusion, Party Capacity & Speaking Truth to Power

• Erbe, Nancy

This is the seventh case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

Introduction to Conflict Case Studies

Case Study #1: Neutral Fact-Finding and Empowerment Within Conflicted Systems

Case Study #2: Intrapersonal Approaches to Conflict: Cognitive and Perceptual Biases

Case Study #3: Negative Intergroup Influence

Case Study #4: Empathy: Effective Response with Escalating Aggression

Case Study #5: Assessing Covert Bad Faith and Power Abuse

Case Study #6: Cultural Competence: Ethical and Empowered Response With Discrimination

Case Study #7: Empowered Process---Skilled Leadership: Diffusion, Party Capacity and Speaking Truth to Power

Case Series #8: Empowered Process: Multicultural Collaboration

Case Study #2: Intrapersonal Approaches to Conflict: Cognitive & Perceptual Biases

This is the second case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

This is the first case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

This series, Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action, presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying this introduction. Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided here is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

This is the sixth case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

This is the third case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

This is the fourth case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

Case Study #5: Assessing Covert Bad Faith & Power Abuse

This is the fifth case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.

Case Study #8: Empowered Process: Multicultural Collaboration

This is the eighth case study in the series Holding These Truths: Empowerment and Recognition in Action. This series presents case studies for a future conflict resolution textbook. It has been successfully piloted with several international classes. Those, who benefit most, stress the importance of carefully studying the introduction. (See Introduction to Conflict Case Studies, Nancy D. Erbe). Because the case study format is intentionally unique, written in an interactive and non-linear workbook style, unlike many introductions, the information provided there is required for understanding the case studies. Readers are encouraged to send comments and critiques directly to the author. Because of the deliberate one-of-a-kind format of the text, detailed page-by-page comments and questions are welcome. A list of the entire series is included below.