Any social conflict has a rather complex internal structure. It is advisable to analyze the content and characteristics of the course of a social conflict in four main stages: the pre-conflict stage, the conflict itself, the stage of conflict resolution, and the post-conflict stage.

pre-conflict stage.

No social conflict arises instantly. emotional stress, irritation and anger usually accumulate over time, so the pre-conflict stage is sometimes delayed. At this stage, we can talk about the latent (latent) phase of the development of the conflict.

A significant group of domestic conflictologists (A. Zaitsev, A. Dmitriev, V. Kudryavtsev, G. Kudryavtsev, V. Shalenko) consider it necessary to characterize this stage with the concept of “social tension”. Social tension is a special socio-psychological state of public consciousness and behavior of individuals, social groups and society as a whole, a specific situation of perception and evaluation of events is characterized by increased emotional arousal, a violation of the mechanisms of social regulation and control. 1 In each form social conflict may have their own specific indicators of social tension. Social tension arises when the conflict has not yet taken shape, when there are no clearly defined parties to the conflict.

A characteristic feature of each conflict is the presence of an object, the possession of which (or the achievement of which) is associated with the frustration of the needs of the two subjects drawn into the conflict. This object must be fundamentally indivisible or appear as such in the eyes of the opponents. The indivisible object is the cause of the conflict. The presence and size of such an object must be at least partially realized by its participants or opposing sides. If this does not happen, then it is difficult for the opponents to carry out an aggressive action, and, as a rule, there is no conflict.

The Polish conflictologist E. Vyatr proposes to characterize this stage with the help of the socio-psychological concept of deprivation. Deprivation is a condition characterized by a clear discrepancy between expectations and the ability to meet them. Deprivation over time can either increase or decrease, or remain unchanged. one

The pre-conflict stage is the period in which the conflicting parties evaluate their resources before deciding to take conflict action or retreat. These resources include material values ​​that can be used to influence an opponent, information, power, connections, prestige, etc. At the same time, there is a consolidation of the forces of the opposing sides, the search for supporters and the formation of groups participating in the conflict.

The pre-conflict stage is also characteristic in the formation of each of the conflicting sides of the strategy or even several strategies. Moreover, the one that best suits the situation is used. The strategy is understood as the vision of the situation by the participants in the conflict (or, as they say, “bridgehead”), the formation of a goal in relation to the opposing side, and, finally, the choice of a way to influence the enemy. With the right choice of strategy, methods of action, conflicts can be prevented.

Direct conflict.

This stage is characterized primarily by the presence of an incident, i.e. social action aimed at changing the behavior of rivals. This is an active, active part of the conflict. Thus, the entire conflict consists of a conflict situation that is formed at the pre-conflict stage and an incident.

Conflict behavior characterizes the second, main stage in the development of the conflict. Conflict behavior is an action aimed at directly or indirectly blocking the achievement by the opposing side of its goals, intentions, interests.

The actions that make up the incident are divided into two groups, each of which is based on the specific behavior of people. The first group includes the actions of rivals in the conflict, which are open in nature. It can be verbal debate, economic sanctions, physical impact, political struggle, sports competition, etc. . Such actions, as a rule, are easily identified as conflict, aggressive, hostile.

The second group includes the hidden actions of rivals in the conflict. A veiled, but nevertheless extremely active struggle pursues the goal of imposing an unfavorable course of action on the opponent and at the same time revealing his strategy. The main course of action in the covert internal conflict is reflexive management - a method of management in which the grounds for making a decision are transmitted by one of actors to another. This means that one of the rivals is trying to convey and introduce into the consciousness of the other such information that makes this other act in a way that is beneficial to the one who transmitted this information.

A very characteristic moment at the stage of the conflict itself is the presence of a critical point, at which the conflict interactions between the opposing sides reach their maximum sharpness and strength. One of the criteria for approaching the critical point can be considered integration, the single-mindedness of the efforts of each of the conflicting parties, the cohesion of the groups participating in the conflict.

It is important to know the transit time critical point, since after that the situation is most manageable. At the same time, intervention at a critical moment, at the peak of the conflict, is useless or even dangerous. The achievement of a critical point and its passage largely depend on circumstances external to the participants in the conflict, as well as on resources and values ​​introduced into the conflict from outside.

3.Conflict resolution.

An external sign of conflict resolution may be the end of the incident. It is a completion, not a temporary cessation. This means that between the conflicting parties ceases conflict interaction. Elimination, termination of the incident is a necessary but not sufficient condition for resolving the conflict. Often, having stopped active conflict interaction, people continue to experience a frustrating state, to look for its causes. In this case, the conflict flares up again.

The resolution of social conflict is possible only when the conflict situation changes. This change can take many forms. But the most effective change in the conflict situation, which allows to extinguish the conflict, is considered to be the elimination of the cause of the conflict. With a rational conflict, the elimination of the cause inevitably leads to its resolution, but for emotional conflict the most important point in changing the conflict situation should be considered a change in the attitudes of rivals relative to each other.

It is also possible to resolve a social conflict by changing the requirements of one of the parties: the opponent makes concessions and changes the goals of his behavior in the conflict.

A social conflict can also be resolved as a result of the depletion of the resources of the parties or the intervention of a third force that creates an overwhelming preponderance of one of the parties, and, finally, as a result of the complete elimination of the rival. In all these cases, a change in the conflict situation will certainly occur.

Modern conflictology has formulated the conditions under which a successful resolution of social conflicts is possible. One of the important conditions is the timely and accurate analysis of its causes. And this involves the identification of objectively existing contradictions, interests, goals. An analysis carried out from this point of view makes it possible to outline the “business zone” of the conflict situation. Another, no less important condition is the mutual interest in overcoming contradictions on the basis of mutual recognition of the interests of each of the parties. To do this, the parties to the conflict must seek to free themselves from hostility and mistrust towards each other. To achieve such a state is possible on the basis of a goal that is meaningful to each group on a broader basis. The third, indispensable condition is the joint search for ways to overcome the conflict. Here it is possible to use a whole arsenal of means and methods: direct dialogue of the parties, negotiations with the participation of a third party, etc.

Conflictology has developed a number of recommendations, following which accelerates the process of conflict resolution: 1) during negotiations, priority should be given to discussion of substantive issues; 2) the parties must strive to relieve psychological and social tension; 3) the parties must demonstrate mutual respect for each other; 4) negotiators should strive to turn a significant and hidden part of the conflict situation into an open one, publicly and convincingly revealing each other's positions and deliberately creating an atmosphere of public equal exchange of views; 5) all negotiators should show a tendency to

Introduction 3

1. Main aspects of social conflicts 4

1.1 Classification of conflicts 6

1.2.Characteristics of conflicts 8

2. Stages of social conflicts 13

Conclusion 18

Introduction

Social heterogeneity of society, differences in income levels, power, prestige, etc. often lead to conflict. Conflicts are an integral part of social life. The modern life of Russian society is especially rich in conflicts. All this leads to close attention to the study of conflicts. The widespread occurrence of this phenomenon served as the basis for this work.

The relevance of the topic is evidenced by the fact that the clash of points of view, opinions, positions is a very common occurrence in production and public life. Therefore, in order to develop the right line of conduct in various conflict situations, it is necessary to know what a conflict is and how people come to an agreement. Knowledge of conflicts increases the culture of communication and makes a person's life not only calmer, but also more stable psychologically.

A conflict, especially a social one, is a very interesting phenomenon in the public life of people, and in this regard, it is not accidental that many prominent scientists who are engaged in very a wide range Sciences. So Professor N.V. Mikhailov wrote: “Conflict is a stimulus and a brake on progress, development and degradation, good and evil.”

Difficulties arising in extinguishing and localizing conflicts require a thorough analysis of the entire conflict, establishing its possible causes and consequences.

1. Main aspects of social conflicts

Conflict is a clash of opposing goals, positions, opinions and views of opponents or subjects of interaction. The English sociologist E. Gidens gave the following definition of conflict: “By conflict, I mean a real struggle between acting people or groups, regardless of the origins of this struggle, its methods and means mobilized by each of the parties.” Conflict is a ubiquitous phenomenon. Every society, every social group, social community is subject to conflicts to one degree or another. The wide distribution of this phenomenon and the heightened attention to it by society and scientists contributed to the emergence of a special branch of sociological knowledge - conflictology. Conflicts are classified according to their structure and research areas.

social conflict is special kind interaction of social forces, in which the action of one side, faced with the opposition of the other, makes it impossible to realize its goals and interests.

The main subjects of the conflict are large social groups. A major conflictologist R. Dorendorf refers to the subjects of the conflict three types of social groups:

1) Primary groups - direct participants in the conflict, which are in a state of interaction regarding the achievement of objectively or subjectively incompatible goals.

2) Secondary groups - tend to be uninvolved directly in the conflict, but contribute to fueling the conflict. At the stage of exacerbation, they can become the primary side.

3) Third forces are interested in resolving the conflict.

The subject of the conflict is the main contradiction, because of which and for the sake of resolving which the subjects enter into confrontation.

Conflictology has developed two models for describing the conflict: procedural and structural. The procedural model focuses on the dynamics of the conflict, the emergence of a conflict situation, the transition of the conflict from one stage to another, the forms of conflict behavior, and the final outcome of the conflict. AT structural model the emphasis shifts to an analysis of the conditions underlying the conflict and determining its dynamics. The main purpose of this model is to establish the parameters that influence the conflict behavior and the specification of the forms of this behavior.

Much attention is paid to the concept of “strength” of the participants in conflicts 1 . Strength is the ability of the opponent to realize his goal against the will of the interaction partner. It includes a number of heterogeneous components:

Physical force, including technical means used as an instrument of violence;

An informationally civilized form of the use of force, requiring the collection of facts, statistical data, analysis of documents, study of expert examination materials in order to ensure complete knowledge about the essence of the conflict, about one's opponent in order to develop a strategy and tactics of behavior, use materials that discredit the opponent, etc.;

Social status, expressed in socially recognized indicators (income, level of power, prestige, etc.);

Other resources - money, territory, time limit, number of supporters, etc.

The stage of conflict behavior is characterized by the maximum use of the strength of the participants in conflicts, the use of all the resources at their disposal.

An important influence on the development of conflict relations is exerted by the surrounding social environment, which determines the conditions in which conflict processes take place. The environment can act either as a source of external support for the participants in the conflict, or as a deterrent, or as a neutral factor.

1. Classification of conflicts

All conflicts can be classified depending on the areas of disagreement as follows.

1. Personal conflict. This zone includes conflicts occurring within the personality, at the level of individual consciousness. Such conflicts may be associated, for example, with excessive dependence or role tension. It's pure psychological conflict, but it can be a catalyst for the emergence of group tension if the individual seeks the cause of his internal conflict among the members of the group.

2. interpersonal conflict. This zone includes disagreements between two or more members of the same group or groups.

3. Intergroup conflict. Some number of individuals forming a group (i.e. social community capable of joint coordinated action) come into conflict with another group that does not include individuals from the first group. This is the most common type of conflict, because individuals, starting to influence others, usually try to attract supporters to themselves, form a group that facilitates actions in the conflict.

4. Conflict of ownership. Occurs due to the dual belonging of individuals, for example, when they form a group within another, larger group or when an individual enters simultaneously into two competitive groups pursuing the same goal.

5. Conflict with external environment. The individuals who make up the group are under pressure from outside (primarily from cultural, administrative and economic norms and regulations). Often they come into conflict with the institutions that support these norms and regulations.

According to their inner content, social conflicts are divided into rational and emotional 2 . To rational include such conflicts that cover the sphere of reasonable, businesslike cooperation, redistribution of resources and improvement of the managerial or social structure. Rational conflicts are also encountered in the field of culture, when people are trying to free themselves from obsolete, unnecessary forms, customs and beliefs. As a rule, those involved in rational conflicts do not switch to personal level and do not form in their minds the image of the enemy. Respect for the opponent, recognition of his right to a certain amount of truth - these are the characteristic features of a rational conflict. Such conflicts are not sharp, protracted, since both sides strive, in principle, for the same goal - to improve relationships, norms, patterns of behavior, and a fair distribution of values. The parties come to an agreement, and as soon as the frustrating obstacle is removed, the conflict is resolved.

However, in the course of conflict interactions, clashes, the aggression of its participants is often transferred from the cause of the conflict to the individual. In this case, the initial cause of the conflict is simply forgotten, and the participants act on the basis of personal hostility. This conflict is called emotional. Since the appearance of an emotional conflict, negative stereotypes appear in the minds of people participating in it.

The development of emotional conflict is unpredictable, and in the vast majority of cases they are uncontrollable. Most often, such a conflict stops after the appearance of new people or even new generations in the situation. But some conflicts (for example, national, religious) can transmit an emotional mood to other generations. In this case, the conflict continues enough long time.

1. Characteristics of conflicts

Despite numerous manifestations of conflict interactions in social life, they all have a number general characteristics, the study of which makes it possible to classify the main parameters of conflicts, as well as to identify factors affecting their intensity. All conflicts are characterized by four main parameters: the causes of the conflict, the severity of the conflict, its duration and consequences 3 . Considering these characteristics, it is possible to determine the similarities and differences in conflicts and the features of their course.

Causes of conflicts.

Definitions of the concept of the nature of the conflict and the subsequent analysis of its causes has importance in the study of conflict interactions, since the cause is the point around which the conflict situation unfolds. Early diagnosis of the conflict is primarily aimed at finding it. real reason, which makes it possible to social control behind the behavior of social groups at the pre-conflict stage.

It is expedient to start the analysis of the causes of social conflict with their typology. The following types of reasons can be distinguished:

1.The presence of opposite orientations. Each individual and social group has a certain set of value orientations regarding the most significant aspects of social life. They are all different and usually opposite. At the moment of striving to satisfy needs, in the presence of blocked goals that several individuals or groups are trying to achieve, opposite value orientations come into contact and can cause a conflict.

2.ideological reasons. Conflicts that arise on the basis of ideological differences are a special case of the conflict of opposite orientation. The difference between them is that the ideological cause of the conflict lies in different attitude to a system of ideas that justify and legitimize the relationship of subordination, dominance and fundamental worldviews among various groups of society. In this case, the elements of faith, religious, socio-political aspirations become a catalyst for contradictions.

3.The causes of conflicts are various forms of economic and social inequality. This type of causes is associated with a significant difference in the distribution of values ​​(income, knowledge, information, elements of culture, etc.) between individuals and groups. Inequality in the distribution of values ​​exists everywhere, but conflict arises only when there is such a magnitude of inequality that is regarded by one of the social groups as very significant, and only if such a significant inequality leads to the blockade of important social needs in one of the social groups. The social tension that arises in this case can serve as a cause of social conflict. It is due to the emergence of additional needs in people, for example, the need to have the same number of values.

4. The causes of conflicts lie in the relations between the elements of the social structure. They appear as a result of the different places that structural elements occupy in a society, organization or ordered social group. The conflict for this reason can be associated, firstly, with different goals pursued by individual elements. Secondly, the conflict for this reason is associated with the desire of one or another structural element to occupy more high place in a hierarchical structure.

It is useful to start the analysis of conflicts from an elementary, simplest level, from the origins of conflict relations. Traditionally, it begins with a structure of needs, a set of which is specific to each individual and social group. A. Maslow divides all these needs into five main types: 1) physical needs (food, sex, material well-being etc.); 2) security needs; 3) social needs(communication needs, social contacts, interaction); 4) the need to achieve prestige, knowledge, respect, a certain level of competence; 5) higher needs in self-expression, self-affirmation (for example, the need for creativity). All desires, aspirations of individuals and social groups can be attributed to any type of these needs. Consciously or unconsciously, individuals dream of achieving their goal in accordance with their needs.

All human behavior can be simplified as a series of elementary acts, each of which begins with an imbalance due to the emergence of a need and a goal that is significant for the individual, and ends with the restoration of balance and achievement of the goal (consummation). For example, a person becomes thirsty, the goal appears to drink water; then this goal is realized and the need is satisfied. However, during such continuous process interference may occur and the action will be interrupted. Any intervention (or circumstance) that creates an obstacle, a break in a person's already begun or planned action, is called a blockade. In the event of a blockade (or a situation of blocking), an individual or social group is required to reassess the situation, make a decision under conditions of uncertainty (there are several alternatives to action), set new goals and adopt a new plan of action.

Continuing the example, imagine that a person trying to quench his thirst sees that there is no water in the carafe. To overcome this blockade, he can pour water from the tap, boil it or drink it raw. You can replace the water with milk from the refrigerator. In any case, a person must set new goals for himself, develop new plan actions to overcome the blockade. The blocking situation is always some initial confusion varying degrees intensity (from slight bewilderment to shock), and then the impulse to new actions. In such a situation, each Human tries to avoid the blockade, looking for workarounds, new effective actions, as well as the causes of the blockade. If the blockade standing in the way of the satisfaction of a need is too great, or if in a state of series external causes the individual or group is simply unable to overcome the difficulty, secondary adjustment may not lead to success. Meeting with an insurmountable difficulty in satisfying a need can be classified as frustration. It is usually associated with tension, displeasure, turning into irritation and anger.

The reaction to frustration can develop in two directions - it can be either retreat or aggression. Retreat is the avoidance of frustration by short-term or long-term refusal to satisfy a certain need. Retreat in a situation of frustration can be of two types: 1) containment - a state in which an individual refuses to satisfy a need out of fear, in order to obtain benefits in another area or in the hope of satisfying a need after some time more the easy way. In this case, the individual restructures his consciousness, completely submits to the requirements of the situation and acts with a sense of the correctness of refusing to satisfy the need; 2) suppression - avoiding the realization of goals under the influence external coercion when frustration is constantly present inside the individual, but is driven deep and can at any moment come out in the form of aggression under certain favorable conditions for this.

Aggressive behavior caused by frustration may be directed at another person or group of people if they are the cause of the frustration or appear to be so. At the same time, aggression is social character and accompanied emotional states anger, hostility, hatred. Aggressive social actions cause an aggressive response in another individual or group, and from that moment social conflict begins.

Thus, for the emergence of a social conflict, it is necessary, firstly, that the cause of frustration is the behavior of other people and, secondly, that a response, interaction, arises in response to an aggressive social action.

However, not every state of frustration and the emotional stress associated with it lead to social conflict. Emotional tension, dissatisfaction associated with the dissatisfaction of needs, must cross a certain boundary, beyond which aggression appears in the form of directed social action. This boundary is determined by the state of public fear, cultural norms and action social institutions deterring the manifestation of aggressive actions. If phenomena of disorganization are observed in a society or a social group, the effectiveness of the operation of social institutions decreases, then individuals more easily cross the line separating them from conflict.

All conflicts can be classified depending on the areas of disagreement as follows.
1. Personal conflict. This zone includes conflicts occurring within the personality, at the level of individual consciousness. Such conflicts may be associated, for example, with excessive dependence or role tension. This is a purely psychological conflict, but it can be a catalyst for the emergence of group tension if the individual seeks the cause of his internal conflict among the members of the group.
2. Interpersonal conflict. This zone includes disagreements between two or more members of the same group or groups. In this conflict, individuals stand "face to face", like two boxers, and individuals who do not form groups also join.
3. Intergroup conflict. A certain number of individuals forming a group (that is, a social community capable of joint coordinated action) come into conflict with another group that does not include individuals from the first group. This is the most common type of conflict, because individuals, starting to influence others, usually try to attract supporters to themselves, to form a group that facilitates actions in the conflict.
4. Conflict, belongings. Such a conflict occurs due to the dual belonging of individuals, for example, when they form a group within another, larger group, or when an individual enters simultaneously into two competitive groups pursuing the same goal.
5. Conflict with the external environment. The individuals that make up the group are under pressure from outside (primarily from cultural, administrative and economic norms and regulations). Often they come into conflict with the institutions that support these norms and regulations.

1. Pre-conflict stage. No social conflict arises instantly. Emotional stress, irritation and anger usually accumulate over time, so the pre-conflict stage sometimes drags on so much that the root cause of the conflict is forgotten.

A characteristic feature of every conflict at the moment of its inception is the presence of an object, the possession of which (or the achievement of which) is associated with the frustration of the needs of the two subjects drawn into the conflict. This object must be fundamentally indivisible or appear as such in the eyes of the opponents. It happens that this object can be divided without conflict, but at the moment of its inception, the rivals do not see the path to this and their aggression is directed at each other. Let's call this indivisible object the cause of the conflict. The presence and size of such an object must be at least partially realized by its participants or opposing sides. If this does not happen, then it is difficult for the opponents to carry out an aggressive action and, as a rule, there is no conflict.

The pre-conflict stage is the period in which the conflicting parties evaluate their resources before deciding to act aggressively or retreat. These resources include material values ​​that can be used to influence an opponent, information, power, connections, prestige, etc. At the same time, there is a consolidation of the forces of the warring parties, the search for supporters and the formation of groups participating in the conflict.

Initially, each of the conflicting parties is looking for ways to achieve goals, avoid frustration without influencing the opponent. When all attempts to achieve the desired are in vain, the individual or social group determines the object that interferes with the achievement of goals, the degree of his “guilt”, the strength and ability to counteract. This moment in the pre-conflict stage is called identification. In other words, it is a search for those who interfere with the satisfaction of needs and against whom aggressive social actions should be used.

It happens that the cause of frustration is hidden and difficult to identify. Then it is possible to choose an object for aggression, which has nothing to do with blocking the need. This false identification can lead to an impact on a third-party object, a response and a false conflict. Sometimes false identification is created artificially in order to divert attention from the true source of frustration. For example, a government in a country tries to avoid dissatisfaction with its actions by shifting the blame to national groups or individual social strata. False conflicts, as a rule, do not eliminate the causes of collisions, but only exacerbate the situation, creating opportunities for the spread of conflict interactions.

The pre-conflict stage is also characterized by the formation of each of the conflicting parties of a strategy or even several strategies. Moreover, one of them is used, which in most matches the situation. In our case, the strategy is understood as the vision of the situation by the participants in the conflict (or, as they say, the “bridgehead”), the formation of a goal in relation to opposing side and, finally, the choice of a method of influencing the enemy. Opponents conduct reconnaissance to find out weaknesses each other and possible ways response actions, and then they themselves try to calculate their own own actions a few moves ahead.
The pre-conflict stage is of scientific and practical interest for both scientists and managers, since right choice strategies, methods of action, conflicts can be prevented.
2. Direct conflict. This stage is characterized primarily by the presence of an incident, i.e. social actions aimed at changing the behavior of rivals. This is an active, active part of the conflict. Thus, the entire conflict consists of a conflict situation that is formed at the pre-conflict stage, and an incident.

The activities that make up an incident can vary. But it is important for us to divide them into two groups, each of which is based on the specific behavior of people.

The first group includes the actions of rivals in the conflict, which are open in nature. It can be verbal debate, economic sanctions, physical impact, political struggle, sports competition, etc. Such actions, as a rule, are easily identified as conflict, aggressive, hostile. Since an open "exchange of blows" is clearly visible from the side during the conflict, sympathizers and just observers can be drawn into it. Watching the most common street incident, you can see that those around you rarely remain indifferent: they are indignant, sympathize with one side and can easily be drawn into action. So active open actions usually expand the scope of the conflict, they are clear and predictable.

The second group includes the hidden actions of rivals in the conflict. It is known that during conflicts, opponents most often try to disguise their actions, confuse, deceive the rival side. This hidden, veiled, but nevertheless extremely active struggle pursues the goal of imposing an unfavorable course of action on the opponent and at the same time revealing his strategy. The main mode of action in a hidden internal conflict is reflexive control. According to the definition formulated by V. Lefebvre, reflexive control is a method of control in which the grounds for making a decision are transferred from one of the actors to another. This means that one of the rivals is trying to convey and introduce into the consciousness of the other such information that makes this other act in a way that is beneficial to the one who transmitted this information. Thus, any "deceitful movements", provocations, intrigues, disguises, creation of false objects, and in general any lie is a reflexive control. And lies can be complex structure, for example, the transmission of truthful information so that it is mistaken for false.

In order to understand how reflexive control is carried out in a conflict, we will give an example of a hidden conflict interaction. Suppose that the leaders of two competing firms are trying to capture a part of the product sales market, but for this they need to join the fight to eliminate the rival from the market (this may be political parties vying for influence and seeking to remove a rival from the political arena). The management of one of the competing firms X enters the real market P (let's call it a springboard for action). Not having a detailed picture of market relations, X imagines a springboard based on his knowledge of it in the form of Px. Vision, awareness of the springboard from X is not adequate to the real P, and X must make decisions based on Px. The managers of firm X have definite purpose Cx - to succeed in the market by selling goods for more low prices(based on P). To achieve this goal, firm X intends to enter into transactions with a number of enterprises to sell its cheaper products. In this way, firm X forms some intended course of action, or the doctrine of Dx. As a result, X has some goal related to his vision of the beachhead, and a doctrine or method for achieving this goal, which serves to make a decision Px, also dependent on X's vision of the beachhead.

It is generally accepted to distinguish the following stages of the conflict: conflict situation , within which the determinants of the conflict are formed, provoking social tension; awareness social actors discrepancies in their interests and values, as well as factors that determine the formation of goals and ways to achieve them; open conflict interaction, where Special attention attract processes of escalation and de-escalation of the conflict; end of the conflict, where the greatest importance takes into account the possible results and consequences of both the previous confrontation and the way it is regulated.

It is known that in practice it is far from always possible to accurately determine the beginning of a conflict, the boundary of the transition of a conflict situation into open confrontation. It is even more difficult to define the boundaries of the stages.

In Western socio-psychological literature, the dynamics of the conflict is understood in two ways: broad and narrow. AT broad sense The word dynamics is interpreted as a successive change of certain stages or stages that characterize the process of the development of the conflict from the emergence of a conflict situation to the resolution of the conflict. AT narrow sense words, the dynamics of the conflict is considered in the context of only one, but its most acute stage - conflict interaction.

For example:

The appearance of the causes of the conflict;

The emergence of a feeling of dissatisfaction (resentment, indignation);

Proposal to eliminate the causes of the conflict;

Failure to comply with this requirement;

Conflict.

AT this case in fact, the beginning of the conflict is revealed, but the dynamics from the beginning of the conflict to its resolution is not shown.

Many authors, studying the dynamics of the conflict, focus on the relationship between objective and subjective factors, where the determining factor is still subjective (the awareness of the conflict situation by at least one of the parties). Pointing out the importance of understanding the conflict situation, they argue that social phenomena and processes are predictable and manageable. A person, sometimes included in them regardless of his will and consciousness, can contribute to the development of events.

Thus, we note that the conflict is a complex dynamic formation that has its own boundaries, content, stages and its own forms of dynamics.

All the variety of forms of conflict dynamics can be reduced to three main forms.

1. The conflict has cyclical character and goes through a predictable sequence of stages. The conflict arises, develops, the intensity of martial arts reaches its climax, and then, after the measures taken to resolve the situation, the tension gradually or quickly subsides.

2. Conflict is phase process. Interaction of subjects leads to transformation social situation. Living conditions, nature and content are changing public relations, principles and rules of behavior of the individual, social structure and the status of individuals or social groups.

3. Conflict is interaction two subjects (individuals, social groups), in which the actions of one side are a reaction to the actions of the other side.

In real social life, these forms are rarely found in pure form. As a rule, conflicts have mixed forms. Very often the conflict first has one form, then passes into others. This is especially true for protracted conflicts. Even a strike, representing a relatively pure form of cyclic conflict with pronounced stages, can pass into a phase form.

Of greatest interest is an almost universal scheme of the dynamics of the development of the conflict, where a latent (pre-conflict) period is distinguished, open period(actual conflict), latent period (post-conflict situation).

A more complete and reliable understanding of the dynamics of the conflict involves the identification of the following stages in it:

1) latent stage;

2) stage of identification;

3) incident;

4) escalation stage;

5) critical stage;

6) de-escalation stage;

7) termination stage.

Latent stage potential rivals are not yet aware of themselves as such. This stage includes the following steps: the emergence of an objective problem situation; awareness of the objective problem situation by the subjects of interaction; attempts by the parties to resolve an objective problem situation in non-conflict ways; the emergence of a pre-conflict situation.

The emergence of an objective problem situation . Except for cases of false conflict, the conflict is usually generated by an objective problem situation. The essence of such a situation is the emergence of a contradiction between the subjects (their goals, actions, motives, aspirations, etc.). Since the contradiction has not yet been recognized and there are no conflict actions, this situation is called problematic. It is primarily the result of objective reasons. Every day arising in production, in business, everyday life, family and other areas of life, many problem situations exist for a long time without manifesting themselves.

One of the conditions for such a transition is the awareness of an objective problem situation.

Awareness of the objective problem situation. The perception of reality as problematic, the understanding of the need to take some action to resolve the contradiction is the meaning of this stage. The presence of an obstacle to the realization of interests contributes to the fact that the problem situation is perceived subjectively, with distortions. The subjectivity of perception is generated not only by the nature of the psyche, but also by the social differences of the participants in communication. These include the values social attitudes, ideals and interests. The individuality of awareness is also generated by differences in knowledge, needs, and other characteristics of the participants in the interaction. How the situation is more complicated and the faster it develops, the more likely it is to be distorted by opponents.

An attempt by the parties to resolve an objective problem situation in non-conflict ways. Awareness of the contradiction does not always automatically entail conflict opposition of the parties. Often at least one of them tries to solve the problem in non-conflict ways (by persuading, explaining, asking, informing the opposing side). Sometimes the participant in the interaction concedes, not wanting the problem situation to develop into a conflict. In any case, on this stage the parties argue their interests and fix positions.

The emergence of a pre-conflict situation. The conflict is perceived as a threat to the security of one of the parties to the interaction, a threat to some socially important interests. Moreover, the actions of the opponent are not considered as a potential threat (this is typical for a problematic situation), but as a direct one. Exactly sense of imminent threat contributes to the development of the situation in the direction of conflict, is a "trigger" of conflict behavior.

Each of the conflicting parties is looking for ways to achieve goals without influencing the opponent. When all attempts to achieve the desired are in vain, the individual or social group determines the object that hinders the achievement of goals, the degree of his "guilt", the strength and ability to counteract. This moment in a pre-conflict situation is called identification. In other words, it is a search for those who interfere with the satisfaction of needs and against whom aggressive actions should be taken.

Distinctive feature latent stage and stage of identification lies in the fact that they form a prerequisite for the transition to active conflict actions aimed at directly or indirectly blocking the achievement opposite side goals and realize their own intentions. Thus, an incident occurs in turn and the stage of escalation of the conflict begins.

Incident(from Latin incidens - a case that happens) represents the first clash of the parties, a test of strength, an attempt to solve the problem in one's favor with the help of force. The conflict incident must be distinguished from its cause. Reason - this is what specific event, which serves as an impetus, a subject for the beginning of conflict actions. In this case, it may arise by chance, or it may be specially invented, but, in any case, the cause is not yet a conflict. In contrast, an incident is already a conflict, its beginning.

For example, Sarajevo murder- murder of an heir Austro-Hungarian throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife, carried out on June 28, 1914 (according to the new style) in the city of Sarajevo, was used by Austria-Hungary as occasion to start the First World War. Already on July 15, 1914, Austria-Hungary, under direct pressure from Germany, declared war on Serbia. And the direct invasion of Germany on September 1, 1939 into Poland is no longer a reason, but incident, signaling the start of World War II.

The incident exposes the positions of the parties and makes explicit division into "us" and "them", friends and enemies, allies and opponents. After the incident, it becomes clear "who is who", because the masks have already been dropped. However, the real strengths of the opponents are not yet fully known, and it is not clear how far one or another participant in the conflict can go in the confrontation. And this uncertainty true powers and resources (material, physical, financial, mental, informational, etc.) of the enemy is very an important factor containment of the development of the conflict on its initial stage. However, this uncertainty contributes to the further development of the conflict. Because it is clear that if both sides had a clear idea of ​​the potential of the enemy, his resources, then many conflicts would have been stopped from the very beginning. The weaker side would not, in many cases, aggravate the useless confrontation, but forte, without hesitation, would crush the enemy with her power. In both cases, the incident would have been settled fairly quickly.

Thus, an incident often creates ambivalent situation in the attitudes and actions of the opponents of the conflict. On the one hand, you want to “get into a fight” faster and win, and on the other hand, it is difficult to enter the water “without knowing the ford”.

So important elements development of the conflict at this stage are: "reconnaissance", collecting information about the true capabilities and intentions of opponents, searching for allies and attracting additional forces to their side. Since the confrontation in the incident is local in nature, the full potential of the participants in the conflict has not yet been demonstrated. Although all forces are already beginning to be brought into combat condition.

However, even after the incident, it remains possible to resolve the conflict peacefully, through negotiations, to come to compromise between the subjects of the conflict. And this opportunity should be used to the fullest.

If, after the incident, a compromise is found and prevented further development the conflict failed, then the first incident is followed by the second, third, etc. The conflict enters the next stage - it occurs escalation (growth). So, after the first incident in World War II - the German invasion of Poland - others followed, no less dangerous. As early as April-May 1940 German troops occupied Denmark and Norway, in May they invaded Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and then France. In April 1941, Germany captured the territory of Greece and Yugoslavia, and on June 22, 1941, attacked the Soviet Union.

Escalation of the conflict - this is its key, most intense stage, when there is an aggravation of all contradictions between its participants and all possibilities are used to win the confrontation.

The only question is: “who wins”, because this is no longer a local battle, but a full-scale battle. There is a mobilization of all resources: material, political, financial, informational, physical, mental and others.

At this stage, any negotiations or other peaceful means of resolving the conflict become difficult. Emotions often begin to drown out the mind, logic gives way to feelings. the main task is to inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy at any cost. Therefore, at this stage, the original cause and main goal of the conflict may be lost and new causes and new goals come to the fore. In the process of this stage of the conflict, a change in value orientations is also possible, in particular, values-means and values-goals can change places. The development of the conflict acquires a spontaneous uncontrollable character.

Among the main points characterizing the stage of the escalation of the conflict, the following can be distinguished first of all:

1) creating an image of the enemy;

2) demonstration of force and threat of its use;

3) the use of violence;

4) the tendency to expand and deepen the conflict.

On the stage escalation , according to D. Pruitt and D. Rabin, the conflict undergoes the following transformations.

1. From light to heavy. The conflict of lighter forms develops into a conflict with more severe forms of interaction (for example, a simple divergence of opinions, views, etc. develops into fierce rivalry).

2. From small to large. The parties are increasingly involved in the struggle and attract ever-increasing resources in an effort to achieve transformation.

3. From specific to general. In the course of the escalation of the conflict, there is a “loss” of its object and purpose. The subject area of ​​conflict is expanding.

4. From effective action- to victory and, further, to harm the other party.

5. Few to many. Initially, episodic conflict clashes are carried out over specific issues. During the escalation, "skirmishes" become permanent and for any reason.

Thus, even the most seemingly insignificant conflict can grow like a snowball, capturing everything. large quantity participants, acquiring new incidents and increasing tension between the warring parties.

Having reached its peak critical stage, the parties continue to provide balanced resistance, however, the intensity of the struggle is reduced. The parties are aware that the continuation of the conflict by force does not give a result, but actions to reach an agreement have not yet been taken.

Fading (de-escalation) of the conflict consists in the transition from conflict resistance to finding a solution to the problem and ending the conflict for any reason. At this stage of the development of confrontation, a variety of situations which encourage both parties or one of them to end the conflict. These situations include:

A clear weakening of one or both sides or the exhaustion of their resources, which does not allow further confrontation;

The obvious hopelessness of the continuation of the conflict and its awareness by its participants. This situation is connected with the conviction that further struggle does not give advantages to either side and the end of the edge of this struggle is not visible;

The revealed predominant superiority of one of the parties and its ability to suppress the opponent or impose its will on him;

The appearance of a third party in the conflict and its ability and desire to end the confrontation.

These situations are associated with completion methods conflicts, which can also be very diverse. The most typical of them are the following:

1) elimination (destruction) of the opponent or both opponents of the confrontation;

2) elimination (destruction) of the object of the conflict;

3) change in the positions of both or one of the parties to the conflict;

4) participation in the conflict new strength capable of completing it by coercion;

5) the appeal of the subjects of the conflict to the arbitrator and its completion through the arbitrator;

6) negotiations as one of the most effective and common ways to resolve the conflict.

By nature termination stage conflict can be:

1) with from the point of view of realizing the goals of confrontation:

victorious;

Compromise;

defeatist;

2) in terms of the form of conflict resolution:

peaceful;

Violent;

3) in terms of conflict functions:

constructive;

destructive;

4) in terms of efficiency and completeness of resolution:

completely and fundamentally complete;

Postponed for any (or indefinite) time.

It should be noted that the concepts of "end of the conflict" and "resolution of the conflict" are not identical. Conflict resolution there is special case, one of the forms of the end of the conflict, and is expressed in positive, constructive solving the problem by the main participants in the conflict or by a third party. But besides this forms the end of the conflict can be: settlement, attenuation (extinction) of the conflict, elimination of the conflict, the escalation of the conflict into another conflict.

Of course, all social conflicts cannot be fitted into a single universal scheme. There are fight-type conflicts, where you can only count on victory, debate-type conflicts, where disputes, maneuvers are possible, both sides can count on a compromise. There are game-type conflicts where the parties operate within the same rules, etc. After the typology of social conflicts, the stages, phases of the conflict should be considered, which provides the basis for finding ways to regulate. The origin of the conflict - a latent stage, often even imperceptible to an external observer. Actions develop at the socio-psychological level - conversations in the kitchen, in smoking rooms, locker rooms. The development of this phase can be tracked by some indirect signs(growth in the number of layoffs, absenteeism). No social conflict arises instantly. Social tension, emotional irritation accumulate over time, and the pre-conflict stage can be extended. A characteristic feature of social conflict is the presence of an object of conflict, the possession of which is associated with the frustration of subjects drawn into social conflict. Pre-conflict stage - this is the period when the conflicting parties evaluate their resource capabilities. Such resources include material values, with which you can influence the opposite side; information; power; communications; allies you can count on. Initially, the participants in the conflict are looking for ways to achieve goals without influencing the rival side. When such attempts turn out to be futile, the individual, collective, social group determines the object that interferes with the achievement of goals, the degree of his guilt, the degree of possible opposition. This moment in the pre-conflict stage is called identification. There are situations when the cause of frustration is hidden and difficult to identify. Then it is possible to choose an object for social conflict, which is not related to blocking the need, that is, false identification occurs. Sometimes false identification is created artificially in order to divert attention from the true source of frustration, social tension. In the most complex interweaving of social life, experienced politicians quite often let off steam of social tension, creating false objects of frustration. For example, the head of an enterprise, not being able to reasonably manage financial resources, explains the non-payment wages actions of the central government. The pre-conflict stage is also characterized by the development by each of the conflicting parties of a scenario or even several scenarios of their actions, the choice of ways to influence the opposing side. The pre-conflict stage is of scientific and practical interest for managers and sociologists, since with the right choice of strategy, methods of influencing participants, it is possible to extinguish emerging conflicts or, conversely, inflate them using certain political or other goals. initiator is an stage , on which the event that plays the role of the trigger occurs. It forces the parties to start acting openly and actively. These can be verbal debates, rallies, deputations, hunger strikes, pickets, economic sanctions and even physical pressure, etc. Sometimes the actions of the participants in the conflict can also be covert, when the rivals try to deceive and intimidate each other. According to their content, social conflicts are divided into rational and emotional, although in practice it is difficult to separate one from the other. When the conflict proceeds in a rational form, then its participants do not go to the personal level, they do not seek to form the image of the enemy in their minds. Respect for an opponent, recognition of his right to a share of the truth, the ability to enter into his position are characteristic signs of conflicts that are rational in nature. However, most often in the course of conflict interactions, the aggression of its participants is transferred from the cause of the conflict to individuals, hostility and even hatred towards rivals is formed. Thus, during interethnic conflicts, the image of a foreign nation is created, as a rule, uncultured, cruel, possessing all conceivable vices, and this image extends to the entire nation without exception. The development of emotional conflicts is unpredictable, and in most cases they are difficult to manage, so the desire of some leaders for their own purposes to artificially cause a conflict to resolve a conflict situation threatens with serious consequences, since the conflict can be controlled to a certain limit. peak stage - the critical point of the conflict, the stage when the interactions between the conflicting parties reach their maximum severity and strength. It is important to be able to determine the passage of this point, since after this the situation is most manageable. And at the same time, intervention in the conflict at the peak point is useless and even dangerous.

After passing the critical point, several scenarios for the development of the conflict are possible:

• the destruction of the core of the strike and the transition to the extinction of the conflict, but the formation of a new core and a new escalation are possible;

  reaching a compromise as a result of negotiations;

  an escalating variant of turning a strike into a tragic, dead-end in its content, when it is necessary to search for alternatives, new positions of the conflicting parties. In another version - hunger strikes, pogroms, the actions of militants, the destruction of equipment.

The fading of the conflict is connected either with the exhaustion of the resources of one of the parties, or with the achievement of an agreement. If the conflict is a power interaction, then participation in the conflict requires the presence of some force, a way of influencing the opponent, the opposing side. Power is understood as the potential of a social group, which, by its action or threat of action, can force another social group to yield, to satisfy demands.

Among the main sources of such power are:

• formal authority;

  control over scarce resources (finance, control over information, decision-making processes, control over technology). The position of air traffic controllers in civil aviation, miners, power engineers during the winter heating period, etc.

The potential of a separate social group is made up of personal, social potential, financial resources, economic potential, technological potential, time resources and some other factors. The external resources of the conflicting parties include: natural environment(positions of thermal power engineers in the Far North), relations with the media, political (court, law enforcement agencies), possible allies, etc. It is natural that external resources can work for one of the parties to the conflict, and then it gets an advantage. Of course, each of the parties to the conflict is driven by certain social interests, which are expressed in goals, needs, policies. Interests can be real, real and inadequate - inflated, hypothetical (contrived), broadcast, that is, not the interests of this group, but representing the interests of other social groups. The interests of the social group are expressed during the conflict in certain requirements. These may be demands for the payment of wage arrears or wage increases, disputes about the boundaries of responsibility, issues of employment and job transfers, actions in support of other teams or social groups. In addition, the conflict situation absorbs the entire set of conditions and causes that precede it. In a conflict, the contradictions accumulated in the social organization are discharged, they are comparable to a lightning discharge, which absorbs all the accumulated energy.