What does social conflict lead to? Social conflicts

social conflict

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social conflict- conflict caused by differences social groups or personalities with a difference in opinions and views, the desire to take a leading position; manifestation of social connections of people.

In the field of scientific knowledge, there is a separate science dedicated to conflicts - conflictology. Conflict is a clash of opposing goals, positions, views of the subjects of interaction. At the same time, the conflict is the most important side of the interaction of people in society, a kind of cell of social life. This is a form of relationship between potential or actual subjects of social action, the motivation of which is due to opposing values ​​and norms, interests and needs. The essential side of social conflict is that these subjects act within the framework of some wider system of connections, which is modified (strengthened or destroyed) under the influence of the conflict. If interests are multidirectional and opposite, then their opposition will be found in a mass of very different assessments; they themselves will find a “field of collision” for themselves, while the degree of rationality of the claims put forward will be very conditional and limited. It is likely that at each of the stages of the development of the conflict, it will be concentrated at a certain point of intersection of interests.

Causes of social conflicts

The reason for social conflicts lies in the definition itself - it is a confrontation between individuals or groups pursuing socially significant goals. It occurs when one side of the conflict seeks to implement its interests to the detriment of the other.

Types of social conflicts

Political conflicts- these are conflicts, the cause of which is the struggle for the distribution of power, dominance, influence and authority. They arise from various interests, rivalry and struggle in the process of acquiring, distributing and exercising political and state power. Political conflicts are directly related to winning leading positions in the institutions and structures of political power.

Main types of political conflicts:

conflict between branches of government;

conflict within parliament;

conflict between political parties and movements;

conflict between various parts of the administrative apparatus, etc.

Socio-economic conflicts- these are conflicts caused by means of subsistence, the use and redistribution of natural and other material resources, the level of wages, the use of professional and intellectual potential, the level of prices for goods and services, access and distribution of spiritual goods.

National-ethnic conflicts- these are conflicts that arise in the course of the struggle for the rights and interests of ethnic and national groups.

According to the classification of typology by D. Katz, there are:

conflict between indirectly competing subgroups;

conflict between directly competing subgroups;

conflict within the hierarchy over rewards.

The main aspects of social conflicts.

Social heterogeneity of society, difference in income levels, power, prestige, etc. often lead to conflict. Conflicts are an integral part of social life. This causes close attention of sociologists to the study of conflicts.

A conflict is a clash of opposing goals, positions, opinions and views of opponents or subjects of interaction. Radugin A.A., Radugin K.A. Sociology. - M.: Center, 1996., p. 117. The English sociologist E. Gidens gave the following definition of conflict: “By conflict, I mean a real struggle between active people or groups, regardless of what the origins of this struggle are, 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 a special type of 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. The prominent conflictologist R. Dorendorf refers to the subjects of the conflict three types of social groups. one). Primary groups are 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 they 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. In the structural model, the emphasis shifts to an analysis of the conditions that underlie the conflict and determine 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. 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.

1.1. 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. 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 one group or several groups.

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, form a group that facilitates actions in the conflict.

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

5. Conflict with the 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 internal content, social conflicts are divided into rational and emotional. Rational conflicts 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 participating in rational conflicts do not go to the 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. Such a 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 for quite a long time.

1.2.Characteristics of conflicts.

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

Causes of conflicts.

The definition of the concept of the nature of the conflict and the subsequent analysis of its causes is important in the study of conflict interactions, since the cause is the point around which the conflict situation unfolds. Early diagnosis of a conflict is primarily aimed at finding its real cause, which allows social control over the behavior of social groups at the pre-conflict stage.

Consequences of social conflict.

Conflicts, on the one hand, destroy social structures, lead to significant unreasonable expenditure of resources, and on the other hand, they are the mechanism that contributes to the solution of many problems, unites groups and, ultimately, serves as one of the ways to achieve social justice. The ambiguity in people's assessment of the consequences of conflict has led to the fact that sociologists involved in the theory of conflicts have not come to a common point of view about whether conflicts are beneficial or harmful to society.

Thus, many believe that society and its individual elements develop as a result of evolutionary changes, i.e. in the course of continuous improvement and the emergence of more viable social structures based on the accumulation of experience, knowledge, cultural patterns and the development of production, and therefore suggest that social conflict can only be negative, destructive and destructive.

Another group of scientists recognizes the constructive, useful content of any conflict, since as a result of conflicts new qualitative certainties appear. According to the supporters of this point of view, any finite object of the social world from the moment of its inception carries its own negation, or its own death. Upon reaching a certain limit or measure, as a result of quantitative growth, the contradiction that carries negation comes into conflict with the essential characteristics of this object, in connection with which a new qualitative certainty is formed.

Constructive and destructive ways of conflict depend on the characteristics of its subject: size, rigidity, centralization, relationship with other problems, level of awareness. The conflict escalates if:

competing groups increase;

it is a conflict over principles, rights, or personalities;

conflict resolution sets a meaningful precedent;

conflict is perceived as win-lose;

the views and interests of the parties are not connected;

the conflict is poorly defined, non-specific, vague. 11 Social conflict: modern research. Ed. N.L. Polyakova // Abstract collection. - M, 1991, p. 70.

A particular consequence of the conflict may be the strengthening of group interaction. Since interests and points of view within the group change from time to time, new leaders, new policies, new intra-group norms are needed. As a result of the conflict, new leadership, new policies and new norms can be quickly introduced. Conflict may be the only way out of a tense situation.

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 conflict interaction between the conflicting parties is terminated. 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 an emotional conflict, the most important moment 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

2. Social conflicts in modern society.

In modern conditions, in essence, each sphere of public life gives rise to its own specific types of social conflicts. Therefore, we can talk about political, national-ethnic, economic, cultural and other types of conflicts.

Political conflict - it is a conflict over the distribution of power, dominance, influence, authority. This conflict can be covert or open. One of the brightest forms of its manifestation in modern Russia is the conflict between the executive and legislative authorities in the country that has continued throughout the entire time after the collapse of the USSR. The objective causes of the conflict have not been eliminated, and it has entered a new stage of its development. From now on, it is being implemented in new forms of confrontation between the President and the Federal Assembly, as well as the executive and legislative authorities in the regions.

occupy a prominent place in modern life national-ethnic conflicts- conflicts based on the struggle for the rights and interests of ethnic and national groups. Most often, these are conflicts related to status or territorial claims. The problem of cultural self-determination of certain national communities also plays a significant role.

play an important role in modern life in Russia. socio-economic conflicts, that is, conflicts over the means of subsistence, the level of wages, the use of professional and intellectual potential, the level of prices for various benefits, over real access to these benefits and other resources.

Social conflicts in various spheres of public life can take the form of intra-institutional and organizational norms and procedures: discussions, requests, adoption of declarations, laws, etc. The most striking form of expression of the conflict are various kinds of mass actions. These mass actions are realized in the form of presentation of demands to the authorities by dissatisfied social groups, in the mobilization of public opinion in support of their demands or alternative programs, in direct actions of social protest. Mass protest is an active form of conflict behavior. It can be expressed in various forms: organized and spontaneous, direct or indirect, taking on the character of violence or a system of non-violent actions. Mass protests are organized by political organizations and so-called “pressure groups” that unite people for economic purposes, professional, religious and cultural interests. Forms of expressing mass protests can be such as: rallies, demonstrations, picketing, civil disobedience campaigns, strikes. Each of these forms is used for specific purposes, is an effective means of solving very specific problems. Therefore, when choosing a form of social protest, its organizers must be clearly aware of what specific goals are set for this action and what is the public support for certain demands.

Sociology as a science. Tutorial

X. SOCIAL CONFLICTS

1. The concept, causes and types of social conflicts. 2. Bulk actions. social movements.

Basic concepts Anomie, conflict society, antagonisms, crisis of the system, counteractions, violation of the system stabilization mechanism, consensus, neutralization of the opponent, bifurcation, compromise, latency, business zone, post-conflict syndrome, maximalism of the parties, frustration, public mood. The purpose of the information: to give students an idea of ​​the nature, dynamics, subjects and ways of resolving social conflicts in society.

Recommendations The first question. When studying the nature, essence and participants of social conflicts, find their definitions in the literature, and try to find out the motives and prerequisites for the ripening of social tension in society using specific examples of conflict systems existing in the world (societies, groups, social institutions). Carefully study the foundations of the theory of modern Western conflictology and try to carry out a comparative analysis of the most common conflict paradigms in sociology. When studying the patterns of functioning of social systems, focus on the concept of a crisis society and consider the processes of integration and disintegration, differentiation of interests, stratification, functional and dysfunctional systems, spontaneous and purposeful conflicts. Particular attention should be paid to the concepts of the conflict society of K. Marx, R. Dahrendorf, L. Koser and others. forces of modern formal and informal mass movements. It is useful to analyze the hierarchy of mass movements and the current state of mass consciousness on the basis of studying the political life of Russian society.

The concept, causes and types of social conflicts Conflicts have always been an integral part of society. Conflict is a clash between people or large social groups, which acts as a ubiquitous phenomenon, i.e. Every society is subject to conflict. They can lead to the destruction not only of economic or political systems, but of society itself as a whole. Therefore, a special branch has been formed within sociology - conflictology, which faces a number of scientific and practical problems. Is it possible to have a society without conflicts? The question is about 1) the causes of conflicts; 2) about the role of conflicts in the life of society; 3) about the possibilities of regulating social conflicts. The term "conflict" comes from the Latin word conflictus - clash. The concept of "social conflict" is a complex phenomenon. This is a certain form of social interaction between people in the form of a collision of opposing goals, values, views, needs, interests. Conflict is the simultaneous deployment of action and counter-action. This is an extremely complex action of two or more parties united by opposition. The term "social conflict" was coined by the German sociologist Georg Simmel, who called it a "dispute". M. Weber called the conflict "struggle". The English sociologist Anthony Giddens defines conflict as "a real struggle between acting people or groups." The Americans T. Parsons and R. Merton considered conflict as a dysfunction of individual structures in the social system. L. Koser considers conflict to be the most important element of social interaction, which contributes to the strengthening or destruction of social ties. In general, in sociology conflict is defined as a form of interaction between different social communities. The nature of conflicts is due to the presence in society of objective and subjective contradictions that permeate the economy, politics and culture. Simultaneous exacerbation of all contradictions creates a crisis in society, a violation of the system's stabilization mechanism. A manifestation of the crisis of society is the growth of social tension, the clash of classes, nations, the masses with the state. But objective contradictions should not be identified with conflict. Contradictions give rise to open and closed conflicts only when they are recognized by people as incompatible interests and needs. Social conflict is a way of interaction between individuals, communities, social institutions, due to their material and spiritual interests, certain social status, power. The dynamics of social systems is a process that is realized in various types of social interaction: competition, adaptation, assimilation, conflict. Note that the conflict here acts as a kind of connecting transitional form, say, to competition (competition), consensus. Consensus is one of the methods for making economic, socio-political and other decisions, which consists in developing an agreed position that does not cause fundamental objections from the parties. One way or another, the conflict has been and remains a constant companion of social life, corresponding to the nature of society and man as much as consensus. The legalization of conflictology in our country was prompted by the situation when the country was literally overwhelmed by conflicts, when we were not ready for the fact that "democracy is a conflict." A special role belongs to the sociological aspect of the study (conflict and society), political science (conflict and politics). But the socio-psychological aspect is becoming increasingly important in terms of studying the dynamics of the conflict. We single out two main concepts of social conflict. The "concept of a positive-functional conflict" (G. Simmel, L. Koser, R. Dahrendorf, K. Boulding, J. Galtung, and others) is sociological in its own right. It considers conflict as a problem of communication and interaction. Its social role is stabilization. But the stability of a society depends on the number of conflicting relations existing in it and the types of connections between them. The more different conflicts intersect, the more complex the group differentiation of society, the more difficult it is to divide all people into two opposing camps that do not have any common values ​​and norms. This means that the more conflicts that are independent of each other, the better for the unity of society. This concept highlights "competition" as a key concept, and the interests of the parties are considered the motivating force of the conflict. His process is made up of a set of reactions to the outside world. All collisions are reactive processes. Consequently, the essence of the conflict lies in the stereotyped reactions of social subjects. But conflict resolution is thought of as "manipulating" behavior without radically changing the social order. This is mainly the difference between Marxist conflictology (the theory of class struggle and social revolution) and the principle of "scarsity" (i.e., limited benefits, scarcity), which is characteristic of Western interpretations of the causes of conflict. The positive-functional concept considers conflict as "a struggle for values ​​and claims for a certain social status, power. and insufficient for all material and spiritual benefits, a struggle in which the goals of the parties to the conflict are to neutralize, damage or destroy the "rival". in the concept of conflict. "social disease" T. Parsons was the first to speak loudly about the conflict as a pathology, he defined the following foundations of stability: satisfaction of needs, social control, the coincidence of social motivations with social attitudes. E. Mayo put forward - the idea of ​​"peace in industry", describing the conflict as a "dangerous social disease", acting as the antithesis of cooperation and balance. Supporters of this concept (among them primarily the Swedish ecologist Hans Brodal and the German sociologist Friedrich Glasl) proceed from the fact that two opposite tendencies manifest themselves in the historical process. The first is emancipation, the desire to be free (man - woman, younger and older generation, employees - entrepreneurs, developed and developing countries, East - West). The disease begins when emancipation leads to selfishness, and this is the negative side of individualism. The second is an increasing mutual dependence, containing a tendency towards collectivism. The disease begins when interdependence turns into collectivism, i.e. when a certain system wins, allowing you to neglect a person as an individual. The disease has a wide spectrum, capturing the individual, social organisms, groups, organizations, communities, nations, entire peoples. What are the aspects of the sociological diagnosis of the conflict? First of all, these are the origins of the conflict (not the causes, but what it starts with); then the biography of the conflict (its history, roots, background against which it progresses, crises, turning points); parties (subjects) of the conflict, depending on which the level of social complexity of any conflict is determined; position and relations of the parties, formal and informal dependencies, roles, personal relationships; initial attitude towards the conflict (hopes and expectations of the parties). X. Brodal and F. Glasl distinguish three main phases of the conflict. 1. From hope to fear (discussions, withdrawal, arguments taken to extremes, loss of communication, initiation of action). 2. From fear to loss of appearance (formation of false images of the enemy, strengthening of leadership and authoritarianism, pushing for self-disclosure, intimidation and panic). 3. Loss of will - the path to violence (limited destruction and violence, destruction of the nervous (management) center, finally, total destruction, including self-destruction). The escalation of the conflict is a kind of deadly process, but it can be overcome quickly, disappear altogether, if the main contradiction of the parties is eliminated. In any conflict, there is a struggle between the tendencies of egoism and "collectivism". Finding a balance between them means finding a way to resolve the conflict and grow in your human essence (it's always an effort!). ; Extremeness (its researchers - M. Weber, E. Durkheim, L. Sorokin, N. Kondratiev, I. Prigozhin, N. Moiseev, etc.) occurs when the very existence of the social system is threatened within the framework of this quality and is explained by the action of extreme factors. An extreme situation is associated with the emergence of a "bifurcation state" (lat. bifurcus - bifurcation), that is, a state of dynamic chaos and the emergence of opportunities for the innovative development of the system. Under these conditions, the parameters change, and boundary (marginal) states arise. As a result, the effect of "detection of the entity" occurs. Its function is to stabilize the system in response to extreme forces. When leaving the dynamic chaos, it is necessary to have a leader (at the group level) or a dominant motivation (at the individual level), which carry out the target function of the survival of the social system. Sociologists see two options for getting out of an extreme situation. The first is a catastrophe associated with the collapse of the core of the system and the destruction of subsystems. The second is adaptation (compromise, consensus), the object of which is group contradictions and interests. To analyze the dynamics of the social system, the concept of "extreme situation cycle" is introduced. The cycle is associated with a minimum of time for making decisions, with a maximum of information about events, with a maximum of efficiency (mobilization of forces, abilities, resources), with a minimum of errors.

test in the discipline "Sociology"

on the topic "Social conflicts, their causes, types and role in public life"

Introduction _____________________________________________________________3

1. The concept of social conflict ___________________________________4

2. Causes of social conflicts __________________________________ 5

3. Types of social conflicts ___________________________________________ 8

4. The role of social conflicts in public life _________________9

Conclusion __________________________________________________________11

List of used literature _________________________________12


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.

Social conflicts in modern Russian society are organically linked to its transitional state and the contradictions that underlie conflicts. The roots of some of them lie in the past, but they get their main aggravation in the process of transition to market relations.

The emergence of new social groups of entrepreneurs and owners, growing inequality, become the basis for the emergence of new conflicts. A social contradiction is being formed in society between the elite, representing various groups of new owners, and a huge mass of people who have been removed from property and from power.

Social conflicts in modern Russia are particularly acute and often use violence. Based on the deepening of the crisis state of society, leading to clashes of various forces and communities, social contradictions are aggravated and social conflicts become their result.

Conflicts are formed in various spheres of society and are usually referred to as political, socio-economic, spiritual, national, etc. All of them belong to the category of social conflict, which is understood as any kind of struggle and confrontation between communities and social forces.

The concept of social conflict

Conflict- this is a clash of opposite goals, positions, views of the subjects of interaction. At the same time, the conflict is the most important side of the interaction of people in society, a kind of cell of social life. This is a form of relationship between potential or actual subjects of social action, the motivation of which is due to opposing values ​​and norms, interests and needs.

The essential side of social conflict is that these subjects act within the framework of some wider system of connections, which is modified (strengthened or destroyed) under the influence of the conflict.

The conflict is associated with people's awareness of the contradictions of their interests (as members of certain social groups) with the interests of other subjects. Aggravated contradictions give rise to open or closed conflicts.

The sociology of conflict proceeds from the fact that conflict is a normal phenomenon of social life, the identification and development of conflict as a whole is a useful and necessary thing. Society, power structures and individual citizens will achieve more effective results in their actions if they follow certain rules aimed at resolving the conflict. Thus, under social conflict in modern sociology, they understand any kind of struggle between individuals, the purpose of which is to achieve or maintain the means of production, economic position, power or other values ​​​​that enjoy social recognition, as well as the conquest, neutralization or elimination of a real or imaginary enemy.

Causes of social conflicts

In the development of the conflict, in its transition to the stage of extreme aggravation, much depends on how exactly the very initial, initial events leading to the development of the conflict are perceived, what importance is attached to the conflict in the mass consciousness and in the consciousness of the leaders of the relevant social groups. To understand the nature of the conflict and the nature of its development, the "Thomas theorem" is of particular importance, which states: "If people perceive a certain situation as real, then it will be real in its consequences." In relation to conflict, this means that if there is a mismatch of interests between people or groups, but this mismatch is not perceived, felt or felt by them, then such a mismatch of interests does not lead to a conflict. Conversely, if there is a community of interests between people, but the participants themselves feel hostility towards each other, then relations between them will necessarily develop according to the pattern of conflict, not cooperation.

When considering the causes of a particular conflict, it must be borne in mind that every conflict is somehow personified. Each of the parties to the conflict has its own leaders, leaders, leaders, ideologists who voice and broadcast the ideas of their group, formulate “their” positions and represent them as the interests of their group. At the same time, it is often difficult to figure out whether this or that leader is put forward by the current conflict situation or he himself will create this situation, since he, thanks to a certain type of behavior, takes the position of leader, leader, “spokesman for the interests” of the people, ethnic group, class, social stratum, political party, etc. In any case, in any conflict, the personal characteristics of leaders play an exceptional role. In each specific situation, they can lead the case to aggravate the conflict or find means to resolve it.

World experience allows us to identify some of the most characteristic sources on the basis of which the causes of conflicts are formed: wealth, power, prestige and dignity, i.e. those values ​​and interests that matter in any society and give meaning to the actions of specific individuals participating in conflicts.

Each of the parties perceives the conflict situation as a certain problem, in the resolution of which three main points are predominant:

· firstly, the degree of significance of the wider system of relations, the advantages and losses arising from the previous state and its destabilization - all this can be designated as an assessment of the pre-conflict situation;

Secondly, the degree of awareness of one's own interests and the willingness to take risks for the sake of their implementation;

Thirdly, the perception of each other by the opposing sides, the ability to take into account the interests of the opponent.

The usual development of the conflict assumes that each of the parties is able to take into account the interests of the opposing side. This approach creates the possibility of a relatively peaceful development of the conflict through the negotiation process and making adjustments to the previous system of relations in the direction and scale acceptable to each of the parties.

• during negotiations, priority should be given to discussion of substantive issues;

The parties should strive to relieve psychological and social tension;

the parties must demonstrate mutual respect for each other;

· 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;

All negotiators must be willing to compromise.


Types of social conflicts

Political conflicts- these are conflicts, the cause of which is the struggle for the distribution of power, dominance, influence and authority. They arise from various interests, rivalry and struggle in the process of acquiring, distributing and exercising political and state power. Political conflicts are directly related to winning leading positions in the institutions and structures of political power.

Main types of political conflicts:

conflict between the branches of government;

· conflict within parliament;

• conflict between political parties and movements;

· conflict between different parts of the administrative apparatus.

Socio-economic conflicts- these are conflicts caused by means of subsistence, the use and redistribution of natural and other material resources, the level of wages, the use of professional and intellectual potential, the level of prices for goods and services, access and distribution of spiritual goods.

National-ethnic conflicts- these are conflicts that arise in the course of the struggle for the rights and interests of ethnic and national groups.

According to the classification of typology by D. Katz, there are:

conflict between indirectly competing subgroups;

conflict between directly competing subgroups;

conflict within the hierarchy over rewards.

The role of social conflicts in public life

In modern conditions, in essence, each sphere of public life gives rise to its own specific types of social conflicts. Therefore, we can talk about political, national-ethnic, economic, cultural and other types of conflicts. political conflict- this is a conflict over the distribution of power, dominance, influence, authority. This conflict can be covert or open. One of the brightest forms of its manifestation in modern Russia is the conflict between the executive and legislative authorities in the country that has continued throughout the entire time after the collapse of the USSR. The objective causes of the conflict have not been eliminated, and it has entered a new stage of its development. From now on, it is being implemented in new forms of confrontation between the President and the Federal Assembly, as well as the executive and legislative authorities in the regions. occupy a prominent place in modern life national-ethnic conflicts- conflicts based on the struggle for the rights and interests of ethnic and national groups. Most often, these are conflicts related to status or territorial claims. The problem of cultural self-determination of certain national communities also plays a significant role. play an important role in modern life in Russia. socio-economic conflicts, that is, conflicts over the means of subsistence, the level of wages, the use of professional and intellectual potential, the level of prices for various benefits, over real access to these benefits and other resources. Social conflicts in various spheres of public life can take the form of intra-institutional and organizational norms and procedures: discussions, requests, adoption of declarations, laws, etc. The most striking form of expression of the conflict are various kinds of mass actions. These mass actions are realized in the form of presentation of demands to the authorities by dissatisfied social groups, in the mobilization of public opinion in support of their demands or alternative programs, in direct actions of social protest. Mass protest is an active form of conflict behavior. It can be expressed in various forms: organized and spontaneous, direct or indirect, taking on the character of violence or a system of non-violent actions. Mass protests are organized by political organizations and so-called “pressure groups” that unite people for economic purposes, professional, religious and cultural interests. Forms of expressing mass protests can be such as: rallies, demonstrations, picketing, civil disobedience campaigns, strikes. Each of these forms is used for specific purposes, is an effective means of solving very specific problems. Therefore, when choosing a form of social protest, its organizers must be clearly aware of what specific goals are set for this action and what is the public support for certain demands.

Conclusion

Summing up social conflicts, it can be argued that the existence of a society without conflicts is impossible. One cannot categorically call conflict a manifestation of the dysfunction of organizations, deviant behavior of individuals and groups, a phenomenon of social life, most likely conflict is a necessary form of social interaction between people. Due to the fact that social conflict is a multifaceted phenomenon, it is presented in the work from different angles of viewing this problem. The main aspects of social conflicts are singled out and their characteristics are given according to their main components. So this paper reveals the concept, causes, types and role of social conflicts.

There are effective ways to resolve conflicts caused by differences in views, attitudes, mismatches of goals and actions. They strengthen relationships and are therefore extremely valuable. The joint successful resolution of contradictions can bring people together more than many years spent in mutual exchange of pleasantries.


List of used literature

1. Druzhinin V. V., Kontorov D. S., Kontorov M. D. Introduction to the theory of conflict. - M .: Radio and Communication, 2001.

2. Zborovsky G. E. General sociology: Textbook. – M.: Gardariki, 2004.

3. Radugin A. A., Radugin K. A. Sociology: a course of lectures. - M.: Center, 2002.

social conflict is an open confrontation, a clash of two or more subjects of social interaction, the causes of which are incompatible needs, interests and values. Social conflict also includes the activity of an individual or groups that block the functioning of the enemy or cause damage to other people (groups).

The reasons for them can be a variety of life problems: material resources, the most important life attitudes, powers of authority, status-role differences in the social structure, personal (emotional-psychological) differences, etc.

Conflicts cover all spheres of people's life, the totality of social relations, social interaction. The conflict, in fact, is one of the types of social interaction, the subjects and participants of which are individuals, large and small social groups and organizations. conflicts are based only on those contradictions caused by incompatible interests, needs and values. Such contradictions, as a rule, are transformed into an open struggle of the parties, into a real confrontation.

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONFLICT

    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 collision is forgotten.

    Direct conflict

This stage is characterized primarily by the presence of an incident. 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 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 conflict interaction between the conflicting parties is terminated. Elimination, termination of the incident is a necessary but not sufficient condition for resolving the conflict.

57. Types of social conflict and methods of resolution

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.

2. Interpersonal conflict. This zone includes disagreements between two or more members of one group or several groups.

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.

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

5. Conflict with the 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 internal content, social conflicts are divided into rational and emotional. 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. Respect for the opponent, recognition of his right to a certain amount of truth - these are the characteristic features of a rational conflict.

Political conflicts- a clash over the distribution of power, forms of struggle for power.

social conflict represents contradictions in the system of relations between people (groups), which is characterized by the strengthening of opposing interests, tendencies of social communities and individuals. For example, in the sphere of labor activity, the consequence is strikes, pickets, performances by large groups of workers.

Economic conflicts represent a wide range of conflicts, which are based on contradictions between the economic interests of individuals and groups. This is a struggle for certain resources, benefits, spheres of economic influence, distribution of property, etc. These types of conflicts are common at different levels of government.

Ways to resolve conflicts

The conflict exit strategy is the main line of behavior of the opponent during conflict resolution. . There are five main strategies:rivalry; compromise; cooperation; avoidance; fixture.

    Rivalry consists in imposing on the other side a solution that is beneficial to oneself.

    Compromise consists in the desire of opponents to end the conflict with partial concessions.

    Adaptation or concession is considered as a forced or voluntary refusal to fight and surrender of one's positions.

    Avoidance or avoidance is an attempt to get out of the conflict with minimal losses.

    Cooperation is considered the most effective strategy for dealing with conflict. It implies the desire of opponents to constructively discuss the problem.

social conflict

social conflict- conflict, the cause of which is the disagreement of social groups or individuals with a difference in opinions and views, the desire to take a leading position; manifestation of social connections of people.

In the field of scientific knowledge, there is a separate science dedicated to conflicts - conflictology. Conflict is a clash of opposing goals, positions, views of the subjects of interaction. At the same time, the conflict is the most important side of the interaction of people in society, a kind of cell of social life. This is a form of relationship between potential or actual subjects of social action, the motivation of which is due to opposing values ​​and norms, interests and needs. The essential side of social conflict is that these subjects act within the framework of some wider system of connections, which is modified (strengthened or destroyed) under the influence of the conflict. If interests are multidirectional and opposite, then their opposition will be found in a mass of very different assessments; they themselves will find a “field of collision” for themselves, while the degree of rationality of the claims put forward will be very conditional and limited. It is likely that at each of the stages of the development of the conflict, it will be concentrated at a certain point of intersection of interests.

Causes of social conflicts

The reason for social conflicts lies in the definition itself - it is a confrontation between individuals or groups pursuing socially significant goals. It occurs when one side of the conflict seeks to implement its interests to the detriment of the other.

Types of social conflicts

Political conflicts- these are conflicts, the cause of which is the struggle for the distribution of power, dominance, influence and authority. They arise from various interests, rivalry and struggle in the process of acquiring, distributing and exercising political and state power. Political conflicts are directly related to winning leading positions in the institutions and structures of political power.

Main types of political conflicts:

conflict between branches of government;

conflict within parliament;

conflict between political parties and movements;

conflict between various parts of the administrative apparatus, etc.

Socio-economic conflicts- these are conflicts caused by means of subsistence, the use and redistribution of natural and other material resources, the level of wages, the use of professional and intellectual potential, the level of prices for goods and services, access and distribution of spiritual goods.

National-ethnic conflicts- these are conflicts that arise in the course of the struggle for the rights and interests of ethnic and national groups.

According to the classification of typology by D. Katz, there are:

conflict between indirectly competing subgroups;

conflict between directly competing subgroups;

conflict within the hierarchy over rewards.

see also


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See what "Social Conflict" is in other dictionaries:

    social conflict- a type of interaction of social subjects, in which the actions of one side, faced with the opposition of the other, make it impossible to realize their goals and interests. Social conflict is a clash of parties (two or more subjects), ... ... Elementary principles of the general theory of law

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    social conflict- - the struggle between segments of society for valuable resources ... Social Work Dictionary

    SOCIAL CONFLICT is one of the types of social relations; a state of confrontation, struggle between individuals or groups of people, penetrating all areas of social relations and spheres of human activity. In theory… … Philosophical Encyclopedia

    Conflict, the cause of which is the disagreement of social groups or individuals with a divergence of opinions and views, the desire to take a leading position; manifestation of social connections of people. In the field of scientific knowledge, there is a separate ... ... Wikipedia

    A set of problems that characterize the complex process of interaction, dependence and manifestation of conflicts in public life. Social conflict, like any complex social phenomenon, is connected by thousands of threads with those social structures ... Political science. Dictionary.

    LEGAL CONFLICT- - a social conflict in which the contradiction is associated with the legal relations of the parties (their legally significant actions or states) and, therefore, the subjects or the motivation of their behavior, or the object of the conflict have legal features ...

    SOCIO-POLITICAL CONFLICT OF THE TRANSITION PERIOD- - a conflict in a society that is transforming from a totalitarian to a democratic form of functioning. In different socio-political systems, the same social conflict can perform different functions: in pluralistic ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

    CONFLICT IS DESTRUCTIVE- - a conflict, the negative consequences of which after the end of the struggle of the parties as a whole noticeably exceed its positive results. The destructive consequences of conflicts are associated primarily with the death, injury and stress of people. Besides,… … Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

    SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONFLICT- - social conflict, which is based on contradictions of an economic nature. In modern Russian society, the confrontational nature of the emerging socio-economic relations is determined by contradictory processes ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

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Introduction

Social conflicts play an important role in the lives of people, peoples and countries. This problem has become the subject of analysis by ancient historians and thinkers. Every major conflict has not gone unnoticed.

Contradictions permeate all spheres of life: socio-economic, political, spiritual. The simultaneous exacerbation of all these types of contradictions creates a crisis in society. The crisis of society is the result of profound changes in the content and forms of life of various social groups, a serious violation of the control mechanism in the economy, politics, and culture. A manifestation of the crisis of society is a sharp rise in social tension. Social tension often develops into conflict.

I believe that 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 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.

The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was made up of three groups of sources. The first includes author's publications on the subject under study. The second category includes educational literature (textbooks and teaching aids, reference and encyclopedic literature). The third category includes scientific articles in periodicals on the issues under study.

Work object- social conflicts.

Subject of study- Causes of social conflicts.

Objective- identify the causes of social conflicts.

The goal set determines research objectives:

1. Define the concept of social conflict.

2. Consider examples of social conflicts in modern society.

3. Identify the causes, stages of the course and consequences of social conflicts.

1. Existingness of social conflict

1.1 Concept andconcept of social conflict

Before proceeding to the consideration of the chosen topic, it is necessary to define the concept of "conflict". The most general definition of conflict (from lat. conflictus - clash) is a clash of conflicting or incompatible forces. A more complete definition is a contradiction that arises between people or teams in the process of their joint labor activity due to a misunderstanding or opposition of interests, a lack of agreement between two or more parties. conflict social society

Conflict is a clash of opposing goals, positions, views of the subjects of interaction. At the same time, the conflict is the most important side of the interaction of people in society, a phenomenon of social life. This is a form of relationship between potential or actual subjects of social action, the motivation of which is due to opposing values ​​and norms, interests and needs.

The conflict has been the subject of study by many historians, scholars and researchers. However, until the end of the XVIII century. thinkers reduced it to the problem of domination and subordination, resolved through the regulatory activity of the state.

Conflict as a social phenomenon was first formulated in Adam Smith's Inquiries into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). It expressed the idea that the conflict is based on the division of society into classes and economic rivalry. This division is the driving force behind the development of society, performing useful functions.

The problem of social conflict was also substantiated in the works of K. Marx, F. Engels, V.I. Lenin. This fact served as a basis for Western scholars to rank the Marxist concept among the “conflict theories”. It should be noted that in Marxism the problem of conflict received a simplified interpretation.

The problem of conflict received its theoretical justification in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The English sociologist Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), considering social conflict from the positions of social Darwinism, considered it an inevitable phenomenon in the history of society and an incentive for social development. The same position was held by the German sociologist (the founder of understanding sociology and the theory of social action) Max Weber (1864-1920). His compatriot Georg Simmel (1858-1918) coined the term "sociology of conflict" for the first time. On the basis of his theory of “social conflicts”, the so-called “formal school” later arose, whose representatives attach importance to contradictions and conflicts as stimulants of progress.

In the modern theory of conflict, there are many points of view about the nature of this phenomenon, and the practical recommendations of various authors are non-one-dimensional.

One of them, conditionally called socio-biological, claims that the conflict is inherent in man as in all animals. Researchers in this area rely on the theory of natural selection discovered by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) and derive the idea of ​​natural human aggression in general from it. The main content of his theory of biological evolution is set forth in the book "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Breeds in the Struggle for Life", published in 1859. The main idea of ​​the work: the development of wildlife is carried out in a constant struggle for survival, which is the natural mechanism for selecting the most adapted species. Following C. Darwin, "social Darwinism" appeared as a direction, whose supporters began to explain the evolution of social life by the biological laws of natural selection. Also based on the principle of the struggle for existence, but already a purely sociological concept was developed by Herbert Spencer (1820-1903). He believed that the state of confrontation is universal and ensures balance not only within society, but also between society and the surrounding nature. The law of conflict was considered by G. Spencer as a universal law, but its manifestations must be observed until a complete balance between peoples and races is achieved in the process of development of society.

A similar point of view was shared by the American social Darwinist William Sumner (1840-1910), who argued that the weak, the worst representatives of the human race perish in the struggle for existence. The winners (successful American industrialists, bankers) are the true creators of human values, the best people.

At present, the ideas of social Darwinism have few followers, but certain ideas of this theory are useful in resolving current conflicts.

The second theory - socio-psychological, explains the conflict through the theory of tension. Its widest distribution refers to the period of the Second World War. It is based on the assertion that the features of modern industrial society inevitably entail a state of tension in most people when the balance between the individual and the environment is disturbed. This is associated with overcrowding, crowding, impersonality and instability of relations.

Explaining conflict with tension theory presents some difficulty, since it cannot determine at what level of tension a conflict should arise. Indicators of stress that appear in a particular situation are individual states of individuals and can hardly be used to predict collective outbursts of aggression.

The third point of view, traditionally called the class theory or the theory of violence, is the assertion that social conflict is reproduced by societies with a certain social structure. Among the authors of such views on the conflict are Karl Marx (1818-1883), Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), V.I. Lenin (1870-1924), Mao Zedong (1893-1976); German-American sociologist, representative of neo-Marxism Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979), American radical leftist sociologist Charles Wright Mills (1916-1962). Not without the influence of Marxism, the Italian school of political sociology developed, which created the theory of elites, the classics of which were Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923), Gaetano Mosca (1858-1941), Robert Michels (1876-1936).

K. Marx believed that the conflict in society is due to the division of people into different classes in accordance with their position in the economic system. The main classes of society, according to Marx, are the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, between which there is constant enmity, since the goal of the bourgeoisie is the domination and exploitation of wage workers. Antagonistic conflicts lead to revolutions that are the locomotives of history. The conflict in this case is seen as an inevitable clash that needs to be properly organized in the name of accelerating the development of society, and violence is justified by the tasks of future creation.

The fourth point of view on conflict belongs to functionalists: conflict is seen as a distortion, a dysfunctional process in social systems.

The leading representative of this trend, the American sociologist Talcott Parsons (1902-1979), interpreted the conflict as a social anomaly, a "calamity" that must be overcome. He formulated a number of social prerequisites that ensure the stability of society:

1. satisfaction of the basic biological and psychological needs of the majority of society;

2. effective activity of social control bodies that educate citizens in accordance with the norms accepted in a given society;

3. coincidence of individual motivations with social attitudes.

According to functionalists, a well-functioning social system should be dominated by consensus, and conflict should not find ground in society.

Later, modern, most popular concepts of social conflict appeared, conventionally called dialectical: the conflict is functional for social systems. The most famous among them were the concepts of Lewis Coser, Ralph Dahrendorf and Kenneth Boulding.

The conflict is considered by researchers as an inevitable part of the integrity of people's social relationships, not as a pathology and weakness of behavior. In this sense, conflict is not the opposite of order. Peace is not the absence of conflict, it consists in constructive communion with it, and peace is the working process of conflict resolution.

In 1956, the American sociologist Lewis Coser published the book The Functions of Social Conflict, where he outlined his concept, called the concept of positive-functional conflict. He built it in addition to the classical theories of structural functionalism, in which conflicts are taken out of sociological analysis. If structural functionalism saw an anomaly, a disaster in conflicts, then L. Koser argued that the more different conflicts intersect in society, the more difficult it is to create a united front that divides members of society into two camps that are rigidly opposed to each other. The more independent conflicts, the better for the unity of society.

Europe also saw a renewed interest in the conflict in the 1960s. In 1965, the German sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf published Class Structure and Class Conflict, and two years later an essay called Beyond Utopia. His concept of a "conflict model of society" is built on a dystopian, real vision of the world - a world of power, conflict and dynamics. If Koser proved the positive role of conflicts in achieving social unity, then Dahrendorf believed that disintegration and conflict are present in every society, this is a permanent state of the social organism:

“All social life is a conflict because it is changeable. There is no permanence in human societies, because there is nothing stable in them. Therefore, it is precisely in conflict that the creative core of all communities and the possibility of freedom, as well as the challenge to rational mastery and control over social problems, are located.

Modern American sociologist and economist Kenneth Boulding, the author of the “general theory of conflict” in his work “Conflict and Defense. The General Theory” (1963) tried to present a holistic scientific theory of conflict, covering all manifestations of animate and inanimate nature, individual life and social life.

He uses conflict in the analysis of both physical, biological and social phenomena, arguing that even inanimate nature is full of conflicts, waging an "endless war of sea against land and some forms of terrestrial rock against other forms."

The essential side of social conflict is that these subjects act within the framework of some wider system of connections, which is modified (strengthened or destroyed) under the influence of the conflict.
If interests are multidirectional and opposite, then their opposition will be found in a mass of very different assessments; they themselves will find a “field of collision” for themselves, while the degree of rationality of the claims put forward will be very conditional and limited. It is likely that at each of the stages of the development of the conflict, it will be concentrated at a certain point of intersection of interests. The situation is more complicated with national-ethnic conflicts. In different regions of the former USSR, these conflicts had a different mechanism of occurrence. For the Baltics, the problem of state sovereignty was of particular importance, for the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict the territorial status issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, for Tajikistan - inter-clan relations.

The behavior of people in conflict can be different. It can take the form of avoidance, competition, accommodation, compromise, or cooperation.

These strategies differ in the degree to which the interests of each of the parties are satisfied.

1. Avoidance - a person ignores the conflict situation, pretends that it does not exist, "leaves". Such a strategy is optimal when the situation is not particularly significant and is not worth wasting your efforts and resources. Sometimes it's better not to get involved, because the chances of improving anything are close to zero.

2. Rivalry - the satisfaction of only one's own interests, without taking into account the interests of the other side. Such a strategy is often quite logical, for example, in sports competitions, when entering a university through a competition, in employment. But sometimes the confrontation becomes destructive - "victory at any cost", dishonest and cruel methods are used.

3. Adaptation - compliance with the opponent, up to complete surrender to his demands. Concessions can show goodwill, ease tensions in a relationship, even turn the tide from confrontation to cooperation. This strategy conserves resources and preserves relationships. But sometimes a concession is perceived as a sign of weakness, which can lead to an escalation of the conflict. We can be deceived, expecting reciprocal concessions from the opponent.

4. Compromise - mutual concessions of the parties. The ideal compromise is to satisfy the interests of each of the parties by half. But often one side makes big concessions compared to the other, which can lead to even more aggravation of relations in the future. Often a compromise is a temporary way out, since neither side has fully satisfied its interests.

5. Cooperation - meeting the interests of both parties. Cooperation requires a transition from defending one's positions to a deeper level, at which compatibility and common interests are revealed. With this strategy, the conflict is well resolved, partnerships are maintained during the conflict and after it. Cooperation requires the intellectual and emotional efforts of the parties, as well as time and resources.

It should be noted that none of the strategies can be unequivocally "good" or "bad". Each of them may be optimal in a particular situation.

1.2 Social conflicts in modern society.

In modern conditions, in essence, each sphere of public life gives rise to its own specific types of social conflicts. Therefore, we can talk about political, national-ethnic, economic, cultural and other types of conflicts.

political conflict - it is a conflict over the distribution of power,

dominance, influence, authority. This conflict can be covert or open. One of the brightest forms of its manifestation in modern Russia is the conflict between the executive and legislative authorities in the country that has continued throughout the entire time after the collapse of the USSR. The objective causes of the conflict have not been eliminated, and it has entered a new stage of its development. From now on, it is being implemented in new forms of confrontation between the President and the Federal Assembly, as well as the executive and legislative authorities in the regions.

A prominent place in modern life is occupied by national-ethnic conflicts - conflicts based on the struggle for the rights and interests of ethnic and national groups. Most often, these are conflicts related to status or territorial claims. The problem of cultural self-determination of certain national communities also plays a significant role.

Socio-economic conflicts play an important role in the modern life of Russia, that is, conflicts over the means of subsistence, wage levels, the use of professional and intellectual potential, the level of prices for various benefits, and real access to these benefits and other resources. Social conflicts in various spheres of public life can take the form of intra-institutional and organizational norms and procedures: discussions, requests, adoption of declarations, laws, etc. The most striking form of expression of the conflict are various kinds of mass actions. These mass actions are realized in the form of presentation of demands to the authorities by dissatisfied social groups, in the mobilization of public opinion in support of their demands or alternative programs, in direct actions of social protest. Mass protest is an active form of conflict behavior. It can be expressed in various forms: organized and spontaneous, direct or indirect, taking on the character of violence or a system of non-violent actions. Mass protests are organized by political organizations and so-called “pressure groups” that unite people for economic purposes, professional, religious and cultural interests. Mass protests may take the form of rallies, demonstrations, picketing, civil disobedience campaigns, and strikes. Each of these forms is used for specific purposes, is an effective means of solving very specific problems. Therefore, when choosing a form of social protest, its organizers must be clearly aware of what specific goals are set for this action and what is the public support for certain demands.

2. Harakteristics of social conflicts

Despite the numerous manifestations of conflict interactions in social life, they all have a number of common characteristics, the study of which makes it possible to classify the main parameters of conflicts, as well as to identify factors that affect their intensity. All conflicts are characterized by four main parameters: the causes of the conflict, the severity of the conflict, its duration and consequences.

2.1 Causes of social conflictswho in

Determining the causes is important in the study of conflict interactions, since the cause is the point around which the conflict situation unfolds.

Early diagnosis of a conflict is primarily aimed at finding its real cause, which allows social control over 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 lies in the fact that the ideological cause of the conflict lies in a different attitude towards the system of ideas that justify and legitimize the relationship of subordination, domination and in the fundamental worldviews of various groups of society. In this case, the elements of faith, religious, socio-political aspirations become a catalyst for contradictions.

3. Causes of conflicts, consisting in 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. Causes of conflicts that lie in the relationship 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 take a higher place in the hierarchical structure.

Any of these reasons can serve as an impetus, the first stage of a conflict only if certain external conditions are present. In addition to the existence of the cause of the conflict, certain conditions must develop around it, serving as a breeding ground for conflict. Therefore, it is impossible to consider and evaluate the cause of the conflict without taking into account the conditions that affect the state of relations between individuals and groups that fall within the scope of these conditions to a different extent.

2.2 Sharpness and duration

Speaking about an acute social conflict, first of all, they mean a conflict with a high intensity of social clashes, as a result of which a large amount of psychological and material resources are spent in a short time. An acute conflict is characterized mainly by open clashes that occur so often that they merge into a single whole. The severity of the conflict to the greatest extent depends on the socio-psychological characteristics of the warring parties, as well as on the situation requiring immediate action. An acute conflict is much more short-lived than a conflict with less intense clashes and with long breaks between them. However, an acute conflict is certainly more destructive, it causes significant damage to the resources of the enemy, their prestige, status and psychological balance.

The duration of the conflict is of great importance for the warring parties. First of all, the magnitude and persistence of changes in groups and systems, which are the result of the expenditure of resources in conflict clashes, depend on it. In addition, in long-term conflicts, the expenditure of emotional energy increases and the likelihood of a new conflict increases due to the imbalance of social systems, the lack of balance in them.

2.3 Stages of social conflicts

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:

1) pre-conflict stage;

2) direct conflict;

3) the stage of conflict resolution;

4) post-conflict stage.

Let's consider all the stages in more detail.

1. 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. Representatives of a group of domestic conflictologists, these are 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, characterized by increased emotional arousal, a violation of the mechanisms of social regulation and control.

Each form of social conflict may have its 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 pre-conflict stage is the period in which the conflicting parties evaluate their resources before deciding to take action or retreat. Such 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. Strategy is understood as the vision of the situation by the participants in the conflict, 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.

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.

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 party 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 pressure, 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. The 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 - 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.

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 time to pass the critical point, since after that the situation is most manageable. At the same time, intervention at a critical moment, at the height 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.

Conflict resolution and its consequences.

An external sign of conflict resolution may be the end of the incident. It is a completion, not a temporary cessation. This means that conflict interaction between the conflicting parties is terminated. 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 an emotional conflict, the most important moment 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.

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.

1) priority should be given to the 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) participants 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.

Conflicts, on the one hand, destroy social structures, lead to significant unreasonable expenditure of resources, and on the other hand, they are the mechanism that contributes to the solution of many problems, unites groups and, ultimately, serves as one of the ways to achieve social justice. The ambiguity in people's assessment of the consequences of conflict has led to the fact that sociologists involved in the theory of conflicts have not come to a common point of view about whether conflicts are beneficial or harmful to society. Thus, many believe that society and its individual elements develop as a result of evolutionary changes, i.e. in the course of continuous improvement and the emergence of more viable social structures based on the accumulation of experience, knowledge, cultural patterns and the development of production, and therefore suggest that social conflict can only be negative, destructive and destructive. Another group of scientists recognizes the constructive, useful content of any conflict, since as a result of conflicts new qualitative certainties appear. According to the supporters of this point of view, any finite object of the social world from the moment of its inception carries its own denial, or its own death. Upon reaching a certain limit or measure, as a result of quantitative growth, the contradiction that carries negation comes into conflict with the essential characteristics of this object, in connection with which a new qualitative certainty is formed.

Constructive and destructive ways of conflict depend on the characteristics of its subject: size, rigidity, centralization, relationship with other problems, level of awareness. The conflict escalates if:

1) competing groups increase;

2) it is a conflict over principles, rights or personalities;

3) the resolution of the conflict forms a significant precedent;

4) the conflict is perceived as win-lose;

5) the views and interests of the parties are not connected;

6) the conflict is poorly defined, non-specific, vague.

A particular consequence of the conflict may be the strengthening of group interaction. Since interests and points of view within the group change from time to time, new leaders, new policies, new intra-group norms are needed. As a result of the conflict, new leadership, new policies and new norms can be quickly introduced. Conflict may be the only way out of a tense situation.

Conclusion

Social conflicts are increasingly becoming the norm of social relations. Conflicts in the twentieth century have become the main cause of death of a huge mass of people. Russia is the undisputed leader not only in terms of human losses in conflicts, but also in terms of their other consequences: material and moral. This fact put Russia before a choice: either the authorities and the people will be able to at least keep social conflicts within a regulated framework, or the conflicts will control the people and the authorities. Today, every citizen needs knowledge about how to prevent and constructively resolve conflicts at various levels.

This knowledge is difficult to obtain, relying only on common sense, and it is impossible to fully borrow it from foreign experts, since domestic conflicts are very specific. To solve this problem, it is important to systematize the existing knowledge about conflicts, to outline the prospects for priority conflict studies.

Therefore, conflicts in our life are inevitable. We need to learn how to manage them, strive to resolve them at the lowest cost to society.

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