Conflict Resolution

Purpose

This document defines how humans address conflict without resorting to domination or routine violence.

Conflict is inevitable in any complex society.
Destruction is not.

The aim of conflict resolution is not to eliminate disagreement, but to prevent disagreement from becoming harm.

Foundational Principle

Conflict arises from:

• scarcity
• misaligned incentives
• misunderstanding
• unmet needs
• incompatible goals

Violence does not resolve these causes.
It suppresses them temporarily while creating new ones.

Resolution focuses on causes, consequences, and repair.

Definitions

• Conflict: A situation in which interests, needs, or perspectives are in tension.
• Dispute: A defined conflict with identifiable parties and issues.
• Harm: Damage to wellbeing, dignity, trust, or viability.
• Resolution: Reduction of harm and restoration of workable cooperation.

Hierarchy of Resolution

Conflicts should be addressed using the least harmful effective method.

Progression through this hierarchy is normal.
Skipping levels without cause increases risk.

Level I — Information Clarification

Many conflicts arise from incomplete or incorrect information.

Resolution steps:

• clarify facts
• separate assumptions from evidence
• identify misunderstandings
• establish shared language

If understanding resolves the issue, escalation is unnecessary.

Level II — Needs and Interest Alignment

When facts are clear but tension remains, identify underlying needs.

Steps:

• distinguish positions from needs
• identify non-negotiables
• explore overlapping interests
• seek solutions that reduce zero-sum outcomes

Most durable resolutions occur at this level.

Level III — Mediation

When direct resolution fails, neutral mediation may be required.

Effective mediation:

• is voluntary where possible
• is trusted by all parties
• focuses on process, not judgment
• prioritizes repair over blame

Mediators facilitate understanding; they do not impose outcomes.

Level IV — Structural Separation

When interests remain incompatible, separation may be preferable to coercion.

Examples include:

• physical separation
• role reassignment
• boundary definition
• resource partitioning

Separation is a resolution, not a failure.

Level V — Containment of Irreversible Harm

In rare cases, immediate action is required to prevent irreversible harm.

Containment:

• is defensive, not punitive
• is temporary
• is proportional to risk
• must be reviewed once danger passes

Containment without review becomes oppression.

Principles Governing All Levels

Proportionality

Responses must match the scale and severity of harm.

Excessive response escalates conflict.

Reciprocity

Rules applied to others must be acceptable when applied to oneself.

Asymmetrical standards erode legitimacy.

Transparency

Processes must be understandable to those affected.

Opaque resolution breeds resentment and distrust.

Repair Over Retribution

The goal is to restore function and trust, not to maximize suffering.

Repair includes:

• acknowledgment of harm
• restitution where possible
• correction of conditions that caused conflict

Power Asymmetry

When power is unequal, responsibility is unequal.

Those with greater power bear greater obligation to:

• prevent harm
• enable voice
• accept scrutiny
• avoid coercion

Neutrality in asymmetric conflict often favors the powerful.

Violence as Failure

Violence indicates that all prior resolution mechanisms failed or were bypassed.

Its use:

• damages trust
• narrows future options
• creates long-term instability

Violence may stop immediate harm, but it does not resolve underlying conflict.

Normalization of violence guarantees recurrence.

Learning from Conflict

Every conflict contains information.

Healthy societies:

• document conflicts
• analyze causes
• adapt structures
• teach improved resolution skills

Unexamined conflict repeats.

Closing Statement

Conflict is not a moral defect.

It is a signal.

How humanity responds to conflict determines whether it fragments into fear or matures into cooperation.

Resolution is not weakness.

Resolution is strength exercised with restraint.