Galtung’s Conflict Triangle

Johan Galtung Norwegian sociologist, mathematician, helped found discipline of peace & conflict studies Lots of theories…. Works on positive vs. negative peace; structural violence; conflict & conflict resolution; peacebuilding; imperialism; USA as republic & empire Often critical of W. countries & attitude toward Global South

Conflict & Violence Conflict can be negative but also POSITIVE. Conflict does NOT equal violence, but violence is one possible response to specific conflict Possible to identify specific causes & more general conditions that make violent conflict more likely

ABC Triangle Framework to analyze stakeholders/ actors Attitudes Behavior Context/ Contradictions

Behavior has roots in peoples’ attitudes & political-economic context Violence, genocide, insurgency attacks, discriminatory acts Manifest Level: How people act encourages conflict, immediate evidence of conflict Behavior has roots in peoples’ attitudes & political-economic context Latent Level; How people think encourages conflict; deeper causes of conflict Attitudes: Racism, discriminatory attitudes, sexism, victimhood, trauma Context/ Contradictions Inequality, dispute over territory or resources

Context & Contradiction Incompatibility of goals/ needs/ interests btwn parties Social structure / values? (patriarchy? Caste? Ethnicity? Rich-poor?) Scarcity? (of anything- water, oil, elected officials?) Competition? (in elections? For power? For market share?) Migration? (rural to urban? N. Africa to Europe?) Change? (social, political, economic, globalization, climate, etc)

Attitudes Psychological conditions Cognitive (perception, enemy construction, negative stereotypes, etc); feelings (hate, anger, suspicion, etc)

Behavior Polarizing & often destructive activities of parties (actual visible behaviors) Throwing, burning, killing, shooting, rioting, demonstrations, war, etc. etc. etc.

Conditions making violent conflict more likely: Conditions making violent conflict less likely: Little or no democratic means of dispute resolution; minorities excluded from political representation Wealth, territory or resources shared unequally and controlled by powerful elites Poverty Government is above the law, making arbitrary and illegitimate decisions Judicial system is absent or interfered with, not independent or fair Human rights are abused Democratic institutions exist, with full political equality and participation Equal sharing of resources and wealth Equality of opportunity for all Government respects the rule of law Disputes can be resolved fairly through a fair and independent judicial system Respect for human rights (especially of minorities)

http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/resources/publications/footsteps/footsteps_91-100/footsteps_92/abc_of_conflict_analysis/

Sometimes violent conflict is shallow- the roots of the violence are not deep (maybe a misunderstanding?) Sometimes, there may be little violent behavior, but there are deep-rooted problems in people’s attitudes and the context. Latent conflict: must address the roots of conflict before they lead to actual violence The most difficult kind of conflict is persistent conflict, in which violence is both visible and deep-rooted. http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/resources/publications/footsteps/footsteps_91-100/footsteps_92/abc_of_conflict_analysis/

Conflict Triangle Example: Syria

Galtung’s Triangle: Syria Behavior Violence, genocide, insurgency attacks, discriminatory acts Galtung’s Triangle: Syria Manifest Level: How people act encourages conflict, immediate evidence of conflict Context/ Contradictions Sunni majority is in in conflict with President’s Alawite sect, which has drawn in Sunni and Shia regional powers. Sunnis feel marginalized by Assad’s Shia-led gov’t; Islamic State (ISIS) believes it is right to create Sunni Muslim caliphate across Syria and Iraq – does not accept current int’l borders Latent Level; How people think encourages conflict; deeper causes of conflict Attitudes: Racism, discriminatory attitudes, sexism, victimhood, trauma Taken from Murphy and Gleek (2016)

Galtung’s Triangle: Syria Behavior Violence, genocide, insurgency attacks, discriminatory acts Galtung’s Triangle: Syria Manifest Level: How people act encourages conflict, immediate evidence of conflict Latent Level; How people think encourages conflict; deeper causes of conflict Attitudes/Assumptions: Assad gov’t believes it should stay in power & that rebel forces are ‘terrorists’ challenging legitimate authority of the state. Sunni rebels feel Assad gov’t not legitimate, demanding greater representation and political equality; Sunnis marginalized by Assad-led Shia government Context/ Contradictions Sunni majority is in in conflict with President’s Alawite sect, which has drawn in Sunni and Shia regional powers. Sunnis feel marginalized by Assad’s Shia-led gov’t; Islamic State (ISIS) believes it is right to create Sunni Muslim caliphate across Syria and Iraq – does not accept current int’l borders Taken from Murphy and Gleek (2016)

Conflict Triangle: Syria Behavior Assad gov’t: military campaign vs. insurgency, chem weapon attacks (Aug 2013) Sunni rebel forces: violent insurgency ISIS: military campaign to est Sunni Islamic caliphate; fighting everyone & others! Conflict Triangle: Syria Manifest Level: How people act encourages conflict, immediate evidence of conflict Latent Level; How people think encourages conflict; deeper causes of conflict Attitudes/Assumptions: Assad gov’t believes it should stay in power & that rebel forces are ‘terrorists’ challenging legitimate authority of the state. Sunni rebels feel Assad gov’t not legitimate, demanding greater representation and political equality; Sunnis marginalized by Assad-led Shia government Context/ Contradictions Sunni majority is in in conflict with President’s Alawite sect, which has drawn in Sunni and Shia regional powers. Sunnis feel marginalized by Assad’s Shia-led gov’t; Islamic State (ISIS) believes it is right to create Sunni Muslim caliphate across Syria and Iraq – does not accept current int’l borders Taken from Murphy and Gleek (2016)

Your Turn! Working with a partner (maybe a group of 3), you will choose a conflict (some we’ve studied, some we haven’t) and do some background research on these elements of the triangle- attitudes, context, and manifest behaviors Next class you will present your conflict triangle to the class [verbal presentation, but create a visual triangle to help encourage focus while you speak] Try to incorporate a few different perspectives for each element Grade will be participation + presentation together.

Conflicts Somalia (civil war, 1990s-) Darfur Yemen (civil war, 2015-) Boko Haram (Nigeria) South Sudan (2013-) Kashmir (India-Pakistan) Colombia (1960s-) Kurdish-Turkish (1948-) Libya (2011- or 2014-) Central African Republic (2012-)