|
|
Did You Know?
In order to understand conflict resolution, it is first
important to know what it actually means. A conflict is similar to an
argument or a dispute. Conflicts can be small or large and can involve two
people or a group of people, but either way, conflict is a part of every
person’s life, whether it is an argument or disagreement between a married
couple, siblings, schoolmates, coworkers, neighbors, or nations to name a few.
Some examples of conflict include differences in religious
beliefs (Protestants and Catholics); land rights (Israel
and Palestine);
nuclear weapons (truthful disclosure by countries); the environment (saving the
environment or drilling for oil); and immigration (whether or not to allow
immigrants into the country where their lives might be better).
Resolution is similar to finding a solution to an
argument, resolving the disagreement, or reaching a compromise (where no one
really wins but no one loses either) — each person gives a little so that the
problem or conflict can be solved in a way that both people or parties agree.
Just as every person experiences conflict at one time or
another, every person also has the ability to solve conflicts. Lawyers use
mediation, for example, assisting two people to help them work together to develop an
acceptable divorce agreement. Parents negotiate a settlement between siblings;
teachers help students reach compromises; supervisors find solutions to
problems with workers; and so on. On a larger level, however, there are people
and organizations that are dedicated to the study Conflict Resolution in the
hopes of not only learning but teaching others techniques that can be used to
successfully resolve conflicts.
Listening, communication, understanding, cooperation,
acceptance, negotiation, mediation, reconciliation, compromise — are some of
the tools used to resolve conflicts. Peace, however, is at the core of
resolving conflicts whether it is peace between a man and a woman, a brother
and a sister, a Jew and a Catholic, a Republican and a Democrat, the United States and Iraq. The majority of people in the
world want to live in peace not only in their personal lives but in their
neighborhoods, towns, cities, states, and countries.
More and more people are beginning to understand that
violence and war do not solve conflicts. After all, at the end of a war someone
surrenders, which is a “win–lose” situation, which means that the “losing”
group or nation may continue to hold onto those same ideals that led to war in
the first place. Conflict resolution advocates believe that the only way a
conflict can be resolved successfully is if it is a “win–win” solution, in
which both sides benefit. If children are taught or shown that there are ways
to work out problems so that everyone wins and they in turn use these techniques in
their lives, then others will also see that there are alternatives to fighting
and violence. As a result, it is believed that these solutions will become a
part of their lives and eventually change will begin to happen. Instead of wars,
nations will find solutions that benefit everyone.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, famous for his peacekeeping
efforts throughout the world once said, “Unless both sides win, no agreement
can be permanent."
Lesser Known Facts
There are records of the mass slaughter of people from
ancient civilizations through to present day. The Bible’s Old Testament
describes the genocide (“the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial,
political, or cultural group”) of the Amalekite and Midianite peoples and
invokes God’s name as justification for their slaughter.
The first recorded revolution took place around 2800 BC when
people from the Sumerian city of Lagash
overthrew the bureaucrats (government officials) who were lining their own
pockets with money but continued to raise taxes.
The longest war was the so-called 100-years war between Britain and France. It actually lasted 116
years, ending in 1453. Because of this war, Britain
introduced direct taxation on the income of its citizens to help pay for the
war on France.
The first reference to a handgun was made in an order for
iron bullets in 1326.
In the thirteenth century, Genghis Khan ordered his Mongol
horsemen to kill entire nations, leaving behind nothing but ruins and bones.
Since 1495, there has never been a 25-year period of time
without war.
There have been 210 interstate wars since 1815.
The shortest war took place in 1896, when Zanzibar
surrendered to Britain after 38 minutes.
The very first bomb that the Allies dropped on Berlin in World War II
killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
The Troubles was a period of time (1960s to 1990s) when in Northern Ireland
more than 3,000 people were killed because of ethnic, political, and military
issues between the Irish and British.
During the 1991 Gulf War, the Allies dropped more than
17,000 smart bombs and 210,000 dumb (unguided) bombs on Iraqi troops.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) attack on Serbia in 1999
during the Kosovo war killed more animals than people.
There are 92 known cases of nuclear bombs lost at sea.
In 1997, the United States
exported $15.6 billion in arms to developing countries, 54% of which went to
nondemocratic regimes.
In 1997, the United States
maintained 13,750 nuclear warheads, 5,546 of them on ballistic missiles and in
1998, the United States
spent more than $35 billion on its nuclear weapons program.
In 2003, government-sponsored Arab militias known as the
Janjaweed or Jingaweit began to systematically murder, rape, torture, and wipe
out entire villages of black Africans in the Darfur region of Sudan. The
ongoing violence, displacement, and disease, which has killed thousands of
Darfurians continues today.
Global spending on defense totals more than $700 billion
while global spending on education is less than $100 billion.
In 1942, the United Nations (UN) was formed. While the UN
was unable to completely resolve some issues and military conflicts, they were
very successful in initiating communication between countries that had been
enemies for centuries by using UN peacekeeping forces to ensure cooperation,
and UN mediators who worked with national leaders to resolve age-old problems.
Since World War II, the number of conflicts between nations
has decreased but since the Cold War ended (in the late 1980s), there have been
50 major armed conflicts.
Studies on conflict resolution in animals has shown that in
primates, there is an evolutionary value to resolving conflicts between
individuals in a group because it is necessary for their survival.
Many agree that the single
greatest threat to human security is nuclear terrorism.
|
|
|
|
