Costs of Conflict

Beyond Intractability: A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict

Costs of Conflict

	Costs of Intractable Conflict The twentieth century was the deadliest in all of human history. With eight million Jews murdered and one million Rwandans, it was named "the age of genocide." However, human casualties merely scratch the surface of the true cost of conflict. This essay discusses the human, economic, social, and political costs of intractable conflict.
	Damaged or Destroyed Relationships People on opposite sides of a long-running conflict tend to distrust or even hate each other. This takes an emotional toll on both parties and prevents them from working together in the future.
	Decision Making Delay Often parties get so stuck in their conflicts that they cannot even agree on a decision making process. The result is long-delayed decisions, leaving everyone with continuation of the default, business-as-usual option even when there better options are available.
	Violence--Overview This article examines the nature of political violence and what can be done to stop it.
	Interpersonal Conflict and Violence Interpersonal violence is the use of physical force to harm another person. It can also take the form of emotional abuse where language or behavior, not physical harm causes emotional damage. This essay explores how interpersonal violence is both a cause and a consequence of intractable conflict.
	War War has been a common feature of the human experience since the dawn of civilization. However, this essay questions whether it is an effective or efficient way to solve problems and suggests things people can do to stop wars from happening.
	Terrorism Terrorism is defined differently by different people, but fundamentally involves extreme acts of political violence, targeting civilians, and intended to arouse fear as much as or more than the actual damange the violence causes directly.
	Suicide Bombers It is easy to assume that suicide bombers are "evil." However, terrorism is not a simple phenomenon with easy explanations. Usually, a number of factors motivate someone to take both their own and others' lives.
	War Crimes Although inhuman acts have been committed in wars throughout history, the concept of war crimes is relatively new. It was only with the Holocaust and other atrocities of World War II that people began to think of some of the horrors of war as crimes for which perpetrators could be held legally accountable.
	Genocide In recent years, genocide, or attempts to completely erase adversaries--either through death or exile, have become increasingly common. These resources describe the special problems posed by genocide and other war crimes.
	Refugees Conflict can cause people to flee an area, either because of intolerable living conditions or forceful expulsion. Such situations can lead to more conflict when refugees try to return home.
	Victimhood In the early 1930s, millions of Ukranians died under Stalin's violent policy of forced collectivization. The depth of pain, fear, and hatred that continued to characterize the Ukrainian attitude toward Russians is typical of all victimized people. This essay examines the causes and consequences of a sense of victimhood.
	Humiliation Humiliation is reducing to lowliness or submission. It is theorized to be a major cause of violent and intractable conflicts. The humiliation of the German people after World War I, for example, is frequently seen as a cause of World War II.

All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming it. -- Helen Keller

Featured Links
Organizations Making Noteworthy Contributions to Efforts to Promote More Constructive Conflict

EMU Center for Justice and Peacebuilding

Other Resources from
Beyond Intractability

Peacebuilding in Difficult and Intractable Conflicts
This website provides a wealth of resources for peacebuilders working at any stage of difficult or intractable conflicts.

Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Willy Brandt
Former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, and 1971 Nobel Peace Laureate

Beyond Intractability Version IV
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The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project
Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess, Co-Directors and Editors
c/o Conflict Information Consortium (Formerly Conflict Research Consortium), University of Colorado
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