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All conflicts, even intractable ones, eventually wind down and are to some degree transformed, so that they become regarded as tractable. Collective identities do change, sometimes abruptly, when state borders change or when states break up or even dissolve, as did the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia at the end of the twentieth century. Even without border changes, the content of a collective identity can and does change in the course of large-scale conflict. For example, the meaning of being South African changed as the wrongness of apartheid became a matter of wide consensus among all peoples of South Africa. Adversaries may come to recognize shared identities, sometimes induced by threats from a common enemy.
Conflict de-escalation and transformation are often also associated with reduced grievances, at least for members of one side. This change occurs as relations between the adversaries change, in the course of the struggle. Thus, some rights that one party sought may be at least partially won, and that party's goals are then accordingly softened.
Carolyn Stephenson says that both escalation and de-escalation are need to resolve conflicts.
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Goals also change as they come to be regarded as unattainable or as requiring unacceptable burdens. Goals may then be recast so that they may be achieved with reasonable means. They may even be recast so as to provide mutual benefits for the opposing sides. For example, Frederik Willem de Klerk, as president of South Africa, led in reformulating the goals of the National Party, Afrikaners, and whites of South Africa to create a new, post-apartheid state.
The methods that adversaries believe they can use effectively in a conflict do not become progressively more destructive as a conflict persists. As with goals, those methods, after a time, may become too costly or ineffective. Supporters may cease to be supportive, when norms are violated or costs become too burdensome. (This was certainly the case in the United States as the war in Vietnam wore on.) The methods may come to be seen as counterproductive for the goals sought, particularly if alternative methods, promising more constructive outcomes, seem feasible. (Much more information about de-escalation can be found in the primary essay on this topic.)
Use the following to cite this article:
Kriesberg, Louis. "De-escalation Stage." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: September 2003 <http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/de-escalation_stage/>.
Sources of Additional, In-depth Information on this Topic
Additional Explanations of the Underlying Concepts:
Online (Web) Sources
De-escalation.
Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/de-esc.htm.
This page outlines various strategies for reducing the intensity of a conflict and provides links to online essays and examples of de-escalation.
"International Conflict Resolution: The U.S.-U.S.S.R. and the Middle East Cases--Book Summary." University of Colorado: Conflict Research Consortium, 1900.
Available at: http://www.beyondintractability.org/booksummary/10334/.
This is a summary of International Conflict Resolution, by Louis Kriesberg. The book presents an analysis of international conflict de-escalation and negotiation by investigating Arab-Israeli and U.S.-USSR de-escalation efforts.
Glaser, Tanya. "Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate and Settlement - Book Summary." University of Colorado: Conflict Research Consortium, 1900.
Available at: http://www.beyondintractability.org/booksummary/10477/.
This is a summary of the book Social Conflict, by Dean G. Pruitt and Sung Hee Kim. In the work, the authors describe how people engage in social conflicts. The authors describe the sources of conflict, identify five basic conflict strategies, and explore processes of conflict escalation and resolution. (This summary refers to the first edition of the book.)
"Step-by-Step De-escalation (GRIT)." International Online Training Project on Intractable Conflict ,
Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/grit.htm.
De-escalation is much more difficult to implement than is escalation. One strategy for starting a de-escalation spiral is what Charles Osgood called GRIT--graduated reciprocal reductions in tension. This involves one side making a small conciliatory gesture, which they hope is matched by a conciliatory response. If it is not, a second or third small gesture can be made to indicate one's interest and willingness to de-escalate the conflict. Once the opponent reciprocates, another slightly more important conciliatory step can be taken, and if that is matched, the pattern can be continued, resulting in a cycle of conciliation in place of the former cycle of escalation.
Jameson, Jessica K. "The Escalation and De-escalation of Intractable Conflict." Communicating War and Terror ,
Available at: Click here for more info.
This article examines Terrell Northrup's theory of conflict escalation, and raises important questions that must be asked if we want to gain insights into the events of September 11th.
Offline (Print) Sources
Bonoma, Thomas V. Conflict: Escalation and De-escalation. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1975.
This monograph is part of the Sage Professional Papers in International Studies Series, number 02-033.
Kriesberg, Louis. "De-escalating Conflict." In Constructive Conflicts: From Escalation to Resolution, 2nd Edition. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, November 2002. Pages: 190-233.
This chapter examines the processes of de-escalation. It discusses some changing conditions that can contribute to de-escalation and suggests policies by which this process can be sustained and forwarded.
Husbands, Jo L. "Domestic Factors and De-Escalation Initiatives: Boundaries, Process and Timing." In Timing the De-Escalation of International Conflicts. Edited by Kriesberg, Louis and Stuart J. Thorson, eds. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1991.
Kriesberg, Louis. International Conflict Resolution : The U.S.-USSR and Middle East Cases. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, May 1, 1992.
This book presents an analysis of international conflict de-escalation and negotiation by investigating Arab-Israeli and U.S.-USSR de-escalation efforts.
Click here for more info.
Kriesberg, Louis. "Nature, Dynamics, and Phases of Intractability." In Grasping the Nettle: Analyzing Cases of Intractable Conflict. Edited by Dosi, Giovanni, ed. Washington D.C. : U.S. Institute of Peace, April 30, 2005.
The chapter reviews factors that contribute to intractibility at each stage of a conflict. In addition, it discusses steps that may be taken to reduce the sense of intractibility.
Zartman, I. William and Johannes Aurik. "Power Strategies in De-Escalation." In Timing the De-Escalation of International Conflicts. Edited by Kriesberg, Louis and Stuart J. Thorson, eds. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1991.
This piece considers whether positive or negative inducements are more effective exercises of power to produce de-escalation. The authors present various cases studies and discuss them in light of the foregoing question. They maintain that the initial decision to de-escalate is usually brought about by failed escalation rather than constraints imposed by one's adversary. And while threats can motivate parties to move toward agreement, the provision of incentives is ultiamtely more conducive to long-term de-escalation.
Pruitt, Dean G., Jeffrey Z. Rubin and Sung Hee Kim. "Stalemate and De-escalation." In Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate, and Settlement, 2nd Edition. New York: McGraw Hill College Division, January 1, 1994. Pages: 150-167.
This chapter explains why stalemates occur and describes how parties move from stalemate to de-escalation. Stalemates emerge for a variety of reasons, including exhaustion of resources unwillingness to incur continued costs. One way for parties to move out of stalemate and into de-escalation is through problem-solving. In this chapter, the authors stress the role that increased communication and the development of superordinate goals can play in moving adversaries toward problem-solving and de-escalation. Click here for more info.
Mitchell, Christopher R. "The Anatomy of De-Escalation." In Conflict Resolution: Dynamics, Process and Structure. Edited by Jeong, Ho-Won, ed. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1999.
Mitchell breaks down the larger concept of de-escalation into constituent parts to show that de-escalation processes are not the mirror images of the processes that lead to escalation in the first place. This arises from the fact that the people involved in the conflict are different, cognitively speaking, from the people that they were prior to the escalation.
Fisher, Ronald J. The Social Psychology of Intergroup Conflict and International Conflict Resolution. New York, NY: Spring-Verlag, January 1990.
The Social Psychology of Inter-group and International Conflict Resolution explores the "causation, escalation, de-escalation, and resolution" of inter-group conflicts from the perspective of social-psychology. Click here for more info.
Rubin, Jeffrey Z. "The Timing of Ripeness and the Ripeness of Timing." In Timing the De-Escalation of International Conflicts. Edited by Thorson, Stuart J., ed. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1991.
The author says that although the concepts of "timing" and "ripeness" are crucial to the successful de-escalation of international conflicts, these concepts are sometimes dismissed by social scientists because of their highly subjective nature. He defines timing as the importance of doing things in one sequence or at one time rather than another. He defines ripeness as "the right time" (to do something). [online abstract]
Kriesberg, Louis. "Timing and the Initiation of De-Escalation Moves." Negotiation Journal 3, 1987.
Kahn, R. L. and Roderick M. Kramer. Untying the Knot: De-escalatory Processes in International Conflict. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990.
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Examples Illustrating this Topic:
Online (Web) Sources
Nordquist, Kjell-Ake. "Boundary Conflicts and Preventive Diplomacy." Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, 2002.
http://wwics.si.edu/subsites/ccpdc/pubs/zart/ch2.htm.
This essay examines several cases where preventive diplomacy was used to de-escalate boundary disputes.
Glaser, Tanya. "Factors Prompting De-Escalation in the Cold War--Summary." University of Colorado Conflict Research Consortium.
Available at: http://www.beyondintractability.org/articlesummary/10194/.
This page is a summary of Louis Kriesberg's article, Factors Prompting De-Escalation in the Cold War. Kriesberg argues that de-escalation initiatives are influenced by domestic circumstances, by the international context and by the relations between the protagonists. He examines the domestic factors which influenced American de-escalation initiatives during the Cold War.
Glaser, Tanya. "Factors Prompting De-escalation in the Middle East--Summary." University of Colorado Conflict Research Consortium.
Available at: http://www.beyondintractability.org/articlesummary/10331/.
This is a summary of Louis Kriesberg's article, Factors prompting De-escalation in the Middle East. Kriesberg argues that de-escalation initiatives are influenced by domestic circumstances, by the international context and by the relations between the protagonists. He examines all of these factors in relation to the Israeli-Arab conflict.
Offline (Print) Sources
Kriesberg, Louis. "Factors Prompting De-Escalation in the Middle East." In International Conflict Resolution. Edited by Kriesberg, Louis, ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.
"Kriesberg argues that de-escalation initiatives are influenced by domestic circumstances, by the international context and by the relations between the protagonists. He examines all of these factors in relation to the Israeli-Arab conflict." -Tanya Glaser, reviewer
Rasler, Karen. "Shocks, Expectancy Revision, and the De-escalation of Protracted Conflicts: The Israeli-Palestinian Case." Journal of Peace Research 37:6, November 1, 2000.
"This article introduces an evolutionary framework for the de-escalation of protracted conflicts. Key variables are political shocks, expectancy revision, policy entrepreneurship, third-party pressure, and reciprocity. The model is tested in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian case, 1979-98." --Sage Publications Click here for more info.
Timing the De-escalation of International Conflicts. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, July 1991.
Timing the De-Escalation of International Conflicts is a collection of essays which explore the context, policies and strategies of effective conflict de-escalation. Click here for more info.
Levy, Yagil. Trial and Error: Israel's Route from War to De-Escalation. New York: State University of New York Press, 1997.
This work follows the major events of the Israeli conflict dating from 1946 to 1996. It discusses the policy of state expansion, the six-day war, the Watershed Years, and the period of escalation to de-escalation.
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Audiovisual Materials on this Topic:
Offline (Print) Sources
War and Peace in Ireland . Directed and/or Produced by: MacCaig, Arthur. First Run Icarus Films. 1998.
This film follows the conflict in Northern Ireland through its different stages. It gives a picture of how violence escalated during the 1960s, how negotiations helped ease the violence in the 1980s, and how cease fires in the 1990s brought with them the prospect of peace. Click here for more info.
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