Escalation Stage
Escalation involves an increase in the intensity of a conflict and in the severity of tactics used in pursuing it. Once a conflict is in the escalation phase, identities, grievances, goals, and methods often change in ways that perpetuate the conflict in increasingly destructive fashion.[1] Thus, each side's collective identity is shaped as the opposite of the enemy's identity. Group loyalty is also often demonstrated by antagonism toward the enemy. Additionally, good qualities are increasingly attributed to one's own group, while bad qualities are increasingly attributed to the enemy, sometimes going so far as to dehumanize the enemy.
The fighting itself generates new grievances among members of each side, as the adversaries inflict injuries on each other. In addition, old dissatisfactions and injustices are aroused and responsibility for them is ascribed to the current enemy. Of course many agents -- political leaders, intellectuals, and religious leaders -- play crucial roles in formulating grievances and in identifying the injustices suffered and those responsible for them.
Goals tend to become firmer as a conflict escalates, since making concessions seems more difficult after sacrificing so much in waging the struggle. (This is commonly called entrapment.)[2] Goals also sometimes expand to include harming the adversary for the sake of retribution. Furthermore, unresolved old issues are often revived, further increasing the goals under contention. (See the polarization essay.)
As conflicts escalate further, the methods of fighting may lose their practical connection with the goals of each side. Desire for revenge results in atrocities that further inflame the fight. One example is the breakdown in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, and the second Intifada that erupted in September 2000.[3]
Institutionalization Stage
Angela Khaminwa , Program Officer for Outreach and Communication at The Coexistence Initiative, describes Starting Everywhere at Once, a project that seeks to address the problem of violence in Kenyan universities by engaging different stakeholders.
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Once a conflict begins to escalate, many processes contribute to its institutionalization and self-perpetuation. As a conflict persists, members of each side increasingly view members of the other side as enemies with bad qualities, and perhaps as cruel and untrustworthy. Such socialization contributes to a conflict's further intractability. Mutual fear increases, and people on each side are concerned about their vulnerability if they yield. One group may hear another group's call for justice as a cry for revenge.
As the fight persists, some people on each side develop vested interests in continuing the struggle. Some gain prestige, income, and power by participating as warriors in the fight, and they may lack alternative careers promising equal gains. Others may profit by engaging in a variety of illegal activities associated with the struggle. The nature of their identities, their grievances, and their goals are changed in ways that make a mutual accommodation more difficult to reach. The customary methods of struggle may seem suitable for achieving the new goals, and the fight with the enemy is tenaciously pursued in the same old manner.
[1] Louis Kriesberg, Constructive Conflicts: From Escalation to Resolution (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003).
[2] Joel Brockner, Entrapment in Escalating Conflicts (Springer Verlag,1985).
[3] Khalidi, 2002
Use the following to cite this article:
Kriesberg, Louis. "Escalation and Institutionalization Stages." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: September 2003 <http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/escalation_stage/>.
Sources of Additional, In-depth Information on this Topic
Additional Explanations of the Underlying Concepts:
Online (Web) Sources
"Entrapment in Escalating Conflicts--Book Summary." University of Colorado: Conflict Research Consortium, 1900.
Available at: http://www.beyondintractability.org/booksummary/10075/.
This summary describes Joel Brockner and Jeffrey Rubin's book, Entrapment in Escalating Conflicts. This work will be of interest to those who seek a better social-psychological understanding of the factors and processes which produce entrapment, and promote conflict escalation.
Carment, David and Patrick James. "Escalation of Ethnic Conflict: A Survey and Assessment." ,
Available at: http://http-server.carleton.ca/~dcarment/papers/escalati.html.
This article attempts to answer the question: Why are some multi-ethnic states susceptible to violent escalation, state breakdown and collapse while others are not? In doing so, the authors use a framework consisting of five analytical components. First, they assess basic structural determinants of violence. The second section examines interactions between ethnic groups as a source of violent behavior. Third, is an evaluation of the role of international factors. Fourth, and finally, the conclusion reviews the factors that contribute most significantly to the violent escalation of ethnic conflict.
Escalation Training.
Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/escltrng.htm.
Parties often do not understand the threats posed by escalation, so they fail to take simple steps which can significantly reduce this threat. They also escalate conflicts intentionally, without recognizing the problems this can cause. By simply understanding the costs--as well as the benefits--of escalation, disputants can make better decisions about when and how to escalate a conflict, and when de-escalation is a better approach.
General Information on Escalation.
Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/problem/escalation.htm.
This web page presents some general information on conflict escalation and outlines its dynamics and negative effects. It suggests that escalation alone is sufficiently powerful to transform what should be a tractable dispute into one that is virtually impossible to resolve.
Making Escalation the Enemy.
Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/escenemy.htm.
In many conflicts, the most horrible and destructive actions taken result from escalation dynamics, rather that the inherent evilness of the parties. If the parties can recognize the destructive effects of escalation, they may be able to redirect some of their hostility away from each other and toward efforts to limit the escalation process.
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.
Wehr, Paul. "Uncontrolled Escalation and Runaway Responses." , 1999
Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/example/wehr7494.htm.
Paul Wehr in his article Uncontrolled Escalation and Runaway Responses, states that a primary characteristic of emerging conflict is escalation. Conflict parties begin to treat one another with more and more suspicion, distance, hostility, fear. The aggressive actions each takes toward the other are returned in kind but increased in intensity. Thus, in each round of exchanges, the parties become more belligerent, more hostile, less cooperative.
Offline (Print) Sources
Ury, William L. and Richard Smoke. "Anatomy of a Crisis." Negotiation Theory and Practice , 1991.
"Ury and Smoke describe the basic elements of a crisis. They explore crisis escalation, and ways to defuse crises." -Tanya Glaser, reviewer
Russett, Bruce and D. Kinsella. "Conflict Emergence and Escalation in Interactive International Dyads." Journal of Politics 64:4, November 2002.
This highly academic paper addresses theoretical concerns regarding whether the conditions affecting initial expressions of hostility are similar to the conditions that spur militarized conflicts. By examining dyadic interactions between 1951 and 1992, the authors apply their findings regarding conflict causation to theoretical models of the conflict process.
Borisoff, Deborah and David A. Victor. Conflict Management: A Communication Skills Approach. Allyn and Bacon, October 14, 1997.
Conflict Management presents a communication skills approach toward managing conflicts. It analyses the role communication plays in exacerbating conflicts, and offers communication strategies which promote productive conflict management. Click here for more info.
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.
Brockner, Joel and Jeffrey Z. Rubin. Entrapment in Escalating Conflicts. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1985.
This work is a social-psychological investigation into the phenomena of entrapment. The authors attempt to synthesize findings from a number of studies into a general account of entrapment. Entrapment in Escalating Conflicts will be of interest to those who seek a better theoretical understanding of the factors and processes which produce entrapment, and promote conflict escalation. This work is divided into eleven chapters, with subject and author indices.
Click here for more info.
Kriesberg, Louis. "Escalating Conflicts." In Constructive Conflicts: From Escalation to Resolution. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, April 1, 1998. Pages: 151-180.
In chapter one, Kriesberg explores the various stages of conflict and suggests that the dynamics of escalation often contribute to a conflict's destructiveness. He also presents a simplified conflict cycle in which conflicts typically emerge, escalate, de-escalate, and then eventually get resolved. In chapter six, the author discusses the escalation stage of conflict in more detail and out lines the processes, conditions, and policies that often generate destructive struggles. 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.
Kim, Sung Hee and Richard H. Smith. "Revenge and Conflict Escalation." Negotiation Journal 9:1, January 1993.
Revenge is the attempt to inflict harm in return for harm, which typically leads conflict on an escalatory path. One party's acts of vengeance tend to provoke the other party's counter-revenge, causing a reciprocal chain of harsh behavior. But although vengeance is typically destructive in this way, it is not always irrational. In many cases, it arises out of a genuine sense of injustice. Parties must strive to deal with their vengeful feelings in productive ways.
Teger, A. I. Too Much Invested to Quit: The Psychology of the Escalation of Conflict. New York: Pergamon Press, 1980.
This book explores the social-pscyhological processes that motivate parties to commit themselves to intense and destructive social conflicts.
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Examples Illustrating this Topic:
Online (Web) Sources
Eyewitness Accounts: Genocide in Bangladesh. Bosnia and East Timor Pages.
Available at: http://www.globalwebpost.com/genocide1971/witness/witness.htm.
This eyewitness account relates how violence escalated during civil war between Pakistan and what is now Bangladesh.
Indurthy, Rathnam. "Kashmir Between India and Pakistan: An Intractable Conflict, 1947 to Present." , 2003
Available at: Click here for more info.
This case study describes the different stages of the Kashmir conflict from emergence, to stalemate, to failed peace, to escalation.
"Moldova Narrative: Origins and Background Conditions of the Moldova / Niester Conflict." Conflict Early Warning Systems (CEWS), 1900.
Available at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/ir/cews/database/Moldova/moldova.pdf.
This essays offers insights into the Moldova Niester conflict by: providing historical facts about the area; explaining the multi-dimensional cultural and social aspects of the conflict; and detailing the emergence of the conflict following independence from Soviet Russia.
"Politics of Compromise: The Tajikistan Peace Process." Accord, Vol. 10 , March 2001
Available at: http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/tajikistan/index.php.
This issue of the journal Accord focuses on the Tajik conflict. It examines the underlying issues of the inter-ethnic conflict, the fast paced escalation of the conflict, the negotiation stage that resulted in a settlement, and the peacebuilding phase. This issue also highlights the parties associated with the conflict, as well as the compromises they made in order to reach a successful agreement.
Noll, Douglas E. "The Dollar Auction Game: A Lesson in Conflict Escalation." ,
Available at: http://www.mediate.com/articles/noll1.cfm.
This article sets the stage to learn about conflict escalation by playing a game. The game is called The Dollar Auction, and the lesson is: "Beware of entrapment in conflict escalation as it will cause you to prolong conflict unnecessarily."
Offline (Print) Sources
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:
Online (Web) Sources
The Mideast: A Century of Conflict Part 3: Partition, War and Independence. 1900.
Available at: http://www.npr.org/news/specials/mideast/history/history3.html.
By 1946, Great Britain decided to let the newly established U.N. decide what would happen to Palestine. They decided to partition Palestine into two states. The Arabs rejected the proposal, and the fighting continued. In May 1948, the Zionists declared independence. In response, four Arab states invaded the new state of Israel. In the following war, three-quarters-of-a-million Palestinians fled and became refugees.
The Mideast: A Century of Conflict Part 7: The Second Intifada and the Death of Oslo. NPR. October 8, 2002.
Available at: http://www.npr.org/news/specials/mideast/history/history7.html.
This audio clip discusses the many reasons that the Oslo process didn't succeed. The second Intifada broke out and the violence has continued to escalate. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has carried out Israeli reoccupation of Palestinian cities; there is profound distrust on both sides.
Offline (Print) Sources
Philippines: The Price of Power. Directed and/or Produced by: Chester, Jeffrey and Charles Drucker. First Run Icarus Films. 1986.
This film focuses on the Igorots, indigenous Filipino farmers, who moved from nonviolent to violent action in their pursuit to stop development activities that threatened their way of life. Click here for more info.
The War at Home . Directed and/or Produced by: Brown, Barry. First Run Icarus Films. 1979.
This documentary film explains how the Vietnam protest movement emerged in the United States and subsequently escalated into a domestic conflict that embroiled all members of this nation. Click here for more info.
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