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Competitive and Cooperative Approaches to Conflict: Additional Resources
These references supplement the Knowledge Base Essay, Competitive and Cooperative Approaches to Conflict.
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Additional Explanations of the Underlying Concepts:
Online (Web) Sources
Bunker, Barbara Benedict. "Conflict, Cooperation, and Justice--Abstract." University of Colorado: Conflict Research Consortium, 2000. Available at: Link Conflict, Cooperation, and Justice contains a collection of essays inspired by the work of Morton Deutsch, professor of psychology at Columbia University, director of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution, and preeminent authority on the dynamics of conflict, cooperation, and justice. Overly Competitive Approaches to a Conflict. Available at: Primary Link [Backup Link] People often approach disputes in a very competitive, win-lose way. They assume that the only way they can win is if the other side loses. Consequently, they behave very competitively, seeking the best possible outcome for themselves, without considering how this will affect people on the other side. The Roots of Peace. 2003. Available at: Primary Link [Backup Link] An interview by Jeffrey Dumas, Riane Eisler, Brian Ferguson, and William Ury. There's a new story to tell: our ancestors lived peaceably, war was rare, security came not from weapons but from cooperation, research shows we are not innately warlike or violent. This is the story of the roots of peace with author Riane Eisler, anthropologist Brian Ferguson and political economist Lloyd Jeffrey Dumas.
Offline (Print) Sources
Hocker, Joyce and William Wilmot. "Conflict Tactics." In Interpersonal Conflict. Edited by Hocker, Joyce and William W. Wilmot, eds. The authors discuss some of the strategic choices available to conflicting parties. Parties are more likely to strategize, that is, plan, in the face of difficult conflicts. Parties may strategize in advance of a conflict. They may revise their strategy during the course of the conflict. And they may engage in retrospective strategizing as they review a past conflict. Primary Link Deutsch, Morton. "Cooperation and Competition." The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice , April 15, 2000. Deutsch outlines the differences between cooperative and competitive approaches to conflict resolution and the typical effects of these approaches. While competitive orientations can escalate a conflict and have destructive effects, cooperative approaches tend to allow parties to work together towards a mutually-beneficial solution. He argues that a cooperative orientation is in this way more conducive to constructive resolution, and sets out the norms and values that underlie this approach. Johnson, David W. and Roger T. Johnson. Cooperation and Competition: Theory and Research. Edina, Minnesota: Interaction, 1989. "This book focuses on different aspects of social interdependence, the basic elements of cooperative learning, and motivational processes" (St. Edward's University). It is essentially a textbook and covers aspects of competition and cooperation relevant to many different social contexts, including conflict situations. The theoretical framework is explcitly based on the work of Morton Deutsch. This work, however, greatly elaborates on Deutsch's foundational theory. Rubin, Jeffrey Z. and Bert R. Brown. "Interdependence." In The Social Psychology of Bargaining and Negotiation. New York: Academic Press, 1975. Pages: 197-258. This chapter focuses on interdependence and outlines how goal interdependence influences parties "motivational orientation" (competitive, cooperative, or individualistic) as they enter into a negotiation. Moore, Christopher W. "Selecting a Strategy to Guide Mediation." In The Mediation Process: Practical Strategies for Resolving Conflict, 2nd Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996. Pages: 98-113. This chapter includes discussion of competitive versus interest-based or cooperative approaches to mediation. The author's discussion is based on methods that mediators use to assess potential dispute outcomes. How one believes a dispute resolution process will turn out has a large effect on the strategy one approaches the resolution process with. Primary Link [Backup Link] Lax, David and James Sebenius. "The Negotiator's Dilemma: Creating and Claiming Value." In The Manager as Negotiator: Bargaining for Cooperation and Competitive Gain. New York, NY: Free Press, January 1, 1986. Pages: 29-45. This chapter focuses specifically on the tension between cooperation and competition in negotiation. In order to achieve anything the parties must be somewhat cooperative, but to advance their own interests they must also behave competitively. Finding a balance between these two approaches is the key to successful negotiation. Deutsch, Morton. The Resolution of Conflict: Constructive and Destructive Processes. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1973. This work provides a set of theoretical essays and research papers that deal with the nature of conflict and discuss various strategies for resolving conflict. Coming from the point of view of social psychology, the author focuses heavily on the concepts of cooperation, competition, and trust in explicating constructive and destructive conflict resolution processes. Primary Link Ury, William L. The Third Side: Why We Fight and How We Can Stop. New York: Penguin Books, September 2000. In this book, William Ury explains that it takes two sides to fight and a third to stop it. Based on years of experience as a conflict resolution practitioner, Ury describes ten practical roles that people can play to prevent destructive conflict. He argues that fighting is not inevitable human behavior and that we can transform battles into constructive conflict and cooperation by turning to what he calls, "the third side".
Examples Illustrating this Topic:
Online (Web) Sources
Krivis, Jeffrey. Dealing With A Competitive Approach In Mediation. Pepperdine Law School, Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution. Available at: Primary Link [Backup Link] This article discusses strategies that mediators may employ in order to deal with competitive adversaries.
Offline (Print) Sources
Johnson, David W., Dean Tjosvold and Kwok Leung. "Cooperative and Competitive Conflict in China." In The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice. Edited by Coleman, Peter T. and Morton Deutsch, eds. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2000. The research in this chapter tests Morton Deutsch's theory of cooperative and competitive approaches to conflict, by applying it to the Chinese approach to managing conflict.
Audiovisual Materials on this Topic:
Online (Web) Sources
California's Central Valley. Available at: Primary Link [Backup Link] This web page offers access to three different parts of a radio show about an environmental conflict between farmers and residents of the valley. There is an ongoing dispute over farming practices, particularly the use of pesticides in the valley. The three parts detail the history and issues involved in the conflict, as well as the level of cooperation demonstrated by farmers. |
