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Constructive Escalation: Additional Resources
These references supplement the Knowledge Base Essay, Constructive Escalation.
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Additional Explanations of the Underlying Concepts:
Online (Web) Sources
Escalation Training. Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/escltrng.htm [Backup Link] 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. Tactical Escalation. Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/problem/tactescl.htm [Backup Link] As conflicts escalate, public interest and willingness to take sides generally increases. This can lead to substantial increases in the level of support enjoyed by some or all of the parties. Knowing this, disputants often deliberately escalate conflicts in order to build support. While this approach can be effective, it usually generates support for the other side as well. The result is often an intensification of the conflict with little change in the relative power of the parties.
Offline (Print) Sources
Kriesberg, Louis. Constructive Conflicts: From Escalation to Resolution, 2nd Edition. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, November 2002. This volume discusses the catalysts and phases of conflict as well as the processes of conflict resolution. It identifies the complexities of constructive conflicts and outlines case studies of intractable conflict moving towards resolution. Debray, Regis. Revolution in the Revolution?. New York: Grove Press, 1967. Baldwin, David A. "The Power of Positive Sanctions." World Politics 24:1, 1971. This article explores the--wrongheaded--tendency for scholars and practitioners to focus on negative as opposed to positive sanctions and the potential value of strategically structuring incentives to shape social behavior.
Examples Illustrating this Topic:
Online (Web) Sources
Ron, James. Ideology in Context: Explaining Sendero Luminoso's Tactical Escalation. Journal of Peace Research. Available at: http://jpr.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/38/5/569?ck=nck [Backup Link] This paper examines the use of tactical escalation by Sendero Luminoso, also known as the Shining Path, an organization that launched an armed struggle against the civilian government of Peru in the 1980s and 1990s. This work examines the Shining Path's decision in favor of tactical escalation from the perspective of political opportunity theory, considering the connection between Peru's democratization and the armed struggle.
Offline (Print) Sources
Schock, Kurt. "People Power and Political Opportunities: Social Movement Mobilization and Outcomes in the Philippines and Burma." Social Problems 46:3, 1999. McCarthy, William and Christopher Kruegler, eds. Protest, Power, and Change: An Encyclopedia of Nonviolent Action from ACT-Ip to Women's Sufferage.. New York and London: Garland Publishing Co., 1997. This encyclopedia of nonviolent has in-depth references about the peaceful struggles that have taken place in the past century. Ronfeldt, David et al. The Zapatista Social Netwar in Mexico. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Arroyo Center, 1998. This book looks at the Zapatista movement in Mexico, and illustrates how it is an example of new "netwar" conflict; a conflict in which technology is used to coordinate group action.
Audiovisual Materials on this Topic:
Offline (Print) Sources
You Got to Move . Directed and/or Produced by: Phenix, Lucy Massie and Veronica Selver. First Run Icarus Films. 1985. Focusing on United States civil, environment, and women's rights movements, this film documents how a number of different tactics have been used to escalate tensions between opposing sides of an issue. Primary Link [Backup Link] |
