Intractable Conflicts Socio-Psychological Foundations and Dynamics

This book provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary and holistic analysis of the socio-psychological dynamics of intractable conflicts. Daniel Bar-Tal's original conceptual framework is supported by evidence drawn from different disciplines, including empirical data and illustrative case studies. His analysis rests on the premise that intractable conflicts share certain socio-psychological foundations, despite differences in context and other characteristics. He describes a full cycle of intractable conflicts - their outbreak, escalation and reconciliation through peace building. Bar-Tal's framework provides a broad theoretical view of the of the socio-psychological repertoire that develops in the course of long-term and violent conflicts, outlines the factors affecting its formation, demonstrates how it is maintained, points out its functions and describes its consequences. The book also elaborates on the contents, processes and other factors involved in the peace building process.

Introduction; Part I: 1. Nature of intractable conflicts; 2. Eruption of intractable conflicts; 3. Escalation of intractable conflicts; Part II: 4. Collective memory of intractable conflicts; 5. Ethos of conflict; 6. Collective emotional orientations in intractable conflicts; Part III: 7. Institutionalization of the culture of conflict; 8. Socio-psychological barriers to peaceful conflict resolution; Part IV: 9. Breaking the cycles of intractable conflict; 10. Peace building: concepts and their nature; 11. Peace building: processes and methods; Epilogue; References.

Daniel Bar-Tal is the Branco Weiss Professor of Research in Child Development and Education at Tel-Aviv University. His primary research interests are political and social psychology, particularly the socio-psychological foundations of intractable conflicts and peace building. Professor Bar-Tal is the recipient of a number of major awards, including the Otto Klineberg Intercultural and International Relations Prize of SPSSI, the Golestan Fellowship at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Peace Scholar Award of the Peace and Justice Studies Association and the 2011 Lasswell Award and 2012 Nevitt Sanford Award of the International Society of Political Psychology. He has published widely in the areas of conflict and peace studies. His 2005 book Stereotypes and Prejudice in Conflict, co-authored with Yona Teichman, received the Alexander George Award from the International Society of Political Psychology.