Journal 10 - Personal Conflict Style

One thing that I have learned about my personal conflict style is that it can change. I don't think I handle conflict the same way today that I did six months ago or six years ago. I think that it will continue to change as I get older and have more experiences with different types of conflict. Today I am more willing to confront people and stand up for myself. This sometimes means engaging in conflicts that I would have avoided before.

Journal 9 - International Conflict

There are many different factors that influence conflict dynamics amongst individuals, groups, and nations. For individuals, one of the main factors is how often and how they communicate with each other. For groups, the unknown plays a huge role. Even if each of the group members were identified as a role, there is still the unknown as to how they will react around the others in the group setting which makes group conflicts extremely complex. There are many many factors that play a role in international conflicts. These include: needs of the people, identity as a nation, and many more.

I think that there are many reasons that humans are so willing to commit horrible acts against another human. I think a huge part of it is dehumanization. For example, if I am a member of nation "Y" and I am very disconnected from the citizens of nation "Q", I can rationalize in my mind that "Q" citizens are not people, that they are an evil enemy. As a result, if I feel they threaten my way of life, I am more willing to commit heinous crimes against them.

In the international arena, I think crimes often take place because nations tend to look out only for themselves as a nation in terms of needs and demands. This leads to a lessened sense of community and a higher tolerance for crime and atrocity.

Journal 8

My conflicts end in many different ways. There are conflicts that end peacefully and are never a problem again, then there are conflicts that I just have to walk away from because they aren't worth investing any more time, energy, and emotion into them anymore. I have also ended conflicts by agreeing to disagree or by ending relationships because I/we cannot reconcile the differences between the two parties. I think that each ending can be fitting for different conflicts. I think what usually ends my conflicts are communication to reach a mutual understanding or a mutual understanding that is brought about by not communicating. Either way, it is eventually understood by the other party how the conflict will end or has ended, and what the future holds for our relationship.

I think that this tends to be the way that conflicts go throughout the world. I don't necessarily think there is a better way to end a conflict than another as long as the conflict ends peacefully, and actually resolves the conflict completely.

Journal 7

I think that for the most part, I try to deal with conflicts in a mature and fair way, but the conflicts that do escalate in my life often escalate are often due to miscommunication. I often try to ignore or rationalize the actions of others to avoid getting in a conflict with that person. Then, whenever I can't take it anymore, I usually approach the person to deal with the conflict, but don't do it in the best way possible. Yelling at someone for doing something they never knew was a problem is not a very effective or efficient way of dealing with a conflict. So I've been working on trying to NOT be passive when there is a problem, and then approaching the person in a positive way to deal with the conflict instead of escalatory tactics.

My own conflicts escalate because of my unwillingness to talk to the other party. In the beginning of the conflict, I usually put my feelings on the table as to why I angry, if that does not solve the conflict, I am uaually unwilling to talk about it furthur. Someties out of stuborness, other times because I am intimidated. Usually, if causes so much stress in my life, it takes over. But if I am in control of the situation, it can sometimes be fun.

Journal 8 - How does conflict end?

I think that they way a lot of conflicts end in the world around me is unpeaceful. Both groups may say that they are content with the compromise but the tension does not diminish. That takes time. On a global scale, conflicts are so volatile that if they come close to being resolved, one slight move can reignite the conflict and the cycle continues. It just seems that often times, we say we are happy with the situation and walk away but we would still be willing to engage in the conflict all over again. People have become desensitized to conflict and are not as opposed to it as may have been the case in the past.

Journal 7 - Escalation

Most of the conflicts that take place in my life revolve around communication and the more strained communication becomes, the more the conflict escalates. I contribute to the escalation of the conflict because when I get frustrated with people I have very poor communication skills which just makes the situation worse. I don't like being in conflict though when I am in conflict, I don't always work very very hard to remedy the situation.