Culture and Conflict Resolution

Abstract

Since the end of the Second World War, the study of conflict in societies, nations and between nations, its prevention, management, and resolution, has expanded to grow and develop into a respectable discipline, offered at many prestigious universities around the world. Sometimes, this discipline is called Peace Studies. Interest in this subject has also resulted in the prolif eration of institutes and centers devoted to the study of the causes, man agement and resolution of conflict and the maintenance of peace at the local, regional, national and international levels. Similarly, leading expo nents in the discipline such as Johan Galtung, I. William Zartman, Richard Solomon and Kevin Avruch to mention just a few, have emerged to carry out the banner of resolving conflict and promoting peace, development and social stability. Conflict is varied and evident among individuals, communities and societies and ethic groups which are diverse, heterogeneous, complex and dynamic. It is also evident among political parties in countries of the Third World, that are practicing plural politics. Although there are studies on these groupings that look at differences, varieties in causes and rational behavior among the actors, they are largely localized. On a broader and