Tri-level conflict analysis from the angle of three-valued concept analysis

Abstract

Conflict analysis is the process of examining a conflict situation with the purpose of understanding its causes and dynamics, and identifying effective strategies for resolution or management. The three-valued situation table is the basis of conflict analysis, upon which different theories are used to identify agent alliances and analyze key conflicts among agents. Traditional conflict analysis typically treats a neutral attitude as an uncertain attitude that can be converted into either the support or opposition attitude to form weak alliances. However, in some cases, the neutral attitude is considered as a deterministic third type of attitude distinct from support and opposition. Drawing inspiration from the tri-level model of three-way decision, we propose a tri-level conflict analysis model demonstrating how to deal with different considerations of neutral attitude and make conflict analysis systematically. Then, recognizing the similarity between the three-valued formal context and the three-valued situation table, we introduce a tri-level structure of concepts in a three-valued formal context and use it for tri-level conflict analysis. We also propose two quantitative indicators, stability and tightness, to evaluate different coalition(s)-bundle(s) couplings. Finally, we use a real conflict situation related to development policy to illustrate the research findings of this paper.