de escalation stage

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Beyond Intractability: A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict

De-escalation Stage

By

Louis Kriesberg

September 2003

All conflicts, even intractable ones, eventually wind down and are to some degree

transformed, so that they become regarded as tractable. Collective

identities

do change,

sometimes abruptly, when state borders change or when states break up or even dissolve,

as did the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia at the end of the twentieth century. Even without

border changes, the content of a collective identity can and does change in the course of

large-scale conflict. For example, the meaning of being South African changed as the

wrongness of apartheid became a matter of wide consensus among all peoples of South

Africa. Adversaries may come to recognize shared identities, sometimes induced by threats

from a common enemy.

Conflict

de-escalation

and

transformation

are often also associated with reduced

grievances, at least for members of one side. This change occurs as relations between the

adversaries change, in the course of the struggle. Thus, some

rights

that one party sought

may be at least partially won, and that party's goals are then accordingly softened.

Goals also change as they come to be regarded as

unattainable or as requiring unacceptable burdens. Goals

may then be recast so that they may be achieved with

reasonable means. They may even be recast so as to

provide mutual benefits for the opposing sides. For

example, Frederik Willem de Klerk, as president of South

Africa, led in reformulating the goals of the National

Party, Afrikaners, and whites of South Africa to create a

The story of the human

race is characterized by

efforts to get along much

more than by violent

disputes, although it's the

latter that make the

history books. Violence is

actually exceptional. The

human race has survived

because of cooperation. --

Gerard Vanderhaar

Featured Links

Organizations Making

Noteworthy Contributions

to Efforts to Promote More

Constructive Conflict

Center for Human

Rights and Conflict

Resolution

Other Resources from

Beyond

Intractability

A User's Guide for Third

Siders

The Third Side concept

was developed by William

Ury. Third Siders are

people who try to see both

sides of a conflict and

encourage cooperative

solutions, fair fights, and

decision making that

advocates solutions which

meet everyone's interests

and needs as much as

possible.

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Carolyn Stephenson says

that both escalation and de-

escalation are need to

resolve conflicts.

new, post-apartheid state.

The methods that adversaries believe they can use

effectively in a conflict do not become progressively more

destructive as a conflict persists. As with goals, those

methods, after a time, may become too costly or

ineffective. Supporters may cease to be supportive, when

norms are violated or costs become too burdensome.

(This was certainly the case in the United States as the

war in Vietnam wore on.) The methods may come to be

seen as counterproductive for the goals sought,

particularly if alternative methods, promising more

constructive outcomes, seem feasible. (Much more information about

de-escalation

can be

found in the primary essay on this topic.)

Use the following to cite this article:

Kriesberg, Louis. "De-escalation Stage." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi

Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted:

September 2003 <

http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/de-escalation_stage/

>.

Sources of Additional, In-depth Information on this Topic

Additional Explanations of the Underlying Concepts:

Online (Web) Sources

De-escalation.

Available at:

http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/de-esc.htm

.

This page outlines various strategies for reducing the intensity of a conflict and provides

links to online essays and examples of de-escalation.

"International Conflict Resolution: The U.S.-U.S.S.R. and the Middle East Cases--

Book Summary." University of Colorado: Conflict Research Consortium, 1900.

Available at:

Click here for more info

.

This is a summary of International Conflict Resolution, by Louis Kriesberg. The book

presents an analysis of international conflict de-escalation and negotiation by investigating

Arab-Israeli and U.S.-USSR de-escalation efforts.

Glaser, Tanya. "Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate and Settlement - Book

Summary." University of Colorado: Conflict Research Consortium, 1900.

Available at:

Click here for more info

.

This is a summary of the book Social Conflict, by Dean G. Pruitt and Sung Hee Kim. In the

work, the authors describe how people engage in social conflicts. The authors describe the

sources of conflict, identify five basic conflict strategies, and explore processes of conflict

escalation and resolution. (This summary refers to the first edition of the book.)

"Step-by-Step De-escalation (GRIT)." International Online Training Project on

Intractable Conflict ,

Available at:

http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/grit.htm

.

De-escalation is much more difficult to implement than is escalation. One strategy for

starting a de-escalation spiral is what Charles Osgood called GRIT--graduated reciprocal

reductions in tension. This involves one side making a small conciliatory gesture, which

they hope is matched by a conciliatory response. If it is not, a second or third small

gesture can be made to indicate one's interest and willingness to de-escalate the conflict.

Once the opponent reciprocates, another slightly more important conciliatory step can be

taken, and if that is matched, the pattern can be continued, resulting in a cycle of

conciliation in place of the former cycle of escalation.

Nobel Peace Prize

Winners

Frederik Willem de Klerk

One of the 1993 Nobel

Peace Prize Laureates

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Jameson, Jessica K. "The Escalation and De-escalation of Intractable Conflict."

Communicating War and Terror ,

Available at:

Click here for more info

.

This article examines Terrell Northrup's theory of conflict escalation, and raises important

questions that must be asked if we want to gain insights into the events of September

11th.

Offline (Print) Sources

Bonoma, Thomas V. Conflict: Escalation and De-escalation. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage

Publications, 1975.

This monograph is part of the Sage Professional Papers in International Studies Series,

number 02-033.

Kriesberg, Louis. "De-escalating Conflict." In Constructive Conflicts: From

Escalation to Resolution, 2nd Edition. New York: Rowman and Littlefield,

November 2002. Pages: 190-233.

This chapter examines the processes of de-escalation. It discusses some changing

conditions that can contribute to de-escalation and suggests policies by which this process

can be sustained and forwarded.

Husbands, Jo L. "Domestic Factors and De-Escalation Initiatives: Boundaries,

Process and Timing." In Timing the De-Escalation of International Conflicts.

Edited by Kriesberg, Louis and Stuart J. Thorson, eds. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse

University Press, 1991.

Kriesberg, Louis. International Conflict Resolution : The U.S.-USSR and Middle

East Cases. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, May 1, 1992.

This book presents an analysis of international conflict de-escalation and negotiation by

investigating Arab-Israeli and U.S.-USSR de-escalation efforts.

Click here for more info

.

Kriesberg, Louis. "Nature, Dynamics, and Phases of Intractability." In Grasping

the Nettle: Analyzing Cases of Intractable Conflict. Edited by Dosi, Giovanni, ed.

Washington D.C. : U.S. Institute of Peace, April 30, 2005.

The chapter reviews factors that contribute to intractibility at each stage of a conflict. In

addition, it discusses steps that may be taken to reduce the sense of intractibility.

Zartman, I. William and Johannes Aurik. "Power Strategies in De-Escalation." In

Timing the De-Escalation of International Conflicts. Edited by Kriesberg, Louis

and Stuart J. Thorson, eds. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1991.

This piece considers whether positive or negative inducements are more effective exercises

of power to produce de-escalation. The authors present various cases studies and discuss

them in light of the foregoing question. They maintain that the initial decision to de-

escalate is usually brought about by failed escalation rather than constraints imposed by

one's adversary. And while threats can motivate parties to move toward agreement, the

provision of incentives is ultiamtely more conducive to long-term de-escalation.

Pruitt, Dean G., Jeffrey Z. Rubin and Sung Hee Kim. "Stalemate and De-

escalation." In Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate, and Settlement, 2nd

Edition. New York: McGraw Hill College Division, January 1, 1994. Pages: 150-167.

This chapter explains why stalemates occur and describes how parties move from

stalemate to de-escalation. Stalemates emerge for a variety of reasons, including

exhaustion of resources unwillingness to incur continued costs. One way for parties to

move out of stalemate and into de-escalation is through problem-solving. In this chapter,

the authors stress the role that increased communication and the development of

superordinate goals can play in moving adversaries toward problem-solving and de-

escalation.

Click here for more info

.

Mitchell, Christopher R. "The Anatomy of De-Escalation." In Conflict Resolution:

Dynamics, Process and Structure. Edited by Jeong, Ho-Won, ed. Brookfield, VT:

Ashgate Publishing Company, 1999.

Mitchell breaks down the larger concept of de-escalation into constituent parts to show

that de-escalation processes are not the mirror images of the processes that lead to

escalation in the first place. This arises from the fact that the people involved in the

conflict are different, cognitively speaking, from the people that they were prior to the

escalation.

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Fisher, Ronald J. The Social Psychology of Intergroup Conflict and International

Conflict Resolution. New York, NY: Spring-Verlag, January 1990.

The Social Psychology of Inter-group and International Conflict Resolution explores the

"causation, escalation, de-escalation, and resolution" of inter-group conflicts from the

perspective of social-psychology.

Click here for more info

.

Rubin, Jeffrey Z. "The Timing of Ripeness and the Ripeness of Timing." In Timing

the De-Escalation of International Conflicts. Edited by Thorson, Stuart J., ed.

Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1991.

The author says that although the concepts of "timing" and "ripeness" are crucial to the

successful de-escalation of international conflicts, these concepts are sometimes dismissed

by social scientists because of their highly subjective nature. He defines timing as the

importance of doing things in one sequence or at one time rather than another. He defines

ripeness as "the right time" (to do something). [online abstract]

Kriesberg, Louis. "Timing and the Initiation of De-Escalation Moves." Negotiation

Journal 3, 1987.

Kahn, R. L. and Roderick M. Kramer. Untying the Knot: De-escalatory Processes in

International Conflict. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990.

Return to Top

Examples Illustrating this Topic:

Online (Web) Sources

Nordquist, Kjell-Ake. "Boundary Conflicts and Preventive Diplomacy." Carnegie

Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, 2002.

http://wwics.si.edu/subsites/ccpdc/pubs/zart/ch2.htm

.

This essay examines several cases where preventive diplomacy was used to de-escalate

boundary disputes.

Glaser, Tanya. "Factors Prompting De-Escalation in the Cold War--Summary."

University of Colorado Conflict Research Consortium.

Available at:

Click here for more info

.

This page is a summary of Louis Kriesberg's article, Factors Prompting De-Escalation in the

Cold War. Kriesberg argues that de-escalation initiatives are influenced by domestic

circumstances, by the international context and by the relations between the protagonists.

He examines the domestic factors which influenced American de-escalation initiatives

during the Cold War.

Glaser, Tanya. "Factors Prompting De-escalation in the Middle East--Summary."

University of Colorado Conflict Research Consortium.

Available at:

http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/example/krie7432.htm

.

This is a summary of Louis Kriesberg's article, Factors prompting De-escalation in the

Middle East. Kriesberg argues that de-escalation initiatives are influenced by domestic

circumstances, by the international context and by the relations between the protagonists.

He examines all of these factors in relation to the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Offline (Print) Sources

Kriesberg, Louis. "Factors Prompting De-Escalation in the Middle East." In

International Conflict Resolution. Edited by Kriesberg, Louis, ed. New Haven: Yale

University Press, 1992.

"Kriesberg argues that de-escalation initiatives are influenced by domestic circumstances,

by the international context and by the relations between the protagonists. He examines

all of these factors in relation to the Israeli-Arab conflict." -Tanya Glaser, reviewer

Rasler, Karen. "Shocks, Expectancy Revision, and the De-escalation of Protracted

Conflicts: The Israeli-Palestinian Case." Journal of Peace Research 37:6,

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November 1, 2000.

"This article introduces an evolutionary framework for the de-escalation of protracted

conflicts. Key variables are political shocks, expectancy revision, policy entrepreneurship,

third-party pressure, and reciprocity. The model is tested in the context of the Israeli-

Palestinian case, 1979-98." --Sage Publications

Click here for more info

.

Timing the De-escalation of International Conflicts. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse

University Press, July 1991.

Timing the De-Escalation of International Conflicts is a collection of essays which explore

the context, policies and strategies of effective conflict de-escalation.

Click here for more

info

.

Levy, Yagil. Trial and Error: Israel's Route from War to De-Escalation. New York:

State University of New York Press, 1997.

This work follows the major events of the Israeli conflict dating from 1946 to 1996. It

discusses the policy of state expansion, the six-day war, the Watershed Years, and the

period of escalation to de-escalation.

Return to Top

Audiovisual Materials on this Topic:

Offline (Print) Sources

War and Peace in Ireland . Directed and/or Produced by: MacCaig, Arthur. First

Run Icarus Films. 1998.

This film follows the conflict in Northern Ireland through its different stages. It gives a

picture of how violence escalated during the 1960s, how negotiations helped ease the

violence in the 1980s, and how cease fires in the 1990s brought with them the prospect of

peace.

Click here for more info

.

Return to Top

Beyond Intractability Version II

Copyright © 2003-2005 The Beyond Intractability Project

Beyond Intractability is a Registered Trademark of the University of Colorado

Project Acknowledgements

The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project

Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess

, Co-Directors and Editors

c/o

Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado

Campus Box 580, Boulder, CO 80309

Phone: (303)492-1635; Fax: (303)492-2154;

Contact

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