Conflict

Dependence on conflict
Bloody-mindedness
Chauvinism

Nature

Conflict may be defined as an incompatibility between aims or desires held by at least two parties within a social system. A party may be a person, a family, or a whole community; or it may be a class of ideas, an organization, an ethnic group, or a religion. Some of the causes of conflict are to be found in the aggressive behaviour that is almost universal among vertebrates.

Background

The global significance of conflict emerged starkly in the aftermath of the World Wars, prompting the establishment of the League of Nations and later the United Nations to address its devastating impacts. Over time, scholarly and policy attention expanded from interstate wars to include civil strife, ethnic violence, and resource disputes, recognizing conflict as a persistent and complex phenomenon. This evolving understanding has shaped international efforts toward prevention, resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction.

Incidence

Armed and unarmed conflicts persist as a major global concern, affecting millions of people across continents. According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, over 50 active conflicts were recorded worldwide in 2023, with significant humanitarian consequences including displacement, loss of life, and economic disruption. The scale of conflict ranges from international wars to localized violence, impacting both developed and developing regions and straining international peacekeeping efforts.
In 2023, the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region escalated dramatically, resulting in thousands of deaths and the displacement of over 2 million people. The violence severely disrupted humanitarian aid and intensified regional instability.

Claim

Conflict is a deeply serious problem that threatens the very fabric of societies worldwide. It destroys lives, disrupts communities, and stalls progress on every front—social, economic, and political. Ignoring conflict allows hatred and division to fester, making peaceful coexistence impossible. We cannot afford to underestimate its impact; addressing conflict head-on is essential for building a just, stable, and prosperous future for all. The world’s well-being depends on it.

Counter-claim

Conflict also has a positive function in helping to focus on what is really required in contrast to what is not really needed. Conflict can bring people closer together as they work to resolve their differences in a spirit of cooperation and positive intent.

The function of much conflict appears to be the control of food and reproduction through the control of territory. Conflict can be considered as one of the most motivating forces in our existence and as a necessary element to social life. The absence of conflict is contrary to basic human and social needs and is comparable to a state of death because there is no striving between need and need satisfaction, no oscillation between deprivation and gratification, no pendulum effect, no rhythm. It is an adynamic state, incompatible with life itself. This is why lack of conflict causes its own destruction, leading to conflict, just as conflict leads to actions aimed at attaining the state of conflictlessness.

Conflict

Nature

Background

Incidence

Claim

Counter-claim

Narrower

Aggravates

Aggravated by

Reduces

Reduced by

Related

Strategy

Value

Reference

SDG

Metadata