This comprehensive and highly regarded book provides a framework for analyzing diverse social conflicts. The fourth edition of Constructive Conflicts maintains the book's synthesis of theories about conflict, with key updates throughout. These include a more reader-friendly first chapter, new examples such as the Arab Spring, expanded discussions of recovery from violence and oppression, of reconciliation, and of moral concerns, and new discussions of social media and other ways conflicts are waged. Constructive Conflicts draws from relevant academic disciplines and empirical analyses of diverse conflicts to discuss the emergence, escalation, de-escalation, transformation, and settlement of conflicts. Throughout, the authors examine the strategies that partisans and intermediaries can use to minimize the destructiveness of conflicts and foster constructive ways to wage and resolve them.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures and Tables List of Acronyms Preface and Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Analyzing Social Conflicts Defining Social Conflicts Five Core Ideas about Social Conflicts Varieties of Conflicts Combinations Constituting Destructiveness and Constructiveness Chapter 2: Bases of Social Conflicts Internal Factors System Context Relations between Adversaries Synthesis Chapter 3: The Emergence of Conflicts Identities of Self and Others Grievance Forming Contentious Goals Believing Redress is Possible Conclusions Chapter 4: Alternative Conflict Strategies Types of Inducements Strategies and Modes of Struggle Illustrative Strategies Conclusions Chapter 5: Adopting Conflict Strategies Partisan Goals Partisan Characteristics Relations Between Adversaries Social Context Conclusions Chapter 6: Escalation of Conflicts Dimensions of Escalation Processes of Escalation Policies and Conditions Shaping Escalation Conclusions Chapter 7: The De-escalation of Conflicts Processes of De-Escalation Changing Conditions De-Escalation Policies Conclusions Chapter 8: Mediation in Conflicts Mediation Defined Social Roles Shapers of Mediator Roles Assessing Mediation Contributions Conclusions Chapter 9: Settling Conflicts through Negotiated and Nonnegotiated Means Variations in Settlement Outcomes Paths to Settlement Forms and Stages of Negotiation Conclusions Chapter 10: Outcomes and Post-Termination Sequences Variations in Outcomes Variations in Post-Termination Sequences Internal Consequences Consequences for the Social Context Constructive Transformations Conclusions Chapter 11: Synthesis, Specifications, and Challenges Synthesis Specifications Challenges Conclusions Appendix A: Selected Organizations in the Field of Constructive Conflicts Appendix B: Selected Websites Relating to Social Conflicts