How People Handle Conflicts Image Participants (parties) in conflicts balance their concern for self (their own feelings and interests) and their concern for others (the others’ feelings and interests) in different ways. Who ‘wins’ (gets their interests fulfilled), and who ‘loses,’ in a particular conflict management process? Whose interests are addressed and fulfilled? Do the parties identify some common ground? People may play different roles in addressing the concerns of self and other in conflict contexts: Conflict avoidance (lose-lose) means that both/all parties refuse to acknowledge a conflict, or to communicate to confront its causes, such that the conflict is not resolved. In a competitive (win-lose) approach, one party endeavors to achieve their own interests at the expense of the other party. An accommodating (lose-win) approach forsakes one’s own interests in exchange for those of others. A compromising (win-lose-win) approach entails finding a mutually acceptable solution that partially satisfies the demands of each party in the conflict, each giving up something and gaining something, without fully addressing underlying interests. A collaborating (win-win) approach employs constructive dialogue and creative problem solving to fully resolve or transform the conflict, through working together to build solutions addressing the relationship and the interests of both/all parties. These different ways in which individuals or groups may handle conflicts are closely related to violence, peace-keeping, and peace-making, and peace-building approaches. Conflict avoidance is a decision to not recognize or handle a conflict (nor its causes), either temporarily or long-term; thus, it does not solve or transform the problem. Violence is a competitive attempt to ‘win’ in a conflict by making the other party lose, which escalates harm and may motivate the party victimized or others affected to further escalate the violence by renewing the fight. Peacekeeping aims to stop the escalation of aggression that results from competitive conflict handling: like conflict avoidance, peacekeeping does not address the causes of aggression or the concerns of the parties, but may achieve temporarily their basic need to not be further harmed, which can enable further action. Peacemaking promotes mutual accommodation, compromise, and some collaboration through conflict resolution dialogue, usually focusing on fixing particular episodes or disputes. Peacebuilding builds or improves platforms and processes for collaborative dialogue and for engaging all parties in jointly constructing mutually-satisfying justice and healthy relationships. Image