Conflict can be defined as the existence of non-compatibility or disagreements between two actors (Individuals, groups, organisations or nations) in their interaction over the issues of interests, values, beliefs, emotions, goals, space, positions, scarce resources etc.

This broad conception of conflict and of conflict resolution through analytical problem solving implies that a wide range of current social problems are resolvable. Deviant behavior of all kinds, drug addictions and their related problems, street violence, spouse abuse, terrorism, and arms control are all problems which can be thoroughly dealt with by conflict resolution.

Recently  a bunch of Eritrean concerned groups frustrated by the ENCDC incidents of firing individual members  and member organization and the dilemma of how to solve the general failure of our political and civic orientation. Several initiatives are forming gatherings all over the world corners. Maintaining those initiatives are not easy, however those who are trying other possiblities or alternatives are to be encouraged to find a better way of  going forward in solving the precarious difficulties of our people and the Country in general.

Problem-solving conflict analysis and resolution is a system which allows members of a society to interact in harmony by constantly and continuously dealing with the totality of the relationships in the total environment, and adapting in whatever ways are appropriate.

It is in this sense that conflict analysis and resolution represents a political philosophy; its processes reach down to the motivations and values of those in dispute. Its processes spawn consensus-building and conflict prevention within the society.

Because conflict analysis and resolution may be a component of any system, and at the same time a means of change, it has the potential of bringing otherwise competing systems into harmony. It has the potential to link person to person, group to group, and system to system.

At times we have to do some soul searching tasks and try to put our historical mistakes as bases  for correctiing and setting the resolutions in our conflics. We should avoid blaming each other and sit at a round table to set mechanisms for resolving the mini-conflicts of individual leaders of those multi political organizations in the Diasphora.

Imagine these multi-party Diasphora groups were in the field during the 30 years of our armed struggle! Many of them shouldn’t have survived the harish reality of those era, due to the uncompromising nature of the Struggle for accomodation of the different opinions.The nature of Ghedli as we all understand at this moment was short of conflict management in a civilized manner. Unfortunatly, even at a civic level we have not used the Conflict resultion or management ever for any recorded time. Those situations are still reflecting in our way of organizational and social interaction among many Eritrean groups. How do we break the egg shell nut covered by antagonism and mistrust?

Who can take the initiative of our task of Civc conflict management?

Conflicts and wars and the processes of their management and resolution are … It examines the concept of civil society, which is being associated with … There is a general assumption that the civil society is only relevant within the context.

Civil Society and Conflict management:What are the kinds of civil society groups that can be part of the conflict management process and what roles can they play in it?

There are various strands of the Civil Societies that can be part of peace building and sustenance in Eritrean Society.These include Human Rights’ groups(individual activists),womens organizations or associations,media and wesites and NGO’s, local and International.The first challengeof conflict situation, especially during the post-Isayas is one of the basic human needs and displaced persons, (This year we have to expect Hunger, human displacement and epidemic diseases, due to short fall of rain in Eritrean agrarian and pasturalis areas). Some Civil Society groups in Africa, in collaboration with their international partners can organize relief for those groups of people. Have the Diasphora Civil Society groups such capacity to invite NGO’s and International partners to make the ends meet in Eritrea?

Rol of Acadamics in Conflict Resolution:

According to Fink, conflict is defined as any “situation or process in which two or more social entities are linked by at least one form of antagonistic psychological relation or at least one form of antagonistic interaction”.

Academics, Educationists, freelancers and kind-hearted  souls have a seminal role to play in the conflict prone era of our time. Conflicts are manifold, cumbersome and chronic. As ‘think-tanks’ and ‘knowledge-reservoirs’, academics could intervene to resolve issues ancient or recent. Our contemporary world faces value crisis, character crisis, moral crisis and ethical crisis. The role of the Eritrean academics in the field of conflict resolution may be classified in two kinds of bases of conflicts.

1. Revolutionary and fundamentalist struggles, involving efforts by ideologically motivated movements (including religious fundamentalists) to impose a particular type of social system on a country through the use of force.

2.  Predemocracy and anti-PFDJ struggles, entailing efforts by unrepresentative or marginalized peoples to achieve freedom and democracy. A related phenomenon is the struggle of indigenous peoples to gain greatest rights and autonomy.”

 

Procedural Resolution of Conflict:

If parties can neither conquer nor avoid each other, some form of procedural resolution of conflict is likely. In the procedural way of dealing conflict, the parties have to stay together and cooperate with each other directly or indirectly to find a solution. Some of the major approaches in the procedural methods are:

1. Negotiation and bargaining or involving the parties in a process of discussion, which seeks to bring them into voluntary agreement.
2. Adjudication or using the power of the state and its legal system to provide an authoritative conclusion.
3. Mediation or using a third party to help the conflicting parties come to a mutually satisfactory agreement.

In general, Compromise is the position in which the conflicting parties do not alter their value system, however, they mutually agree to find more pragmatic and less idealistic solution rather than continue the conflict. Compromise is arrived mostly through bargaining in which parties are willing to give up some of their demands in favour of arriving at a solution.

If conflict is not properly handled, it may even lead to low intensity to high intensity and lead to dramatic situation, threatening the very existence of the Eritrea’s survival. At times, the cooperative behaviour of a particular society or community may affect the peaceful life of others in the society.

God Save Eritrea from disintegration!

As always optimistic

Tesfazghi Yitbarek

ENDNotes:

S.Adejumobi; The Civil Society in Conflict Management and Peace Building.

M. William Bhaskaran; Rol of Acadamics in Conflict Resolution

CF Fink – Journal of conflict resolution, 1968 – JSTOR