Intractable conflict as an attractor: a dynamical systems approach to conflict escalation and intractability

Decades of research on social conflict has contributed to researchers’ understanding of a wide variety of psychological, social, and community-based aspects of conflict escalation and intractability. However, the field has yet to put forth a theoretical model that links these components to the basic underlying structures and dynamics that account for intractability and transformation. This article presents a dynamical systems approach to conceptualizing intractable conflict as a preliminary step toward developing a basic theory of intractability. The authors propose that it is particularly useful to conceptualize ongoing, destructive patterns of conflict as strong attractors, a particular form of selforganization of multiple elements of conflict systems. Their dynamical approach to conflict intractability is outlined, and some preliminary implications of this approach for conflict de-escalation are discussed.