Jason Dedrick and Kenneth L. Kraemer. Further Readings. Conflict and Conflict Resolution

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1 Conflict and Conflict Resolution 261 Originally aimed at the business market with products such as RIM s BlackBerry and Palm s Treo, the smart phone has entered the consumer market with Apple s introduction of the iphone. Opening up the iphone to independent application developers has turned it into a specialized computing device as well as a phone. Other smart phone platforms, such as Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and Google s Android, are also encouraging application development, changing the landscape in the personal computing industry. Another innovation is in the low-end netbook category, with small devices capable of simple PC tasks selling for US$200 to US$400. Sales of netbooks took off in 2008 when 10 million units were sold. Aimed originally at the developing country education market, these devices are now sold to consumers in all countries and seem to be cutting into sales of full-fledged laptops. Netbooks also promise to open up new markets of lower income consumers around the world. With all this innovation around new devices, is it possible that the Wintel-based PC will become obsolete? Google is not only trying to organize all of the information in the world, it is also suggesting that users only need a simple terminal, netbook, or smartphone to access the Internet. In their vision, user applications and user data will reside online, as well as all the information encompassed by the World Wide Web. Even traditional computer companies such as IBM are touting similar concepts such as cloud computing, software-asa-service, and virtualization (in which the individual PC is no longer a physical device). Will Google and others succeed in this grand vision, or will users and device makers stick stubbornly to their more intelligent stand-alone devices? As of 2009, there does not seem to be a simple answer. Nearly 300 million PCs were sold in 2008 more than ever before in history so it looks as if all of the new devices are supplements rather than substitutes for the PC. Instead of converging on one type of device or approach to computing, the market is expanding with a wider array of options than the traditional categories of desktop and laptop. Personal computing is now mobile and increasingly ubiquitous, and those options will likely keep expanding in the future. Jason Dedrick and Kenneth L. Kraemer See also Computing; Connectedness, Global; Global Communications and Technology; Information Age; Internet; Knowledge Management Systems; Media, Global; Social Networking; Technology Sector; Web 2.0 Further Readings Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2002). Retrieved from ftp:// ftp.bls.gov/pub/news.release/history/empsit news Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2009). Retrieved from ftp:// ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/empsit.ceseeb3.txt Curry, J., & Kenney, M. (1999). Beating the clock: Corporate responses to rapid change in the PC Industry. California Management Review, 42(1), Dedrick, J., & Kraemer, K. L. (1998). Asia s computer challenge: Threat or opportunity for the United States and the world? New York: Oxford University Press. Dedrick, J., & Kraemer, K. L. (2005). The impacts of IT on firm and industry structure: The personal computer industry. California Management Review, 47(3), Dedrick, J., & Kraemer, K. L. (2006). Is production pulling knowledge work to China? A study of the notebook computer industry. Computer, 39(7), International Data Corporation (IDC). (2006). Worldwide PC market: 4Q05 and 2005 review. Framingham, MA: International Data Corporation. International Data Corporation (IDC). (2008, December). Economic crisis response: Worldwide PC forecast update. Framingham, MA: International Data Corporation. Juliussen, E. (2006). Worldwide PC market: May, 2006 version. Arlington Heights, IL: etforecasts. Reed Electronics Research. (2007). Yearbook of world electronics data, Surrey, UK: Author. Treacy, M., & Wiersema, F. (1993, January February). Customer intimacy and other value disciplines. Harvard Business Review, pp Conflict and Conflict Resolution The term conflict, as it relates to global studies, refers to the actual or perceived incompatibility of values, identity, resources, and/or access to power between two or more parties that leads to disagreement. The study of conflict, in general, has

2 262 Conflict and Conflict Resolution been divided into different types, namely, intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, intergroup, and international. International conflict is the type of conflict normally associated with global studies because its effects often have immediate global significance. As the nature of conflict has changed and become more readily globalized, the category international conflict has increasingly encompassed interpersonal and intergroup conflicts. International conflict resolution is the academic discipline that examines international conflicts. International conflict resolution is rooted in the larger field of study and practice called conflict resolution. As both a field of study and a practice, conflict resolution is interdisciplinary in nature. It draws from diverse disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, political science, and economics. Despite its name, conflict resolution recognizes that not all conflict needs to be resolved. Instead, it combines theory, research, and practice in an attempt to manage, transform, and/or resolve conflict. International conflict resolution examines (a) the nature of conflict that has global significance; (b) the various methods available to address international conflict, for example, negotiation, conciliation, mediation, diplomacy, arbitration, adjudication, and reconciliation; and (c) the effects the conflict has (or may have) on parities directly and indirectly involved, including the social, cultural, political, economic, environmental, psychological, and medical effects. Development of International Conflict Resolution Resolving conflict and maintaining peace have been employed as long as there has been international conflict. However, international conflict resolution as an academic field of study and practice began to emerge only after World War I ( ). The development of international conflict resolution has four phases. Phase one ( ) is shaped by the experiences of World War I and World War II, traditional wars that were between nation-states or groups of nation-states. Much of this early work on international conflict resolution was done in the field of international relations, which was an emerging subject field in political science. After World War I, the focus was on ways to prevent another world war through security, disarmament, and international dispute resolution. It was during this period the first international body devoted to international peace was developed, the League of Nations, which was the precursor to the United Nations. With the emergence of World War II ( ), and the subsequent collapse of the League of Nations (1946), it became apparent that there were problems with the early efforts of conflict resolution, and much of the work on conflict resolution came to a standstill. Phase two ( ) is marked by institutional growth of conflict resolution. Following World War II, the central concern of international conflict resolution was on how to ensure international peace and the protection of human rights within sovereign nation-states. As a result, 50 country representatives came together in 1945 to draw up the Charter of the United Nations, which laid the framework for the United Nations, an international organization with the explicit mandate to work for international peace. During this phase, the Cold War developed as a rivalry between groups of nations practicing two different ideologies. On the one side, the United States and its allies constituted the Western bloc, which promoted the ideologies of capitalism and democracy. On the other side, the Soviet Union constituted the Eastern bloc, which promoted the ideologies of socialism and communism. In the 1950s and 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, scholars and practitioners in Europe and North America were trying to understand and manage conflict in light of the experience of the end of World War II and the emergence of the Cold War. Academic journals and centers devoted to the study of conflict resolution were established. For example, in the United States, Kenneth Boulding, an economist at the University of Michigan, helped establish The Journal of Conflict Resolution and the Centre for Research on Conflict Resolution at the University of Michigan. In Europe, Johan Galtung, a sociologist, founded the Journal of Peace Research and the International Peace Research Institute, associated with the University of Oslo, in Norway. Phase three ( ) is a period of expansion of international conflict resolution. It was a period deeply shaped by the intensification of the Cold War and the threat of a nuclear war. The focus was predominantly on nation-state

3 Conflict and Conflict Resolution 263 resolution. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was an increase in undergraduate and graduate programs at universities throughout Europe and North America, the development of departments and institutes of conflict resolution at universities, and the creation of independent organizations dedicated to conflict resolution. It was during this period that various theories and methods associated with international conflict resolution were developed. The theories and methods of international conflict resolution are based on the fact that conflict is a dynamic process, and as a result, there is not just one theory for examining the nature of conflict on the global scene, nor is there just one method for resolving international conflict. It is more accurate to say that there are numerous theories and methods of international conflict resolution. For example, there is not just one single school of thought or a single theory of international conflict resolution. It would be more accurate to suggest that as a result of the experience of the Cold War, conventional international conflict resolution was an approach to international conflict. It was influenced by three often-converging trends in the Western tradition, namely materialism, political realism, and secularist political philosophy. Philosophically, materialism refers to preoccupation with the material world, as opposed to intellectual or spiritual concepts, or to the theory that physical matter is all there is. In conflict resolution theory, this meant that if the sociopolitical and socioeconomic causes of the violence could be identified and redeveloped, then subsequent violence might possibly be avoided. Secularism is an ideology that holds that religious issues should not be the basis of politics, or in the extreme, that religion has no place in public life. Although modern secularists disagree on many matters, they did share the common belief that, with the rise of secular institutions and scientific reasoning, religion would become increasingly irrelevant in people s lives. As a result, international conflict resolution tended to focus on secular matters, with little consideration of religion, and religion has been left out of international conflict resolution theories and processes. Realist political thought, or realpolitik, emphasizes that politics is based on practical concerns rather than theory or ethics. Realism assumes that conflict and power struggles are intrinsic to human nature. It emphasizes the role of the nation-state and assumes that nation-states are motivated by national interests. For states to maintain their power, they must preserve their political autonomy and their territorial integrity, and they must do this through a balance of power. As a result, international conflict resolution theories emphasize the state as the key actor and international diplomacy as the conventional game plan for maintaining stable relations. International conflict resolution has an intellectual history that not only mirrors the dominant Cold War schools of thought by focusing on statist means of resolving conflict but also reflects the liberal, Western intellectual tradition that emphasizes socioeconomic concerns (materialism), and secularism as means of resolving conflict. As a result, international conflict resolution theory has conventionally focused on economic, social, and political transformation. Numerous methods can be used for resolving international conflict. Most methodological approaches to conflict resolution recognize that because of the dynamic nature of conflict, conflict progresses through various stages. For example, the stages of conflict tend to include conflict emergence, conflict escalation, stalemate, deescalation, dispute settlement, and postconflict peacebuilding. These stages are nonlinear; the stages can be repeated, or sometimes the conflict primarily moves between two or three stages. Each stage has corresponding strategies to help minimize violence and to help resolve and transform the conflict. For example, conflict emergence occurs when competing interests, needs, or values manifest. To prevent the conflict from escalating, methods such as conciliation, negotiation, mediation, or arbitration would be explored. Conflict emergence may be dealt with through a settlement or resolution, such as a peace accord, or it may be followed by subsequent escalation. The stalemate stage is when neither party in the conflict can win and neither side wants to back down or accept loss. In international conflict, the stalemate stage is often the high point of war, and methods such as peacekeeping or humanitarian intervention are considered. The deescalation stage can be temporary, or it can be part of a broader trend toward settlement or resolution. Here, the intention is to decrease violence

4 264 Conflict and Conflict Resolution and generate agreements among different parties through methods such as negotiation, conciliation, or mediation. The dispute settlement stage is when the underlying causes of the conflict are dealt with. At this stage, peace accords may be negotiated, new constitutions may be developed, and democratic elections are often held. Once a settlement or resolution is agreed to, the conflict moves to a postconflict stage where the focus is on repairing the damage that was done with a long-term goal to work for sustainable peace. A variety of strategies are used at this stage, such as criminal prosecutions, lustrations, truth commissions, amnesty, and reconciliation processes. The fourth phase (1989 present) of the development of international conflict resolution is rooted in the major shifts in the nature of international conflict post Cold War. It is at a stage of reconstruction, where responses to the changing nature of international conflict are still being worked out. This phase has been shaped primarily by two interconnected transformations that have occurred after the Cold War and have substantially changed the nature of international conflict. The first transformation is the shift from a bipolar world to a unipolar world. During the Cold War, the conflict between the two major superpowers shaped the global world and essentially created a bipolar world. The focus of international relations was on a balance of power between the two superpowers, which meant that intergroup conflicts were essentially kept in check. However, with the end of the Cold War, the United States emerged as the lone superpower. As a result, a power vacuum was created around much of the world, and there was no superpower to control domestic and global affairs. Under the Cold War, ethnic and religious identities had been held down around the world under the communal mentality of communism. However, with no superpower to keep things in check, regional intergroup conflicts, with ethnic and religious dimensions, began to flourish. Conflicts in the Balkans, Bosnia, and Rwanda are examples of the fallout from the transformation of a bipolar to a unipolar world. The second transformation that took place after the Cold War is associated with the movement toward economic, political, cultural, and technological global integration associated with globalization. After the Cold War, borders opened, and a ripe arena for global integration of markets, nation-states, cultures, and technologies developed. Little research has been conducted on the relationship between conflict and globalization. What research has been done has focused on the debate regarding the impact of globalization on the world. On one side of the debate, there are advocates of globalization who praise it for its free market capitalist economic system and the technological advancements that have globally integrated the world. On the other side of the debate, there are critics who suggest that globalization is detrimental because the Western homogenization it purports damages culture, and it perpetuates poverty by increasing the gap between the rich and the poor, particularly in the poorer nations of the world. Current Research The many changes in the global system after the Cold War have transformed how individuals, societies, and states interact with each other. In terms of international conflict, the number of international conflicts has decreased dramatically, whereas the number of internal, intergroup conflicts has increased. These conflicts tend to be identified as ethnically based conflicts in which the key actors are nonstate actors, and the key issues are based on identity, culture, and/or religious nationalism. Yet the conceptual theories employed by conflict resolution theorists are still rooted in materialist, realist, and secularist assumptions, and they have, for the most part, been unable to address the complexities of contemporary conflict that include ethnic cleansing, civil war, religiously inspired violence, and a global War on Terror. As a result of the changing nature of international conflict, the field of international conflict resolution has slowly responded, and the current work being done tends to focus on four areas. The first area focuses on strengthening the role of the state. Although this may seem to be rooted in political realism, it does not solely focus on the traditional realist method of conflict resolution of balancing power between states. Instead, it responds to the fact that the newly integrated global order has presented many challenges to the concepts of national sovereignty and state autonomy, and by extension international order. In the post Cold War era, the number of failed states has risen, and as a result, the field of international

5 Conflict and Conflict Resolution 265 conflict resolution has focused on two interrelated areas. The first area looks at how to prevent failed states, and the second area focuses on issues associated with humanitarian intervention. Both areas focus on failed states and the issues of human security; the role of the state in conflict resolution; and the role of international organizations, like the United Nations, and nonstate actors within failed states. The second area of work being done by contemporary conflict resolution scholars to respond to the changing nature of international conflict focuses on the role of nonstate actors. This area of work directly challenges political realist assumptions in that it is based on the assumption that states are not the only key actors in politics and by extension, in international conflict. It focuses on two areas related to nonstate actors. The first area examines the role of nonstate actors in violence and perpetuating international conflict. It examines terrorist organizations, such as al Qaeda; organized crime networks, such as drug cartels; and rebel groups, such as armed militias and warlords. The second area of work examines the role nonstate actors play in international conflict resolution processes. It focuses on regional, national, and transnational nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), multinational corporations (MNCs), civil society, faith-based actors and organizations, business communities, and media conglomerates. The third area of work examines the role religion can play in international conflict resolution. This field of study developed out of the resurgence of religious nationalism on the international scene and the rise in religious terrorism. This area of international conflict resolution is referred to as religious conflict resolution. It directly challenges realist-secular assumptions that claim that the role religion would play in the world and in people s lives would decline and that only state actors should be involved in politics and conflict resolution. The basic thesis of religious conflict resolution states that if religion plays a role in people s lives and if it played a role in perpetuating the conflict, then it should at least be accounted for in the resolution. Without accounting for religion, the conflict resolution mechanisms and theories fail to deal with the elements of the conflict and miss the potential peacebuilding sources found in the religions themselves. The fourth and final area on which international conflict resolution research focuses is technology. The technical revolution has created both challenges and opportunities for international conflict resolution, particularly in terms of globalized information and communication technology in the form of the Internet. Although this area is relatively new in international conflict resolution, scholars and practitioners are primarily focusing on two areas. The first area examines the effects that the advancements in technology have on violence and conflict on a global scale. This research examines the role of the Internet in international affairs, as a medium both for proliferating political propaganda and rhetoric and for establishing transnational networks that support political violence. The second area focuses on how information technology can be used as a peacebuilding tool. This area examines how the technological revolution has changed socialization and communication patterns and the impact this can have in conflict zones. It focuses on how global access to information technology can build transnational peace networks; assist in diplomacy and dialogue; help bridge the growing gap between developed countries and developing countries; and aid government, private-sector organizations, and nonstate actors in conducting their work. Megan Shore See also Cold War; Ethnic Identity; Globalization, Phenomenon of; International Relations; Religious Identities; Security; Terrorism; United Nations; War Further Readings Boulding, K. E. (1957). Organization and conflict. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 1, Cheldelin, S., Druckman, D., & Fast, L. (Eds.). (2008). Conflict: From analysis to intervention (2nd ed.). New York: Continuum. Deutsch, M., Coleman, P. T., & Marcus, E. (Eds.). (2006). The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Galtung, J. (1965). Institutionalized conflict resolution: A theoretical paradigm. Journal of Peace Research, 2, Jeong, H.-W. (2000). Peace and conflict studies. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.

6 266 Confucianism Juergensmeyer, M. (2008). Global rebellion: Religious challenges to the secular state, from Christian militias to al Qaeda. Berkeley: University of California Press. Kriesberg, L. (2007). The conflict resolution field: Origins, growth, and differentiation. In I. W. Zartman (Ed.), Peacemaking in international conflict: Methods and techniques (pp ). Washington, DC: United States Institute for Peace. Kriesberg, L. (2007). Constructive conflicts: From escalation to resolution (3rd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Paczynska, A. (2008). Globalization. In S. Cheldelin, D. Druckman, & L. Fast (Eds.), Conflict: From analysis to intervention (2nd ed., pp ). New York: Continuum. Ramsbotham, O., Woodhouse, T., & Miall, H. (2005). Contemporary conflict resolution: The prevention, management and transformation of deadly conflicts (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Shore, M. (2009). Religion and conflict resolution: Christianity and South Africa s truth and reconciliation commission. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. Stern, P. C., & Druckman, D. (2000). International conflict resolution after the Cold War. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Conflict and Security, Global See Global Conflict and Security Confucianism Confucianism is a philosophical system of beliefs, sometimes referred to as a religion, instituted in varying degrees during the past 2,500 years throughout several East Asian nations including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam and globally through Asian diaspora communities. The English word Confucianism can be traced back to 16th-century Jesuit missionaries in China who used the term to describe a tradition that had Chinese philosopher Kung-Fuzi ( BCE) as its figurehead. Because Confucianism evolved within several different cultures concurrently, there are cultural differences in doctrinal emphases, expressions, and manifestations. However, the positing of humans within correct social and moral structures to achieve harmony remained foundational within the Confucian worldview. Sources often refer to early or classical Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, and modern New Confucianism, which points to various Confucian practices and philosophies spanning different time periods. Confucianism has had to coexist, although not always without tension, with several other philosophies/religions/ belief systems, and it has been integrated into sociopolitical and economic structures of the East Asian countries mentioned. Academics are investigating the prevalence and relevance of Confucianism today as it encounters modernity for the East Asian nations mentioned, their diasporic communities, and the global community. Early Confucianism Kung-Fuzi (Confucius) was born in eastern China to an aristocratic family during the Zhou Dynasty. Supposedly founding his own school when he was 22 years old and teaching up to 3,000 students, Confucius is most commonly associated with the Analects of Confucius (Lunyu), a collection of his sayings composed by his followers between 500 and 300 BCE. Confucius believed he was rediscovering and promoting a philosophy that extended back to ancient times. This philosophy tried to explain the roots and develop theories of human relationships to promote collective and individual stability, prosperity, and harmony. Confucius did not make theological assertions about deities, gods/god, or the afterlife, although Confucianists did discuss heaven s relation to humanity. Confucius s work, along with that of his followers Meng-zi (Mencius) ( BCE), author of the Four Books (Si Shu), and Xun-zi (310? 211? BCE), formed the backbone of classical Confucian thought. Confucius has been referred to as the sage of all times. Generally, collective well-being was prioritized over fulfilling individual desires and aspirations. Humans were essentially social creatures who could attain fulfillment by perfecting their individual and social moral natures, which was a selfrealizing process. Confucian scholars debated the essence of human nature, whether it was inherently good and moral (Mencius) or not (Xunzi),