Conflict Actions and Outcomes: Long-Term Impacts

The impact of selected forms of conflict actions and solution characteristics on long-term relations among parties to international conflicts is examined. The analysis is conducted by means of focused comparison. Eight questions drawn from the literature of crisis management and resolution are asked about a series of five conflict episodes from the era preceding World War I. The study indicates that statesmen may contribute to long-term deterioration in relations among nations both by focusing too narrowly on resolving the conflict episode rather than the conflict of interest, and by ignoring diplomatic conventions so that they become increasingly viewed as brigands by their counterparts in other nations. Also, statesmen sometimes fail to take advantage of opportunities to build integrative solutions which might foster better relations among all parties to the conflict. Opportunities for building integrative solutions are sometimes lost even when they could be easily implemented.