Widening the Comparative Theoretical Framework of Interstate Conflict and Conflict Resolution

Abstract

Neither Islamic nor Western conceptualizations of conflict or conflict resolution are monolithic, although scholars frequently depict them as such. We determine that when researchers widen their comparative theoretical frameworks to produce a more representative intra-cultural conceptualization prior to juxtaposing Islamic and Western approaches to conflict resolution, it increasingly facilitates the search for culturally sensitive and mutually acceptable techniques for managing or resolving conflict across these cultures. Demonstrating the utility of this approach, we re-analyze Western and Islamic conceptualizations of conflict and conflict resolution at the theoretical and practical levels to observe that these cultures share more commonalities than are usually acknowledged in contemporary literature. Within a highly globalized world, and in light of continued political/military Western intervention in predominantly Muslim countries such as Iraq and Syria, the need for identifying methods of managing or resolving conflict across these cultures is acute.