Power and analysis of international conflicts: the conflictual complex

Abstract

This article examines the concept of conflict presented by different authors on the basis of the sociology of power, while ignoring the elements that do not fit in with this theoretical proposal, and suggesting a more suitable definition. Likewise, it is understood that a large social system is made up of numerous actors that have multiple conflicts between them. This is why, in the case of international conflicts, we are not talking about one single conflict, but of a conflictual complex that requires a different kind of analytical approach to the one offered by classical theories on conflict analysis. The result is a proposal which, unlike some conflict resolution theories, pays particular attention to the structure in which the actors are immersed, and explains better both the conduct of the actual actors and the results of the conflictual complex itself, all of which are vital elements for obtaining good results in any attempt at resolution.

Keywords

• conflict
• war
• theory
• sociology of power
• conflict resolution