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PurposeThis paper aims to offer an integrative conceptual theory of conflict and reports on the nomological net of team conflict profiles. Specifically, it integrates social self-preservation theory with information-processing theory to better understand the occurrence of team profiles involving task conflict, relationship conflict and process conflict.Design/methodology/approachThe study collected data from 178 teams performing and engineering design tasks. The multilevel nomological net that was examined consisted of constructive controversy, psychological safety and team-task performance (team level), as well as perceptions of learning, burnout and peer ratings of performance (individual level).FindingsFindings indicated mixed support for the associations between conflict profiles and the hypothesized nomological net.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should consider teams' profiles of team conflict types rather than examining task, relationship and process conflict in isolation.Practical implicationsTeams can be classified into profiles of team conflict types with implications for team functioning and effectiveness. As a result, assessment and team launch should consider team conflict profiles.Originality/valueThe complexity perspective advanced here will allow research on conflict types to move forward beyond the extensive research examining conflict types in isolation rather than their interplay.

Social media increasingly shapes the way in which we perceive conflicts and conflict parties abroad. Conflict parties, therefore, have started using social media strategically to influence public opinion abroad. This book explores the phenomenon by examining, (1) which strategies of external communication conflict parties use during asymmetric conflicts and (2) what shapes the selection of these communication strategies. In a comprehensive case study of the conflict in Israel and Palestine, the author shows that the selection of strategies of external communication is shaped by the (asymmetric) conflict structure.

The book gives a record of the outcome of Nigeria's political, religious, ethnic and other interacting forms of pluralism in relation to the scarcity of resources. It is based on original data obtained from fieldwork and prolonged involvement in conflict studies in the various ecological zones of Nigeria. The twelve essays contained in the book show how multiple users of scarce resources constantly encounter the recurrent problems of ethnicity or sub-ethnicity, as well as religious and other forms of exclusive symbolic identities and contested claims of farmers, pastoralists, fishermen and local politicians. The articles capture the dynamics of competing variables which define the character, structures and processes of conflict management, resolution and transformation, as well as peacebuilding. (DÜI-Sbd)

Whereas Huntington and other like-minded scholars argue that a clash of civilisations is inevitable, this essay presents the opposite view that religion itself is not at the root of conflicts. The authors describe the theological foundations for the Christian understanding of Christ and the Muslim understanding of jihād, and examine how both these traditions have been misunderstood and misinterpreted in order to justify violence.

Damage actions may reduce leniency programs' attractiveness for cartel participants if their cooperation with the competition authority increases the chance that the cartel's victims will sue them. This apparent conflict between public and private antitrust enforcement led to calls for a legal compromise. We show that the conflict is due to the legislation and a compromise is not required: limiting the victims' ability to recover their loss is not necessary to preserve the effectiveness of leniency programs and may be counterproductive. We show that damage actions will actually improve its effectiveness, if the civil liability of the immunity recipient is minimized and full access to all evidence collected by the competition authority, is granted to claimants. Our results help compare the EU and US damage systems and directly question the 2014 EU Directive which tries to protect leniency programs' effectiveness by restricting access to leniency statements in subsequent damage actions.

AbstractDo nuclear weapons deter low-level military conflict? Although the political effects of nuclear weapons have been debated for more than seventy years, scholarship has yet to produce a clear answer. We design a study that reduces the risk of omitted variable bias relative to prior research. Our analysis compares the rates of conflict among eventual nuclear powers in the periods before and after they obtained an arsenal. We include two-way fixed effects to control for time-invariant state-specific confounders and address common shocks. Our findings indicate that switching from nonnuclear status to a nuclear arsenal decreases the risk of being targeted in militarized interstate disputes (MID) by nonnuclear challengers. However, when it comes to low-level conflict, nuclear powers do not appear to be deterred from instigating disputes with other nuclear-armed states. This result stands in contrast to most prior studies, which conclude that the possession of nuclear weapons increases or does not reliably decrease the risk of being targeted—even for nonnuclear challengers. Although there are clear limits to the deterrence benefits of nuclear weapons at low levels of conflict, states can reduce their vulnerability to some degree by developing a nuclear arsenal.

PurposeThis paper investigates the role of arbitration panels in German employment relations. It is the main aim of the analysis to improve our knowledge of the ways through which employment related conflict is formalized within a transparent procedure.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses are generated from a review of relevant publications on German arbitration panels. To test the hypotheses with evidence, the paper uses data from the 2006 WSI works council survey and applies binary logistical regression analysis.FindingsThe statistical analysis reveals that works councils oppose management hostility by way of making more frequent use of arbitration panels. While in a multivariate model the use of arbitration panels could be positively associated with certain attitudes of works councils and management, results for a number of institutional variables were other than expected. While foreign ownership of a particular establishment did not have a significant impact on the use of arbitration panels, firm‐level agreements, as negotiated by unions without the direct involvement of works councils, are associated with a more frequent use of such panels.Research limitations/implicationsThe model applied in the article could not verify establishment age because data on this subject was not available. Future surveys should fill this void.Practical implicationsThe findings of this paper suggest that arbitration panels are a valuable tool in the process of conflict resolution. Because there is little evidence for an excessive use of such panels, future debates on the reform of the Works Constitution Act should consider strengthening this instrument rather than restricting it.Originality/valueWhile data on the use of arbitration panels had already been documented about 20 years ago, the author presents a unique set of data, which for the first time allows the analysis of the use of arbitration panels in all industries within the private sector and is also significant in making it possible to statistically test relevant hypotheses on the usage of such panels.

A sampling of the ways in which the subject of conflict of laws has been treated in the United States in labor matters will be undertaken. However, the term "labor matters" may be regarded as embracing a multitude of topics, and this presentation by no means purports to be encyclopedic. Indeed, questions concerning conflicts between laws of the federal and state governments have been purposely excluded, though admittedly they loom large in domestic law and jurisprudence. On the other hand, the subjects considered are deemed illustrative of the domestic approach to the problems involved.

This paper examines the causes of conflict in Burundi and discusses strategies for building peace. The analysis of the complex relationships between distribution and group dynamics reveals that these relationships are reciprocal, implying that distribution and group dynamics are endogenous. The nature of endogenously generated group dynamics determines the type of preferences (altruistic or exclusionist), which in turn determines the type of allocative institutions and policies that prevail in the political and economic system. While unequal distribution of resources may be socially inefficient, it nonetheless can be rational from the perspective of the ruling elite, especially because inequality perpetuates dominance. However, because unequal distribution of resources generates conflict, maintaining a system based on inequality is difficult because it requires ever increasing investments in repression. It is therefore clear that if the new Burundian leadership is serious about building peace, it must engineer institutions that uproot the legacy of discrimination and promote equal opportunity for social mobility for all members of ethnic groups and regions. JEL Categories: 00

AbstractEvent risk covenants (ERCs), such as poison puts, can protect bondholders from losses related to highly leveraged transactions. Previous observers argue that managers could use ERCs primarily to benefit shareholders or to entrench, and the evidence on the shareholder wealth effects of ERCs is conflicting. Using data not previously exploited and an innovative method of isolating the wealth effects of ERCs, we find that ERCs decrease shareholder wealth. Additional evidence suggests that firms with greater shareholder‐management conflict are more likely to use ERCs. Overall, the evidence from this study supports the entrenchment view of ERCs.

As they intervene in families to reduce the risk of harm to children, child protection social workers around the world are confronting increasingly high levels of hostility and aggression from some parents. Investigations into the deaths of children known to social services have accused social workers of failing to use their professional authority to challenge parents. This much needed book analyses public inquiries and serious case reviews to reveal the dynamics of hostility and aggression which contribute to the failure to protect children. These can occur within the office environment and between social workers and parents or their partners. The book details applied theories of aggression in conjunction with the skills required for dealing with anger, conflict and aggression. A set of tools and reflective exercises assists the application of theory to day-to-day child protection practice. This indispensable and practical text is ideal for social work students, practitioners, trainers and academics specialising in child protection.