Conflicts are commonly differentiated into agency conflicts and structural conflicts, following a conceptual distinction associated with peace researcher Johan Galtung. Agency conflicts involve actors who are conscious of the assumptions, interests, or contradictions underlying their disagreement. By contrast, in structural conflicts, these underlying factors may remain largely implicit or outside the conscious awareness of the parties involved. The distinction therefore concerns not only the observable manifestations of conflict, but also the extent to which the conditions and assumptions sustaining the conflict are recognized by the actors themselves.
Conflicts may also be classified according to the symmetry or asymmetry of the relationships between the parties. Symmetric conflicts occur where the parties occupy relatively comparable positions in relation to one another, whereas asymmetric conflicts involve significant differences in power, resources, status, or structural position. This distinction is important because the configuration of the parties can affect how a conflict develops and which mechanisms are available for addressing it. Consequently, analyzing both the underlying character of a conflict and the relationship between the parties provides a more comprehensive basis for understanding conflict dynamics.
For a full paper by Thorsten Koch, MA, PgDip, please read or download the PDF hosted on ResearchGate:
