Extending Deutsch’s theory of cooperation and conflict resolution into dynamics of parties with asymmetrical power and interdependence.

Deutsch’s theory of conflict resolution (1973, 2006a) is one of the most important and influential theoretical advances for the study of conflict of the last century. Based on his earlier work on cooperation and competition in groups (Deutsch, 1949a, 1949b), it specified the basic conditions and processes involved in constructive versus destructive conflict. However the original formulation of the theory assumed equal power and equal degrees of interdependence between the parties in conflict. These assumptions constrain both the theoretical scope and practical implications of the theory. This research project will empirically validate and refine a new social-psychological model of the dynamics of power and conflict, thus extending Deutsch’s theory into situations of asymmetrical power and interdependence. It combines prior work on interdependence and social power and integrates them through the lens of dynamical systems theory, a new paradigm for the study of social conflict.
A conceptual article of this model is currently under revise and resubmit at Personality and Social Psychology Review, and our first empirical article on the model has been submitted to Negotiation and Conflict Management Journal. Currently, we are planning and conducting 5 research studies on this model and have begun developing a mathematical model in order to work with it through computer simulations. We plan to begin cross-cultural work on the model next year.