The Role of Social Conflict in Driving Societal Change

Social Conflict as a Factor for Change

The Great Catalan Encyclopedia describes conflict as "a temporary imbalance in the cohesion of a social system, caused by dissident forces or elements which may be internal or external to it and seeking to restore a new equilibrium on new foundations."

The definition of conflict includes a wide range of social phenomena. Strikes and large and small popular demonstrations are forms of conflict, but these apparent disorders ultimately restore order. Thanks to social movements of protest, developed societies are stable systems. Conflict is an acute form of competition, as issues of aggression and defense are embedded within social conflict. In some cases, this activity is so institutionalized that there are institutions representing this state of affairs: the military, for example. Conflict is bound to change: most conflicts end up generating some kind of change.

Any society contains elements of tension and potential conflict. The analysis of social change must take them into account, because they provide the momentum for change.

Assessment of Social Conflict: Sociological Perspectives

Among sociologists, there are differences when evaluating social conflict. Equilibrium theorists, such as Parsons and Warner, for whom society is an organism that seeks balance, value conflict as a dysfunction, instability, and disruption, threatening the social system.

Others, like Lynd, Mills, and Coser, known as "theorists of conflict," see it as a natural and predictable element of social organization. One of the positive aspects of conflict is its ability to enable and promote group cohesion. It also serves to review and restructure aspects of reality that would otherwise remain unaltered, potentially blocking social vitality.

Types and Causes of Social Conflicts

Identifying Conflict Types

The types of conflicts are numerous and difficult to classify because belligerent activity can occur in any human situation. In modern societies, conflicts are frequent and primarily economic and political, but many other types exist. In some societies, ethnic, linguistic, or religious groups can conflict, even if they share the same culture, education, and economic level.

Analyzing Conflict Causes

Explaining the causes of many types of conflicts is difficult and almost impossible to categorize comprehensively. Based on the premise that all conflicts are related to specific social structures, we distinguish two main types of conflict causes:

• Conflicts born within the structures: These respond to slight changes or readjustments between organizations, authority figures, etc.
• Structural Conflicts (Conflicts of the structures): These are more pernicious, altering the entire social system. They lead to the decline of old structures, raise new ones, and subvert the basic institutions and prevailing value systems.