WEEK X.

Social and political science conflicts (pressure competition)

- do not necessarily involve conflicts and violence
- according to the agreed rules
- appeared in the 19
th
century
- 2 types of approaches:
Functionalism:
- conflict is not something that would help the mechanism continuing to work
- a framework that stops the political sphere to be harmonious
- stops the good functioning of the society
! after the 2
nd
WW the interest towards conflicts appeared once more
1950-1960 => a new trend that opposes the functionalism => reaction to functionalism
=> The Conflict Theory
1. Ralph DAHRENDORF:
- early 1990s, looks in social transformation in the central and eastern part
- used Karl MARX and Georg SIMMEL in order to express his point of view
Marx - class conflict , interest of labor versus interest of capital
Simmel - believed that conflicts would have a positive reaction upon society because they
ensured social stability in his point of view
- social groups and collectivities could be preserved mainly because there would always be
conflicts to sustain them
2. Lewis COSER (1956-1968)
- because of plurality we are not dealing with only one type of conflict => cross cutting conflicts
- a balancing mechanism is there ensured
- very similar to the approach that Simmel had upon the subject

- the main conflicts in society are about who was obtaining power, when and how
- but there will always be an inequality
- comes from who has more power
- conflict cannot be eliminated and should be radical
- the nature of society did not change very much
- unlimited member of smaller groups that sometimes are not even detected and that help politics
and society work
- the interest groups on the other hand believe that obtaining power sometimes is more important
than obtaining capital or other characteristics
- sometimes related to inequality
- he summarizes the important points in each of the theories and compare them

The Functionalist Approach:
-> every society is relatively stable and sustainable
-> these elements are also very well integrated
-> every element of the society has a function and brings its contributions to the maintenance of
the system
-> every functionalist social structure is in a consensus regarding their values
1. every society is at every point subject to change -> change is universal
2. every society display at every point dissent and conflict
3. every element in society has a contribution to disintegration and change
4. every society is based on cohersion
The Conflictual Approach:
-> except the conflict change, the conflict theory cannot explain the existent stability
-> it does lead us to the study of social change
-> social change was a product of power
-> produces a critical position towards society
-> social problems are not alone and they are dealt in a natural manner

Revolutions:
- industrial revolutions, scientific revolution etc, orange revolution, velvet revolution
- most famous: French revolution, Bolshevic revolution
-> radical changes from bottom to the top
-> violent and bloody revolution
-> rapid changes
-> the political institutions of a state are replaced
-> caused by social groups that are net satisfied with their circumstances
-> the structure of the political system is trying to be changed through a revolution
-> distinction between revolution and coup detat
-> popular in central and eastern Europe => reform - non-violent (comes from the top and goes
to the bottom), peaceful
- violences are recent, but cohersion always existed
Transition - very frequent question
-> characterized by privatization => had effects from the social point of view
-> socially and culturally, this actually meant a shake in how society should normally work
-> presumed a very distinct change
- economy | -> 5 years before communism
| -> present
- politics | -> 5 years after communism

Typology of Political Conflicts:
- based on power, authority, communication and propaganda means, means to influence
violence, fame, voting process (main thing that influence the political conflicts).
1.-> first type of conflict appears inside of a group
2.-> the group itself entering in a conflict with the political organization(ONG&pol.party)
3.-> groups and political organizations with their own kind
4.-> national groups and conflicts based on them (ex: NATO vs a state)
5.-> international political conflicts

Way of manifestation:
- political conflicts: -> closed
-> open
Closed pol.confl.: secret services, espionage, blackmail, secret police, political murders
->truth that we know about it, but is never confirmed
Open pol.confl.: revolutions, coup detats, wars, political strikes.
- types of change = irreversible or reversible
- we could have a total transformation from one regime to another, through internal revolutions,
gradual transformation, total transformation through legal means.
Continuous or discontinuous conflicts and changes:
-> peaceful or violent changes
-> balanced or unbalanced
-> fundamental or just marginal
-> internal or external
- these changes do interfere with the opened political conflicts
Conflicts: between A - B = certain conflict
- we might also have POTENTIAL conflicts
- A -> B
-> opposition
=> B and the opposition could create a coalition
=> A might not understand his own interests
=> latent conflict
- tells us how stable the whole system is
- conflict could be INSTITUTIONALIZED = we want stability and to be able to avoid conflicts.