Part I: Conflict and Resolution

Discussion Questions
1. What causes conflict between people?

2. How can compromises prevent further

conflicts?

3. What happens when a resolution lasts

for only a short time? What might happen if
it leads to another conflict?

4. When can conflict be positive?

List conflicts that you believe are or have been most influential in your own life:
 Part II: Past Conflicts

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4
 Part III
The Berlin Conference and African Independence Movements
The Berlin Conference
In the late 1880s, only the coastal areas of Africa were colonized by Europeans. 80% of Africa was ruled
by indigenous (native) African populations. Europeans wanted to gain control over the interior of the
continent. In 1884 the German leader called together the major western powers of the world to end
confusion over the control of Africa and create new boundaries for the continent. France, Germany, Great
Britain, and Portugal were most dominant in the conference, controlling most of colonial Africa at the time.

Over a three month period European powers argued over control of the interior of the continent,
disregarding the culture and language boundaries already established by the indigenous African
population. The conference decided to divide Africa into fifty countries with irregular borders. The new
countries separated groups of similar people and combined groups who did not get along. The new map of
the continent did not meet the needs of the over one thousand indigenous cultures and regions of Africa.

Independence Movements
Africans fought against colonial rule from the beginning, trying to hold on to their land, but were not
strong enough to defend themselves against Europeans. As a result, most of Africa was colonized by 1900.

In the two World Wars, Africans were exposed to ideas of self-rule and independence. Following the
Second World War, colonial governments realized that they could not go on forever. The United Nations
declared that all people have the right to self-rule, and people wanted European powers to explain why
they were holding Africa back. People in Africa had the right to be free and independent from colonial rule
and colonial governments had a responsibility to help this happen.

Colonial governments responded by saying Africans were being prepared for future self-government and
set up schools in the colonies. European powers were not ready to hand over rule to African people and
the new schools produced more educated youth. The more educated population was frustrated by colonial
rule and wanted it to end. Self-rule became their slogan and Nkwame Nkrumah, the first President of
Ghana, changed that slogan to 'independence now'.

In response to the growing demand for self-rule, the British introduced a constitution that allowed the
upper class to be involved in government, but this excluded the majority of people. This was an important
step towards independence. France encouraged colonies to become French instead of independent. These
approaches led to gradual and more peaceful road to independence.

Portuguese leaders believed colonies were extensions of Portugal. As a result, Portuguese citizens were
encouraged to settle in the colonies. There was very little education and preparation for independence.
The Portuguese government was overthrown by the military and in 1975, the new Portuguese military
government began to negotiate with independence movements in their colonies.

In colonies like Angola, Mozambique, Algeria, and Kenya, African people were forced to fight wars to win
their independence.

The peak year for independence came in 1960 when about 17 countries gained independence.
Independence days are now celebrated as national holidays in most African countries.
Adapted from: https://www.thoughtco.com/berlin-conference and http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/effects-ww2-africa
Discussion:
What do you think will happen after Independence is gained in African countries?

How would you have negotiated a resolution? Explain.

 Part IV
Post-Independence
For many African countries, the transition from colony to independent state was not easy. New states
contained conflicting interests, competing powers, and many ethnic groups. Africa's nationalists had
mostly accepted the boundaries drawn up in The Berlin Conference. These were boundaries which cut
across ethnic groups and the grazing grounds of cattle owning people.

In other instances, two rival kingdoms or nations were put under one central government. Only Somalia
had a language to unify and strengthen its political unity.

The Post-Independence years have been full of government changes all over the continent including
military or civilian takeovers. The first sign of a takeover would be from a radio announcement. Radio
stations continue to be used for that purpose.

Some countries still have unsolved issues. Sudan and Chad, for example, are divided between an Arab
Muslim north and an African Christian south. Both countries have suffered destructive civil wars. Uganda
also has issues between differing ethnic groups.

In Nigeria, one of the largest countries in Africa with an estimated population of 120 million, the divide
went three ways: the Muslim north, Ibo east, and Yoruba south. In 1967, the country collapsed into civil
war with the eastern part declaring itself an independent state. Since the civil war, Nigeria has remained
united despite tensions between Muslim and Christian communities.

In addition to internal stresses and strains, many countries have dealt with disputed borders since
independence, even though most people accept the boundaries set by Europe in the 1880's.

Whatever vision African leaders have had for their countries, there were a number of factors beyond their
control, threatening their ideals including:
 drought and famine in east and southern Africa
 declining prices of products on the world market
 an increase in oil prices in the 1970's for non-oil producing countries
 increasing debts from borrowing money
 weak currencies

All this tension and unrest has created huge political consequences.

Adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica

In what ways did this resolution resolve In what ways will this resolution bring
an ongoing conflict? about further conflict?
 Part V – Understanding Conflict
From “ReThinking Conflict” by Colgan, Sturma, & Ayazi (2017)

Simply put, conflict in and of itself is neutral. It is a fact of life. People disagree, argue, and
even fight. It has been this way throughout human history. It is this way in our daily lives.
We all know conflict, with our friends and our families. It is part of human nature.

But where it leads is not predefined. Conflict is not necessarily negative nor positive. In
fact, how it plays out is determined entirely by how it is handled—by the attitudes and
skills of those involved. Negative assumptions may cause us to try to avoid conflict, or
they may lead us to become instantly angry, unwilling or unable to see any possibility of a
positive outcome. We need to rethink conflict in history and the world around us.

Conflict is not only inevitable, it is essential. Throughout history and still today, conflict is
the expression of big fault lines and the seed of big changes in our world. If we understand
that conflict can be managed without violence, and can in fact be transformed into a
positive change, we begin to see how conflict can actually be a critical part of building
peace.

Conflict analysis is an essential skill in conflict management. It enables us to break down

conflicts in ways that help us understand the players, the issues, the dynamics, and the
broader context. All these pieces of information help explain what is happening, offer new
perspectives and understandings, and can lead to new ideas and opportunities for
problem-solving. In learning history, conflict analysis helps us all look more deeply at how
conflicts evolved, how they were handled, and why. It also enables us to learn from that
history, to see opportunities that might have been missed, to look for pieces of the story
that might really matter even though they don’t usually get the attention they deserve, and
ultimately to use this new perspective to better understand conflict in today’s world.

The Curve of Conflict is another useful tool that helps us visualize the evolution of conflict
—how it tends to escalate and recede over time—and to see opportunities to prevent it
from becoming violent. By analyzing conflict, we can seek to understand it and handle it
more effectively. This is especially true because, along the curve, we can identify stages
where action can be taken to prevent, manage, or resolve conflict. In history, the Curve of
Conflict enables us to take the elements of conflict identified using conflict analysis, to see
how a particular situation moved through stages, and to discover what was (or was not)
done to address it as it unfolded. Again, the evolution of conflict may be understood, and
can be addressed to avoid violence, is an important lesson in seeing new perspectives
and new possibilities for problem-solving.
 Condensed Part V: Understanding Conflict

From “Rethinking Conflict” by Colgan, Sturma, & Ayazi (2017)

Simply put, conflict by itself is neutral (neither good nor bad). It is a fact of life. People disagree, argue,
and even fight. It has been this way throughout human history. It is this way in our daily lives. We all
know conflict, with our friends and our families. It is part of human nature.

But where it leads is not predefined (not decided ahead of time/not always the same). Conflict is not
necessarily negative or positive. In fact, how it plays out is determined entirely by how it is handled—by
the attitudes and skills of those involved. Negative assumptions (things we think we already know) may
cause us to try to avoid conflict, or they lead us to become instantly angry, unwilling or unable to see any
possibility of a positive outcome. We need to rethink conflict in history and the world around us.

Conflict is not only inevitable (unavoidable; going to happen no matter what), it is essential
(important). Throughout history, and still today, conflict is the expression of big fault lines and
the seed of big changes in our world (conflict both represents disagreements and the need for
change-it also helps to push change to happen). If we understand that conflict can be managed without
violence, and can in fact be transformed into a positive change, we begin to see how conflict can actually
be a critical part of building peace.
www.usip.org

Relevant Application

Students will work together using information from the internet, newspaper, or the library
resources to design a product that researches a modern-day conflict over the struggle for
independence and the resolution or possible compromise. Develop an argument about the
effectiveness of the resolution and possible nonviolent civil action, reconciliation, or
mediation that is used or should be used. Students should analyze their example through
the same lens as presented in the lesson.
 Name ___________________________

Conflict/Resolution Relevant Application Rubric

Item Exceeds Proficient Needs Improvement Unacceptable
Part I Student engages with Student engages with Student engages with Does not engage with
other students’ work and other students’ work and other students’ work, but other students’ work or
offers helpful/nuanced offers comments about offer cursory comments comments are totally off
comments about what they what they have provided. about what they have topic. Does not describe
have provided with Describes their opinions on provided. Describes their their opinions on conflict
suggestions for conflict and resolution. opinions on conflict and and resolution.
improvement. Describes resolution.
their opinions on conflict
and resolution.

Part II Student engages with Student engages with Student engages with Does not engage with
other students’ work and other students’ work and other students’ work, but other students’ work or
offers helpful/nuanced offers comments about offer cursory comments comments are totally off
comments about what they what they have provided. about what they have topic. Does not argue what
have provided with Argues what they believe provided. Argues what they they believe good
suggestions for good examples of conflict, believe good examples of examples of conflict,
improvement. Argues what compromise/resolution. conflict, compromise/resolution.
they believe good compromise/resolution.
examples of conflict,
compromise/resolution.

Part III Gives a nuanced Discusses and Discusses and Does not discuss or
discussion/explanation of explanations possible explanations possible explain possible
possible commonalities, commonalities, commonalities, commonalities,
compromises and/or compromises or compromises or compromises or
resolutions. resolutions. resolutions, but the resolutions.
discussion is cursory.

Part IV Student effectively Student analyzes the Student gives cursory Student does not analyze
analyzes the African African Independence analysis of the African or predict any further
Independence Movements Movements and validates Independence Movements conflict.
and validates their their reasoning for the and vaguely validates their
reasoning for the conflicts conflicts and possible reasoning for the conflicts
and possible further further conflicts. and possible further
conflicts. conflicts.

Part V Student product and Student product and Student product and Does not complete
argument contains at least argument contains 1 argument contains a product, cursory, or is off
2 relevant sources and relevant source and source that may not be topic.
synthesizes current synthesize current relevant current examples
examples of examples of of Conflict/Resolution.
Conflict/Resolution. Conflict/Resolution. Product may not be in the
Product is in the form of a Product is in the form of a appropriate format.
documentary, exhibit, documentary, exhibit,
paper, performance, paper, performance,
website, or media website, or media
presentation. presentation.

Participation in group Student is actively aiding Student helps with group Student participates with Student does not
activities the group in preparation of task, but does not actively minimal contributions. participate in product
the product. engage with group. completion