Conflict analysis tools – ERMIS Africa Ltd

4.0 Module 301 : Conflict Management and Peace Building

4.2.6 Conflict analysis tools

The Facilitator should begin the discussion by asking, “What is conflict analysis?” writing down responses from the participants on a flipchart. After all responses are given, the Facilitator should provide the following below definition on the flip chart and discuss any differences in the definitions.

Definition: “A process of examining and understanding the reality of a conflict situation from a variety of perspectives” The Facilitator should then present the following information: Conflict analysis is not a onetime exercise. It must be an on-going process. As the situation is developing one can adapt the actions to changing factors, dynamics and circumstances

Why do we conduct conflict analysis?

To understand the background and history of situations as well as current events
To identify all the relevant groups involved not just the main groups and the obvious ones.
To understand the perspectives of all groups
To understand how they relate to one another
To identify factors and trends those underpin conflicts.
To understand positions, interests and needs of actors
To understand the dynamics of conflicts
To understand the relationships

4.2.7 Conflict Analysis Tools

Tool number	Tool	Purpose
1	Root cause analysis	To help the affected examine the origins and underlying causes of conflict.
2	Issue analysis	To examine the issues that contribute to conflict and the specific issues that give rise to a specific conflict in more detail, focusing on five categories: 1) problems with information; 2) conflicting interests; 3) difficult relationships; 4) structural inequalities; 5) conflicting values.
3	Stakeholder identification and analysis	To identify and assess the dependency and power of different stakeholders in a conflict.
4	4Rs analysis (rights, responsibilities, returns, relationships)	To examine the rights, responsibilities and benefits of different stakeholders in relation to natural resources, as part of improving understanding of a conflict. To examine the relationships among (or within) different stakeholder groups.
5	Conflict time line	To assist stakeholders in examining the history of a conflict and to improve their understanding of the sequence of events that led to the conflict.
6	Mapping conflict over resource use	To show geographically where land or resource use conflicts exist or may exist in the future. To determine the primary issues of conflict.