This review of Friedrich Glasl's book "Konfliktmanagement. Ein Handbuch zur Diagnose und Behandlung von Konflikten für Organisationen und ihre Berater, 5. erweiterte Auflage,was published (in a slightly edited version) in International Journal of Conflict Management, vol 8:2, 1997, pp. 170-174. Reproduced with permission from the Center for Advanced Studies in Management.

Glasl, F. (1997) Konfliktmanagement. Ein Handbuch zur Diagnose und Behandlung von Konflikten für Organisationen und ihre Berater, 5. erweiterte Auflage, Bern: Paul Haupt Verlag. 120 DEM.

Did you ever wonder what approaches to conflict management have been developed outside the English-speaking world? American practitioners and scholars have been very active in developing methods for improving negotiations and for resolving disputes out of court. The American ADR approaches usually focus on low-cost mediation and arbitration methods, which assume that there is a well-defined dispute that could either be resolved through litigation or by an ADR approach. Europe is, for various reasons, far behind the USA in the development of alternatives to going to court. This "backwardness" fortunately does not apply to all parts of the conflict management field. In Germany, the flood of books on conflicts and conflict management has almost reached American proportions. However, very few books deal with issue-oriented mediation in the usual American sense (Besemer, 1993, is an exception). Most are based on some kind of system perspective, i.e. developing approaches oriented to improving the way relationships or organizations function. German scholars have made some seminal contributions in the field of family conflicts, e.g. Willi (1975, 1989, 1991, 1993) and Thomann & Schulz von Thun (1988). The largest number of contributions, however, has been made in the field of conflicts in organizations, were the authors usually focus on on-site interventions. Recent publications in German in this field include Peschanel (1993), Fengler (1994), Schwarz (1995), Brommer (1994), Crisand & Reinhard (1995), Gamber (1995), and Berkel (1992).

Friedrich Glasl’s Konfliktmanagement also belongs to this category. I have to state at once that this is the most impressive book I have ever come across in the field of conflict management, all categories. Glasl is an Austrian conflict facilitator with a solid experience from many years as an organizational consultant and trainer of facilitators in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and other countries. He holds a doctorate in political science (Wien, 1966) and is an Anthroposopher. The book is a comprehensive (450+ pages, small print) treatment of conflict management in organizations, and is primarily written as a handbook for professional conflict facilitators and leaders in organizations. It is divided into three parts. Part I (ch. 1-6) deals with conflict diagnosis, Part II (ch. 7-10) with conflict escalation processes; and Part III (ch. 11-16) with intervention strategies.

In chapters 1-2 Glasl reviews several definitions of "social conflict," and discusses in general terms how the perception, interpretations, emotions and intentionality of the conflict parties are influenced by the conflict process.

Chapter 3 offers a review of conflict typologies in the conflict theory literature. As a complement to the established typologies, Glasl introduces the concepts of "hot" and "cold" conflicts. This distinction has a considerable value when the facilitator is about to choose an intervention approach.

Chapter 4 introduces Glasl’s approach to the diagnose of conflicts. He observes that the conflict facilitators he has been training often have well developed analytical faculties, but have neglected to develop their perceptual skills. In later chapters Glasl suggests a large number of diagnostical methods making use of intuitive and creative techniques, drawing on his background as an Anthroposopher.

In chapter 5 Glasl identifies and elaborates upon five important aspects of conflict diagnosis: 1. the conflict issues; 2. the conflict history; 3. the parties; 4. the positions and interrelationships of the parties; and 5. the basic attitudes of the parties in relation to the conflict. For each of these aspects a number of diagnostic questions are formulated and discussed, whereby Glasl draws on a considerable number of conflict resolution scholars. In the section on conflict issues, Glasl describes a number of techniques for mapping and rating the conflict issues from the point of view of the different parties. The section on conflict history is short, since the whole of Part II is devoted to the escalation process. The section on the parties focuses on the informal relationships within the parties (in intergroup conflicts), such as the identification of key participants and the position of leaders and representatives. In the section on interrelationships, Glasl takes a close look at the conflict potential of organizations. Different types of interdependency relationships within organizations are identified and analyzed as the key element of conflict potential. The last aspect of Glasl’s conflict diagnose approach is the basic attitudes of the parties, i.e. how they perceive the situation and possible future scenarios.

In Chapter 6, Glasl discusses what he calls "conflict constellations" in organizations. Different types of leaders and leader-follower relationships are discussed, and Glasl points out some important consequences for intervention strategies. He also presents four models of group dynamics, i.e. collective strategies to evade internal conflicts by creating a common (semi-conscious) group image.

Part II is devoted to a thorough analysis of conflict escalation processes. In chapter 7 earlier models of conflict escalation (Pondy, Wright, Kahn) are reviewed and criticized. In chapter 8-9 Glasl describes five basic mechanisms that play a key role over the entire spectrum of conflict escalation. He also points out the importance of identifying critical tresholds in the conflict history.

In chapter 10 Glasl makes a very detailed analysis of the conflict escalation process. This chapter is the longest in the book, and Glasl’s 9-stage escalation model is the main course in his rich menu. With painstaking detail, Glasl shows how the parties in the course of conflict escalation increasingly loses conscious control over the situation, and how their behaviour comes to be determined by a destructive situational logic. The escalation stages are defined by the implicit behavioural norms regulating the interactions between the parties. Each stage is accompanied by characteristic patterns of ingroup and outgroup images, motives, moods and forms of interaction. Glasl points out that there is a threshold at each stage, critical actions which escalates the conflict a further step. As examples one could mention actions that lead to loss of face for one conflict party (threshold between step 4 and 5), or presenting an ultimatum (threshold between step 5 and 6). The crossing of a threshold means that new weapons are allowed, and entails a transformation in how the parties perceive each other and the situation. Glasl’s escalation model is extremely useful as a diagnostic instrument, as a means of raising the parties’ awareness about what is going on, and as an educational model. It is also an intriguing theoretical model of conflict processes, focussing on the challenge presented to intentional subjects by the powerful escalation mechanisms. Thus it is neither deterministic, nor excessively psychologizing.

Part III deals with conflict intervention methods and strategies. Glasl considers conflict facilitation to be an art, and the conflict facilitator must strive to become a skilled artist — in perception and imagination as well as in action. The intervention methods are discussed in a contingency framework, where the form of intervention has to be adapted to: 1. the type of conflict (e.g. "hot"/"cold"); 2. most critical aspect for the parties (perceptions, feelings, intentions, behaviour, consequences of conflict behaviour); and 3. key dimension of the conflict (nature of issues and issue awareness; stage of conflict escalation; nature of parties; nature of relations between parties; basic attitudes). Chapters 11 and 12 present a large number of intervention methods, organized according to a useful typology. Chapter 11 deals with five subjective factors: cognition; feelings; intentions; behaviour; and consequences of the conflict. Each of these factors can be the target of interventions, depending on how the facilitator diagnoses the conflict. Glasl systematically details how each of these factors is influenced by conflict escalation, what objectives interventions might have, and describes a number of techniques for attaining these objectives. The contributions of other scholars and practitioners are reviewed, but Glasl also contributes some imaginative methods designed by himself. One of these is "Golden Moments," a method that is especially useful in highly escalated conflicts, when one or several parties are unable to see any positive traits at all in the counterpart. "Living Statues" is a method useful in smaller groups, designed to sensitize people to the constructive potential of colleagues. "Color Chess" is a non-verbal technique for making the nature of the interactions between two persons visible.

In chapter 12 the five diagnostic dimensions (see above) are used as starting-points for discussing intervention methods. Various techniques used to identify, fraction, flexibilize, and transpose conflict issues are presented. Interventions targeting the conflict history (past, present or future) are also reviewed. Glasl’s own "Microanalysis of critical incidents" is here a valuable contribution to the tool-box of the facilitator. The sections on interventions targeting parties, relationships and basic attitudes mainly systematize a range of methods developed by other practitioners. However, in every case, Glasl comments on indications and counterindications in relation to his own diagnostic scheme. A particularly interesting topic is how disillusioned persons in a "cold" conflict can be empowered to take more responsibility by mobilizing their sense of "Holy Wrath."

Chapter 13 is short, but provides a valuable discussion of how the facilitator can loosen up rigid positions using a rhythmic oscillation between interventions along three polarities: generalization vs. specification; bringing the parties together vs. confronting them with the incompatibilities; and strengthening the commitment of the parties vs. promoting a decentered perspective.

Chapters 14-16 are devoted to a detailed examination and comparison of different conflict management strategies: meeting facilitation, process facilitation, socio-therapeutic process facilitation, mediation, arbitration, power-based interventions, and conciliation. The appropriateness of these strategies is discussed according to a contingency model based on the nine-stage escalation model. Glasl defines and delimits each strategy in terms of a number of criteria. Chapter 16 discusses the phases of the different conflict management strategies.

In the field of conflict management in organizations, Glasl’s book must be labelled exhaustive. The systematical approach, the thoroughness, and the solid grounding in four decades of conflict management literature makes the book ideal both as a textbook in conflict resolution courses at the university level, and as a reference handbook for professional conflict facilitators. American readers might miss a concern for developing low-cost intervention techniques, but will probably find Glasl’s approach a refreshing complement to American-style ADR. I can only hope that a translation into English will soon be available. Anything else would be a sore loss for the great part of the conflict faciliation community that never learned enough German to read the original version.

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