Human considerations in conflicted societies

This chapter reflects on the study of conflict that contrasts the macro approach - focusing on conflict as something that states engage in and therefore, the province of grand anarchic forces - with the micro approach - in which conflict is something that happens to and is perpetrated by individuals and communities. There is much to be gained by bringing together the macro and micro approaches, for both research on and policy responses to persistent conflict. The chapter discusses the possibilities presented to the study of conflict by the ‘practice turn’ in social science research; in particular to the rich understanding provided of conflict drivers and dynamics, by focusing on the interface between the dispositions of those involved and the position created by the conflictual context.