Explain Indirect and Direct Conflict

Individuals may fail to understand each other if they use different conflict styles.

Indirect and direct conflict refer to styles of addressing tension or disagreements between people, groups or countries. Specifically, these terms may refer to different approaches of dealing with disagreements in a business environment or to threatened and actual violence between countries.

Business

In business, colleagues from different cultural backgrounds may approach interpersonal conflict in different ways. Individuals socialized into direct conflict styles are likely to explicitly address disagreements and use arguments in an effort to persuade. Indirect conflict, however, involves implied or ambiguous discussion of disagreements and a focus on preserving relationships over bluntly resolving arguments.

International Relations

In international politics, indirect conflict may refer to rivalries like the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Here, the competing countries threaten one another, fight wars with secondary powers and use confrontational diplomatic language. A direct conflict involves physical violence between the countries involved.

Complications

Resolving conflicts may be complicated by conflict style differences. In interpersonal relations, individuals with opposite conflict styles may insult one another or fail to understand each others' positions. In international relations, leaders may misinterpret indirect conflict and initiate direct conflict.

References

• All Academic: Direct and Indirect Conflict Between Strategic Rivals
• University of Iowa Administration: Intercultural Conflict Style