Protracted social conflict

Protracted social conflict is a technical term that generally refers to conflicts which are complex, severe, enduring, and often violent. The term was first presented in a theory developed by Edward Azar and contemporary researchers and conflict scholars continue to use it.

There are a number of sources and preconditions that lead to protracted social conflict. One understanding focuses on hostile interactions between groups that are based in deep-seated racial, ethnic, religious and cultural hatred. These conflicts often also have other causes, such as entrenched economic inequality and differentials in political power. They usually persist over long periods of time with sporadic outbreaks of violence. When a group's identity is threatened or frustrated, protracted social conflict is more likely to occur.

There are a number of different methods utilized for resolving protracted social conflict. Some of these include the ARIA model, the STAR model, truth and reconciliation commissions, contact models, identity affirmation frameworks, and amnesty models.

Protracted social conflicts have proliferated throughout the world. Examples include the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Kashmir conflict, the Sri Lankan civil war, the Cyprus problem, the first, second, and current Sudanese civil wars, apartheid in South Africa, the Rohingya genocide, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the Western Sahara conflict.