CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND STYLES IN THE FUNCTION OF CREATING A CULTURE OF PEACE

Conflict, violence and peace, as well as relations between them, are the basic axes
of peace studies as an interdisciplinary field, which began to develop in the first
half of the XX century as a reaction to the catastrophic consequences of World War
I and II. As time went on, respecting the complexity of social relations and adapting
to changes in the focus relating to social interests and concerns, the concept of
negative peace (absence of violence and war) gave way to a more optimistic
concept of positive peace, i.e. peace maintained by a preventive approach. In order
to create peace with a positive approach, it is necessary to timely determine the
presence of conflict, its nature and the possibility of causing violence, and
accordingly, choose an appropriate way to overcome disagreements that produce
conflict, i.e. calm the conflict and prevent its escalation into some form of violence.
In this regard, the aim of this paper is to point out the significance of conflict
management with the intention of creating a culture of peace, rather than
imposing one's own interest at any cost and, thus, exacerbating the conflict
situation.