ABSTRACT
Conflict is often described with terms such as ‘struggle’, ‘clash’, or ‘incompatibility’. These terms are not usually seen as positive. However, Dietrich (2013) considers that conflict is a ‘natural product of human interaction and inherent in every relationship’ (p. 6). Problems arise when attempts to resolve conflict are hampered by differing ‘perceptions, interpretations, expressions, and intentions’ (Dietrich, 2013, p. 6). Conflict can be transformed through positive change in the people involved or in the conflict itself. When these changes are superficial, involving for example a suppression of the eruption of physical violence, or a bare compromise, the energy of the conflict is constrained, and the potential benefits that it brings go unnoticed. In order to revitalise the flow of interhuman relationships, Dietrich suggests that conflict must be ‘remembered and neutralised’ (Dietrich, 2013, p. 6) in ways that enable it to bring about human flourishing.
