Cycles of Conflict

A Computational Modeling Alternative to Collins’s Theory of Conflict Escalation

Bibliographic Data

ID2363855
AuthorsKent Mcclelland (Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA, USA, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume32
Issue2
Pages100-127
Publication date2014-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0735-2751 • E-ISSN: 1467-9558
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0735275114536387
OpenAlexW2092074414
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited59

In a new theory of conflict escalation, Randall Collins engages critical issues of violent conflict and presents a compellingly plausible theoretical description based on his extensive empirical research. He also sets a new challenge for sociology: explaining the time dynamics of social interaction. However, despite heavy reliance on the quantitative concept of positive feedback loops in his theory, Collins presents no mathematical specification of the dynamic relationships among his variables. This article seeks to fill that gap by offering a computational model that can parsimoniously account for many features of Collins's theory. My model uses perceptual control theory to create an agent-based computational model of the time dynamics of conflict. With greater conceptual clarity and more wide-ranging generalizability, my alternative model opens the door to further advances in theory development by revealing dynamic aspects of conflict escalation not found in Collins's model

CLARITY · Conflict resolution · Conflict theories · Economics · Epistemology · Generalizability theory · Management science · Perception · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence · Psychology · Social Power and Status Dynamics · Social Psychology