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Post-conflict behaviors, including reconciliation, redirected aggression, and consolation, have been observed in several primate and non-primate species. These behaviors are thought to help re-establish rates of affiliation and tolerance to baseline levels, by terminating the victims stress response, and reducing the social tension created by conflict. Post-conflict behavior was examined in two groups (N = 13) of captive western lowland gorillas, a species for which no previous conflict resolution data exist. The post-conflict/matched-control method was used to observe the groups at Zoo Atlanta. Analyses of 223 conflicts (using chi-square, Wilcoxon signed ranks, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests) showed significantly more affiliation between former opponents after a conflict when compared to control periods, indicating reconciliation. Results also showed significantly more affiliation between the victim and a third-party after a conflict, indicating consolation. Both solicited and unsolicited consolation were observed. Instances of redirected aggression were very few, and thus not included in the analyses. The majority of the affiliative interactions were social proximity, which suggests that unlike most nonhuman primates, proximity, rather than physical contact, may be the main mechanism for resolving conflicts in western lowland gorillas. Post-conflict behavior was not uniform throughout the groups, but rather varied according to dyad type (for instance, adult-adult, juvenile-juvenile, adult-juvenile, etc.). Effects of kinship and the intensity of aggression during a conflict on post-conflict behavioral patterns were analyzed.

xii, 91 p. / Increasing diversity in education necessitates the incorporation of diversity-related curricula to assure student learning and development. Responding to the diverse needs of students improves learning and development for all students, which in turn fosters inclusive environments in education. Avoidance of conflicts sparked by differences encountered in diverse classrooms may prevent the incorporation of diversity-related curricula. The literature suggests that the predominance of conflict-avoidance among educational professionals may be related to previous exposure to diversity-related issues and content in their educational training. However, empirical evidence of conflict-avoidance among educational professionals in response to this type of exposure has yet to be established. This study surveys students enrolled in a diversity-related education course in an effort to estimate the effects of diversity-related training on conflict-avoidant behaviors. / Committee in charge: Dr. Paul Yovanoff, Chairperson; Dr. Gerald Tindal, Member; Dr. Roland Good, Member; Dr. Cheyney Ryan, Outside Member

This dissertation examines how the state-building process relates to civil-military relations and how political influence of the military affects state's conflict behavior. By doing so, this study aims to introduce a nuanced consideration of the well-known civil-military problematique, which might be summarized as the threat the military can constitute to the polity that it is created to protect. I treat this paradox by addressing the following research questions: Why do some militaries have a qualitatively higher level of influence in politics than others? Second, how does the military's influence in politics affect a state's domestic conflict behavior? And third, how does it affect state's international conflict behavior? I develop a theory that when the military is heavily involved in the state-building process, it gains an unusual place within politics, gets itself imprinted in the DNA of the state, and gains undue political power. I name such militaries as state-builder militaries and argue that such states experience qualitatively different civil-military relations, in which the military acts as an extremely Praetorian institution. I argue that state-builder militaries would be able to insulate their political power from the democratization process that the country might experience and behave as persistent interveners in politics. I also argue that state-builder militaries would not want to retreat to their barracks as easily as predicted by the mainstream literature on military regimes. These arguments also contribute to the state-building scholarship. I present this theory by process-tracing the Turkish Military's longstanding political influence over the last 150 years. For my second and third research questions, I look at the price states pay when their militaries have undue influence on political decision-making. I argue that secessionist movements will be deterred from the military's political power and would refrain from engaging in violent secessionist strategies. I also contend that politically powerful militaries would be associated with a higher likelihood of interstate conflict initiation over territorial disputes. I find empirical support for these arguments by using large-N quantitative time-series cross-sectional research designs. The theory developed in this study regarding the impact of state-builder militaries on political development has important theoretical implications for the existing scholarship on civil-military relations, state-building, and democratization. Similarly, my findings regarding the relationship between political influence of the military and domestic and interstate conflict behavior of the state call for a nuanced consideration of the military-conflict nexus. The arguments developed in this study and its empirical findings also have policy implications regarding the political roles of the military, secessionist conflict, and interstate conflict over territorial disputes.

The effect of regime type on conflict onset is a well-studied phenomenon, and various studies have found that variance in regime type, and within regime types, affects conflict onset. For instance, militarization in autocracies seems to be linked with increased risk of initiating conflict. However, even in the studies that disaggregate types of autocracies, the categorizations are relatively shallow. This thesis aims to create a definition of military dictatorships which captures their complexity more fully, to determine whether militarization truly does increase the risk of conflict onset. Military dictatorships are here defined as a state that achieves and maintains power through threat or actual use of force, is outwardly or effectively controlled by military officers, and places high value on maintaining a powerful armed force to protect constitutional and territorial integrity. The method used is a logistic regression, where the independent variable is military dictatorship, and the dependent variable is directed dyads. The results show that when a state is a military dictatorship, the log odds of it initiating conflict is 0.73; military dictatorships are indeed more likely to initiate conflict than autocracies in general.

Since conflict studies became its own independent field, it has developed rapidly. Some argue conflict researchers must demonstrate that while conflict occurs at different social levels (e.g., inter-personal to international), there must be sufficient common attributes to justify its existence as an independent field. This justification requires formal theory based on a multi-disciplinary approach. Since its introduction in 1964, the substantive Dual Concerns Model (DCM) and subsequent iterations, have provided the basis for instruments used to research conflict management, behavior, mode, and style outside the narrow scope of its original sample group of Caucasian male managers within a large American industrial plant. Instruments based on the DCM were used to represent conflict behavior within, between, and across cultures. An emic theory was expanded to etic theory and used in place of formal theory. Therefore, this theoretical dissertation fills this void and develops formal (etic) theory. This researcher used comparative analysis to examine 187 quantitative studies from a variety of disciplines, with a cumulative sample size from these studies of 63,619 individuals. These studies examined conflict resolution behavior individually or with 274 other variables to provide the framework for developing a formal theory. The finding of this research is the development of the Pierre-Louis Conflict Continuum Model (PCCM), which examines behavior through the dimensions of cultural values, as represented by individualism and collectivism, and legitimacy of power and ideology. This research contributes a new theoretical paradigm to the field of conflict studies.

The negotiation process of a peace agreement is an uncertain period where adversaries can have a difficult time credibly guaranteeing their commitment to an approaching agreement. However, violence is often ceased before a peace agreement is signed, demonstrating their importance for understanding non-violent and violent behavior by warring actors. Furthermore, research finds that rebels at times comply with laws of war during conflict and negotiations. Hence, the purpose of this study is to derive a better understanding of rebel groups’ non-violent behavior, and whether it relates to the commitment problem and the negotiation process. This paper argues that by complying with international law, rebels can convey a signal with a peace-making objective, increasing the likelihood of a successful negotiation. Through a qualitative, structured and focused comparative case analysis of the FMLN in El Salvador and the NPFL in Liberia, the study finds that rebel’s compliance with IHL may serve as a costly signal that mitigates the credible commitment problem and leads to the signing of a successful peace agreement. However, further research is needed to support this hypothesis.