Concrede – Studies in Conflict Analysis, Conflict Regulation and Democratic Education
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Edited by:
Barbara Buchenau
Based on the observation that both the number and intensity of conflicts appear to be rising in contemporary democracies, this series is dedicated to the interdisciplinary analysis and reflection of internal societal conflicts and their regulation. While the focus lies on present-day democracies, the series also takes a comparative approach across different historical periods and cultural contexts. Central to its inquiry are two key phenomena: agonistic plurality, i.e. deep disagreements, and cultures of compromise as preconditions for conflict regulation.
The series is institutionally grounded in the Concrede project — a collaborative research initiative between the Universities of Duisburg-Essen and Münster — which explores conflict analysis, conflict regulation, and democratic education.
Interest in compromise has recently grown both in public and scholarly debates. However, there is a lack of interdisciplinary dialogue on the topic. This volume fills this gap by bringing together contributions from various relevant disciplines. They show that compromise has been a central technique to regulate social and political conflicts in different contexts. In a compromise the conflicting parties create an agreement by making mutual concessions, but do not give up their original claims. Therein lies the capacity of compromise to prevent or end escalated conflicts even in situations in which disagreements cannot be transformed into a consensus. In addition to theoretical investigations of the concept, the volume includes case studies on Europe in the Middle Ages, in the 19th and 20th centuries, and on pre-modern and contemporary Japan. The overarching question is about the preconditions of compromises. The authors examine the role of compromise in diplomacy, politics, trade, economics, and everyday life. Together they generate a comprehensive picture of the capacities and limitations of compromise in the past and today.
