Essay --

STAGE 1: Entrenchment The first stage of conflict escalation develops when a divergence over some issue or frustration in a relationship proves resilient to resolution efforts. The problem remains, and leads to irritation. The threshold to stage 2 is taken when one or both parties lose faith in the possibility of solving the problems through straight and fair verbal discussions. STAGE 2: Debate The parties look for more firm and stronger ways of pushing through their standpoints. The dispute is no longer restricted only to a well-defined issue, but the parties start to feel that their general position is at stake. Debates are no longer only focused on which standpoint has more merits, but also on who is most successful in promoting the standpoints, and how the outcomes of the debates affect one's reputation. When rational and issue-relevant arguments don't promisingly ensure success, the parties resort to "quasi-rational" argumentation, such as the underlying causes of the present problems avoiding blame; strong exaggeration of the implications and consequences of the counterpart's standpoints; suggestive comments about the relation of the central issue with other concerns, linking the issue to larger value ideologies, reference to recognized authorities or tradition in order to gain legitimacy for a standpoint; stating the alternatives as extremes, in order to get the opponent to accept a "reasonable compromise." Discussions now turn into debates, where inflexible standpoints collide. The growing mistrust creates a sense of insecurity and loss of control. Efforts to control the counterpart belong to later escalation stages. The threshold to stage 3 is related to the basic right of each party to be heard of mutual interest. S... ...the adversary. When a party is attacked in a way that threatens to shatter it, it is forced to make strong efforts to suppress internal conflicts. The only restraining factor is the concern for one's own survival. The threshold to stage 9 is reached when the self-preservation drive is given up. When this happens, there is no check at all on further destructiveness. STAGE 9: Total destruction In the last stage of conflict escalation, the drive to annihilate the enemy is so strong that even the self-preservation instinct is neglected. Not even one's own survival counts, the enemy shall be exterminated even at the price of destruction of one's own very existence as an organization, group, or individual. All bridges are burnt, there is no return. The only remaining concern in the race towards the other side is to make sure that the other side is equally destructed too.