The First Conflict Resolution Movement, 1956-1971: An Attempt to Institutionalize Applied Interdisciplinary Social Science

In: The journal of conflict resolution: journal of the Peace Science Society (International), Volume 35, Issue 4, p. 720-758

Abstract

From 1956 to 1971 a group of conflict resolution researchers centered at the University of Michigan attempted to develop a comprehensive scientific theory of human conflict and to establish a new profession that would be available to advise national policymakers. The movement's pioneers founded the Journal of Conflict Resolution and an interdisciplinary research center and took part in the 1960s expansion of peace studies and activism. The promised theoretical developments failed to materialize, and financial, institutional, and political problems led to the movement's dissolution. The present study analyzes the movement as a profession and employs quantitative studies of the movement's participants, their published materials, and their citation networks to document its development and dissolution.