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Running Head: USING THE THEORIES OF CONFLICT ANALYSIS &
RESOLUTION: THE CASE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MINE STRIKES
Using the Theories of Conflict Analysis & Resolution:
The Case of the South African Mine Strikes
Alexandra Krafchek
CONF 601-001 Theories of Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Dr. Mohammed Cherkaoui
George Mason University
School of Conflict Analysis & Resolution
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Introduction
On August 17, 2012, 34 workers were killed, 78 were injured and 260 were
arrested at the Lonmin Marikana platinum mine in South Africa. The police fired on the
mineworkers, who were armed with mainly machetes and clubs. Workers at the mine
were a week into their wildcat strike in which they were demanding better wages. The
field of Conflict Resolution is multidisciplinary in nature, deriving theories from
psychology, sociology, international relations, economics and many others.
This paper will use several theories from these fields, including realism, functionalism,
relative deprivation, frustration aggression, basic human needs and Marxism, in order to
analyze the recent violence in South Africa and make recommendations for the resolution
of the conflict. A very brief background of the conflict is first presented as a foundation
for the analysis.
Background
Currently, the South African economy is struggling with a 25 percent
unemployment rate (Martinez, 2012). President Jacob Zuma has pledged to bring this
rate down to 14 percent by 2020 but progress has been slow (Martinez, 2012). Since the
Marikana strikes began, the industry as a whole took note and strikes spread across the
country to other mines (Nicolson, 2012). Some date the origins of these strikes to
January of 2012 when Impala Platinum gave certain workers an 18% wage increase
(Nicolson, 2012). Workers excluded from the pay hike went on strike for 6 weeks
(Nicolson, 2012).
The newly formed Association of Minerals and Construction Union (AMCU) was
accused of instigating the strikes in order to grow its membership by the National Union
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of Mineworkers (NUM) (Nicolson, 2012). Overall, the unions are accused of not doing
enough to combat the horrible living conditions, unemployment, poverty and inequality
rampant in the mining sector, and the country as a whole (Nicolson, 2012). For example,
workers are forced to migrate long distances to work in the mines where conditions are
dangerous and injuries are common (Foster, CNN). The NUM have not endorsed the
strikes and workers have accused the union of being co-opted by officials and leaders of
the industry (Nicolson, 2012). Furthermore, several NUM workers have been found
murdered and some workers claimed NUM members confronted and shot workers on
August 11th as they marched to the union office (Quintal, 2012).
Julius Malema, a current politician is believed to be using the strikes and violence
as a way to bolster his position and political platform (Nicolson, 2012). Malema blamed
Zuma for the incidents and accused him of being out of touch with the plight of the
working poor (Foster, CNN). The African National Congress (ANC), Zuma’s political
party, must prove this isn’t the case if they are to remain in power (Foster, CNN).
Since the strikes began, the currency of South Africa, the rand, has dropped 4.8
percent against the dollar (Martinez, 2012). Some believe that if the wages are raised to
accommodate the strikers, mining companies will not be able to sustain the additional
costs and thousands of jobs may be lost (Martinez, 2012). Furthermore, investor
confidence in the nation has lessened since the strikes began which could lower foreign
investment and raise the cost of government borrowing (Nicolson, 2012).
Historically, in the 1980s apartheid ended following a series of massive mine
strikes (Foster, CNN). The shootings at the Marikana mine are the worst mass killing by
police since the end of apartheid (Foster, CNN). Furthermore, it has been compared to
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the Sharpeville massacre of 1960, in which 69 black South Africans were killed by
police. Decades later, social tension over inequality and the conditions of the poor black
South Africans remain (Foster, CNN).
Theoretical Analysis
In general, there are four types of theories used in conflict analysis and resolution.
First, theories of human nature account for what is inside the individual, including a
person’s conscious and unconscious and how it is linked to their behavior. Second,
theories of structure view how social institutions are ordered, formed and sustained as the
unit of analysis for conflict. Third, theories of culture focus on meaning making and how
the self and the other are constructed. Lastly, theories of collective action emphasize
social cohesions and in and out-group positioning. This analysis of the conflict of the
Marikana mine strike will focus on the former two, including theories of realism,
functionalism, relative deprivation, frustration aggression, basic human needs and lastly,
Marxism.
First, using a realism framework, the state is considered a key factor in
international relations as the central political player (Morgenthau, 1967). The balance of
power is sought and individual leaders are concerned with maintaining their power
(Morgenthau, 1967). Human nature is thought to be generally bad, specifically greedy
and concerned with self-interests (Morgenthau, 1967). States mirror this human nature,
as they act like individuals (Morgenthau, 1967). Although realism focuses on states as
principal actors in conflicts, the theory has some merit in discussing the non-state actors
of the Marikana mine strike. Morgenthau writes, “the political realist…thinks in terms of
interest defined as power…and the political realist asks: ‘How does this policy affect the
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power of the nation? (Or of the federal government, of Congress, of the party, of
agriculture, as the case may be)” (Morgenthau, 1967, p.11). We can use these questions
to analyze the actions of the political leaders of South Africa. For example, there are
concerns that President Zuma has not done enough for the plight of poor working class,
specifically the miners of the country. From a realist perspective, Zuma may be
unwilling or unable to make significant changes because of the effect that pay raises for
significant numbers of miners will have on the industry and the international standing of
the country as a leading contributor of platinum and gold. As previously mentioned,
wage increases could make it difficult for many mines to stay afloat. Therefore, in order
to maintain South Africa as a powerhouse of the industry, Zuma may not be willing to
concede to workers demands. Using the realist framework, it could also be argued that
Malema is using the recent mine strikes and unrest as leverage to push himself into the
political spotlight and gain a position of power in the government. To Malema, the
ineffective policies of Zuma and the minimum progress and change have weakened the
ANC party, allowing him an opportunity to take over. Furthermore, the party has
weakened the power of the nation as a whole by not serving the needs of the poor.
While realism focuses on power and the political man, functionalism focuses on
power relations and the social man. Functionalists believe conflict has purpose and
function and can be a tool for social change (Coser, 1956). Therefore, conflict is not a
“social disease” and can still have a positive outcome even with aspects of violence
(Coser, 1956). Coser, one of the proponents of functionalism, asserts the difference
between hostile attitudes and conflict, where the later has the potential to change
relationships and structure (Coser, 1956). The mining strikes would be deemed a realistic
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conflict as it is a means to an end (Coser, 1956). Coser writes, “antagonistic action on the
part of labor against management, or vice versa, can be said to be realistic insofar as it is
a means for obtaining results (higher status, more power, greater economic
returns)…such conflict is less likely to take place whenever alternative means will help to
attain the goal” (Coser, 1956, p. 50). In the case of the miners, they were specifically
demanding an increase in wages. As all methods to achieve these goals, such as previous
union negotiations or representation, had failed in their minds, they were forced to strike.
Included in the functionalist argument, is the idea of a modern safety valve, or a
way of channeling negative energies and hostilities (Coser, 1956). These could be minor
acts of resistance allowed by the elite such as a Labor Day demonstration for example
(Coser, 1956). In some sense, the unions, specifically NUM, could be considered a
safety valve in that it gave the miners a way to express their dissatisfactions, such as pay
and working conditions. There have been accusations that NUM is too closely aligned
with the government, however, which fits with the limited scope of the safety valve. If
those in power allowed for too much dissent, the current structure of the social system
would be threatened (Coser, 1956). Coser explains, “But such displacements also
involve costs both for the social system and for the individual: reduced pressure for
modifying the system to meet changing conditions, as well as dammed up tension in the
individual, creating potentialities for disruptive explosion” (Coser, 1956, p. 48). In the
case of the Marikana mine, after years of dissatisfaction, the safety valve finally failed
because little to no changes to the system had been made. Therefore, the miners began to
illegally strike, without the consent of their union.
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In addition to the above propositions, Coser also asserts, “Realistic conflicts arise
when men clash in the pursuit of claims based on frustration of demands and
expectancies of gains” (Coser, 1956, p. 54). This brings us to our next theory, relative
deprivation. Relative deprivation is defined as the “actors’ perception of discrepancy
between their value expectations and their value capabilities. Value expectations are the
goods and conditions of life to which people believe they are rightfully entitled. Value
capabilities are the goods and conditions they think they are capable of getting and
keeping” (Gurr, 1970, p. 24). In this case, the lack of welfare values such as food, shelter
and health services, all of which require money, are widening the gap, or relative
deprivation for the miners (Gurr, 1970). The wider the gap, the more likely political
violence will follow (Gurr, 1970).
Related to the relative deprivation theory is the frustration-aggression theory
which links psychological drives and collective action (Gurr, 1968). In this theory, there
are three assumptions of the source of collective violence, that it is instinctual, socialized
or a response to frustration (Gurr, 1968). The later two are easily seen in the Marikana
mine strike case. First, violence as a learned response could be supported because
widespread systematic change via the end of the apartheid was originally sparked by
large-scale mining strikes across the country as noted above. The end of the apartheid is
well known nationwide so it is likely that even if certain miners were not yet born then,
they have learned from others of a possible response to their inequality. Second,
aggression as a response to frustration is especially key to this scenario. Gurr explains, “
A ‘frustration’ is an interference with goal-directed behavior; ‘aggression’ is behavior
designed to injure, physically or otherwise, those toward whom it is directed…there is an
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innate tendency to attack the frustrating agent” (Gurr, 1968, p.249). The police
commissioner states that the miners stormed the police with weapons and there are
reports of some union leaders and police being killed. The frustrations over the worker’s
needs not being met have clearly turned aggressive and violent.
Similar to the relative deprivation theory and frustration aggression theory, basic
human needs theory asserts that humans have basic needs to ensure survival that if unmet
can and do cause conflict (Burton, 1979). Therefore, while the aggression theory above
focuses on wants, impulses and desires, basic human needs theory focuses on needs
(Burton, 1979). In this way, basic human needs theory focuses on the human dimension
of conflict via fundamental needs of people (Burton, 1979). Maslow’s theory of human
motivation details a hierarchy of needs in which physiological needs such as food, are
followed by safety needs such as security of body, which are followed by love needs such
as a family, which are followed by esteem needs such as respect by others, and finally are
followed by the need for self-actualization, or for the realization of fulfillment or
reaching one’s potential (Maslow, 1943). When one level is satisfied, at least partially,
our focus moves to the next and the next until we, ideally, reach self-actualization
(Maslow, 1943). For some people the order of the needs may be altered depending on
their specific values or what is especially important to them, but generally the needs
follow this progression (Maslow, 1943).
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs led to the development of the basic human needs
theory by John Burton. He describes needs as “conditions or opportunities that are
essential to the individual if he is to be a functioning and cooperative member of society,
conditions that are essential to his development and which, through him, are essential to
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the organization and survival of society” (Burton, 1979, p.59). There are ongoing
debates about the universality of the theory, however, at its core, the theory can provide
for some fitting realizations. For example, some needs, such as the amount of food and
water necessary for survival, are non-negotiable and therefore necessary for social
cohesion (Burton, 1979). In the case of the Marikana mine, the miners are poor, which
effects their satisfaction of the need for food and water. The housing and working
conditions are poor as well, which impacts their health. The miners were not satisfied in
their employment needs and did not feel secure in their monetary resources.
Furthermore, the lack of security often means they are unable to care for their families.
These very basic physiological and safety/security needs are not being met. When needs
go unsatisfied, “the individual will find the norms of the society in which he behaves –
primitive, traditional or industrial – to be inappropriate because these norms cannot be
used by him to secure his needs. He will invent his own norms and be labeled deviant, or
disrupt himself as a person, rather than forego these needs” (Burton, 1979, p.60). It is in
this way that the miners decided to undergo an illegal strike and violence has broken out.
Furthermore, the violent clash in August killed 34 and injured 78, and 260 were arrested.
Therefore, the conflict itself has caused additional physiological and safety needs to go
unmet.
In addition, Maslow further asserts that behavior is multi motivated, meaning,
“any behavior tends to be determined by several or all of the basic needs simultaneously
rather than by only one of them” (Maslow, 1943, p.309). Therefore, in the case of the
Marikana mine not only were their physiological and safety needs not met, but higher
needs were stifled as well. For example, one could argue that the esteem needs of the
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miners were lacking, specifically, respect by others and capacity to achieve. Those that
are employed by the mines, such as Marikana, are underpaid. To workers underpaid
often translates into undervalued. Furthermore, the miners have little to no chance of
upward mobility within the mining companies and due to the high unemployment rate,
they have few alternatives for work. In this way the miners can be said to be unsatisfied
in their esteem needs.
Marxism is similar to basic human needs theory in that in a broad sense,
economic inequality is high, making it difficult to satisfy needs such as food, shelter and
the likes (Marx, 1848). According to Marx, society has split into two camps, the
bourgeoisie, or the upper class, and the proletariat, or the lower working class (Marx,
1848). Essentially, the proletariat are a commodity, slaves to the bourgeoisie who use the
labor of the working class to get wealthy (Marx, 1848). The exploitation of the working
man has led to the unification of the working class as a whole through unions (Marx,
1848). Marx explains,
The workers begin to form combinations (Trades Unions) against the bourgeois;
they club together in order to keep up the rate of wages; they found permanent
associations in order to make provision beforehand for these occasional revolts.
Here and there the contest breaks out into riots. Now and then the workers are
victorious, but only for a time. The real fruit of their battles lies, not in the
immediate result, but in the ever-expanding union of the workers. This union is
helped on by the improved means of communication that are created by modern
industry and that place the workers of different localities in contact with one
another. It was just this contact that was needed to centralize the numerous local
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struggles, all of the same character, into one national struggle between classes
(Marx, 1848, p. 7).
Therefore, according to Marx, a revolution is needed to emancipate the working class
(Marx, 1848). It is entirely possible that the wheels have been set in motion in South
Africa. The mine strike of Marikana has spread to other mines around the country. If the
workers are not satisfied with the outcome of negotiations, a major social movement may
be forming.
Recommendations
Overall, these theories form a picture of the causes of the Marikana mine strike
conflict. At a basic level, this conflict can be seen as a labor-management dispute
because the miners are demanding an increase in wages. “Where labor and management
interests are opposed…most typically, in connection with claims involving wages,
benefits, and working conditions – disputes arise, but since they involve only immediate,
conscious ‘interests’, they exist to be settled or managed rather than resolved”
(Rubenstein, 1993, p. 11). As such, typical labor management disputes are settled using
alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques such as collective bargaining,
negotiations or arbitration (Rubenstein, 1993).
Labor management disputants are sometimes referred to as interest groups, rather
than representatives of different social classes (Rubenstein, 1993). When interests groups
negotiate, they do so without challenging the norms of the society already in place. By
doing so, they are implying that the distribution of power in society is just, that
institutions perpetuating this power are acceptable, and that human needs are perceived
are satisfied or able to be (Rubenstein, 1993). Rubenstein explains, “It is not the province
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of interest groups to challenge or to reconstruct the existing system of power, norms and
need-satisfiers. Their role, as defined by the system, is to represent their members’
interests within the framework established by this social contract“ (Rubenstein, 1993).
Similarly, as a conflict resolver, by adhering to the use of interest groups to describe the
parties in a labor-management dispute such as the Marikana mine strike, they act in favor
of a system that disadvantages the labor (Rubenstein, 1993).
So what can we do? Conflict resolvers must aim, not to manage disputes that
maintain the existing power based system, but to resolve conflicts by eliminating the
systemic causes (Rubenstein, 1993). Therefore, in South Africa, a failing socioeconomic
system must be redesigned. The practitioner must help “them to create a new social
contract capable of satisfying long-term human needs and class interests. The aim of this
practice, therefore, is to facilitate the carrying out—with a minimum of violence—of an
agreed upon social transformation (Rubenstein, 1993, p. 153). Otherwise, deep-rooted
social conflict, such as that dating back decades to an era of apartheid, will persist
(Rubenstein, 1993).
One possible way to achieve this social restructuring is in four stages which
Rubenstein outlines (Rubenstein, 1993). In the first stage, the relevant parties are
identified and convened (Rubenstein, 1993). Second, a forum is constructed, possibly
using the analytical problem-solving workshop (APSW), where the focus is on the
satisfaction of basic needs for the parties instead of short-term interests (Rubenstein,
1993). This process could take months or years (Rubenstein, 1993). In the third stage
the workshop is conducted, usually in four phases where the problems are defined,
alternatives to the current system are brainstormed, the costs and benefits of these
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alternatives are weighed, and consensus on an alternative system is achieved (Rubenstein,
1993). In the final stage, the alternative system agreed upon in stage three is
implemented by translating it into public policy such as specific legislation or even a new
constitution (Rubenstein, 1993). At this point the pubic would be invited to participate in
the amending of these policies and hopefully their adoption would follow (Rubenstein,
1993). The adoption of a new system ideally would change the social structure so that all
members are satisfied and able participate and contribute to society.
In conclusion, many theories can be used to analyze the conflict at the Marikana
mine on August 17, 2012 in South Africa. First, from a realist perspective, balance of
power is key and individual leaders such as Zuma and Malema are concerned with
maintaining or gaining political power (Morgenthau, 1967). Second, from a
functionalist perspective conflict has a purpose and is a tool for social change (Coser,
1956). The mining strikes are a realistic conflict as it is a means to an end when the
union safety valves have failed (Coser, 1956). Third, according to the theory of relative
deprivation, the lack of welfare values such as food, shelter and health services, all of
which require money, are widening the gap, or relative deprivation for the miners (Gurr,
1970). The wider the gap, the more likely political violence will follow (Gurr, 1970).
Fourth, the frustration-aggression theory asserts that collective violence, such as that at
Marikana, is due to instinct, socialization or as a response to frustration (Gurr, 1968).
The mining strikes that sparked the end of apartheid may serve as a learned response for
present day worker and the frustration over wages and working conditions were triggers
for the conflict. Fifth, basic human needs theory states that there is a hierarchy of needs
for humans and when the needs, such as the physiological and safety needs of the miners
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go unsatisfied, social cohesion breaks down (Burton, 1979). Lastly, Marxism asserts that
the economic inequality between social classes, specifically the bourgeoisie and the
proletariat, is cause for conflict and revolution is necessary to emancipate the working
class (Marxism, 1848). These theories illustrate the complexities and sources of the
Marikana mine conflict. Although labor management techniques such as negotiation or
bargaining can serve as short-term solutions to calm tensions and end the immediate
violence, it has little value long-term. In a country with such severe unemployment,
poverty and economic inequality, large-scale systemic changes and social transformation
is needed to prevent future violent conflicts from occurring.
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