Basic Needs Approach for Conflict Analysis

The main assumption of basic needs approach is that violent conflicts are caused by the deprivation of basic human needs of a population. it maintains the idea that needs are the mother root cause of any violent conflict in the world rather than interests, greed or grievances. This assumption was first introduced by scholar Lewis A. Coser in his book “The function of social conflict” (1976). He argues when the legitimate demands of minority such as dignity, political access or power are not recognized by the majority, violence remains the only tool that can be used by minority in order to draw attention of majority. Thus, such violence is legitimate and these violence tends to bring positive change in the society. To avoid such violence, there should be multiple political channels which can continuously communicate to all the groups irrespective of majority and minority and listen to their demands. If such demands are not addressed in time then the eruption of conflict is inevitable.

Another scholar John Burton argues universal needs of human beings must be fulfilled in order to prevent or resolve conflicts. These needs included primary needs for consistency of response, stimulation, security, recognition, derivative needs for justice, meaning rationality and control. According to him, most salient need to understand a social conflict is identity, recognition, security and personal development.

Scholar Edward Azar, in his work “Protracted social conflict” has also associated the conflicts with needs such as security, identity, recognition and participation factors which are much identical to Coser and Burton’s works. These scholars maintained that the basis of conflict is deprivation of particular needs and the resolution process must identify them and include ways to answer them.

Another scholar Johan Galtung contributed to basic human need approach by identifying four different basic needs of the people.

Survival needs: Protection from violence, safety.

Well being needs: Food, water, nutrition, movement, protection from illness

Identity needs: belongingness, happiness, affection, actualization, self-expression

Freedom needs: Freedom from fear, freedom to choose occupation, way of living 

Galtung maintains that no need is more important and basic than the other. People can sacrifice one need to obtain the other. e.g. survival need can be sacrificed to obtain identity need or freedom. If all of these basic needs of people are not met on time then the violence continues.

All these concepts are in line with Abhram Maslow’s conception of human development as sequential satisfaction of basic human needs. He categorizes basic human need into five different groups. 

Self Actualization: needs of development and make use of his/her capabilities

Esteem: Respect, dignity and appreciation

Belongingness: Identity, status

Safety: Security, stability, freedom from fear and anxiety

Physiological : Essential body requirements which includes food, water, shelter, clothes , etc.

It is very hard to differentiate which approach of human needs classification is right and which one is wrong. Galtung and Burton are more focused on conflict situations whereas Maslow is more focused on hierarchy of everyday needs. 

Basic human needs approach is useful to find out the root cause of the conflict if the conflict is based on needs of the people. It helps to understand which need of the human population has to be addressed in order to resolve a conflict. So, conflict resolution practitioners can identify the best tool to employ during resolving the conflict. This theory provides a basis for linking conflict  analysis with conflict resolution.

There are some criticisms to basic human needs approach of conflict analysis model.

Undermines other causes of social conflicts such as greed and instrumentalism of leaders.

Useful only to understand social conflicts but not other conflicts like interstate conflicts, economic conflicts etc. where states play the role of primary actors.

The definition of needs is so vague and blur. Identification of needs and wants is very difficult in these analytic models.