The Handbook of Social and Political Conflict Communication

Provides real-world insights into social and political conflict across disciplines

The Handbook of Social and Political Conflict offers a comprehensive exploration of conflict from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, merging insights from fields including sociology, political science, psychology, communication, and conflict resolution. Bringing together original work by experts from around the world, this authoritative volume provides readers with a deep understanding of the mechanisms, causes, and consequences of conflict.

Designed for those who wish to bridge academic disciplines, the Handbook both advances theoretical understanding and offers practical conflict resolution strategies that can be applied in a broad range of contexts, from interpersonal disputes to international tensions. Each in-depth chapter tackles a unique concept while maintaining a coherent narrative that spans topics such as political polarization, the rhetoric of social control, the role of technology in shaping conflict behaviors, and much more.

Presenting new theoretical perspectives and tools to address today’s most pressing issues, the Handbook of Social and Political Conflict:

• Examines contemporary issues such as political polarization, social ostracism, cancel culture, and information warfare
• Contains in-depth analysis of critical contemporary issues such as the role of technology, artificial intelligence, and media in modern conflict
• Addresses both adversarial and cooperative approaches to conflict resolution
• Incorporates cutting-edge research and theoretical frameworks on contemporary social and political conflicts
• Offers practical approaches to fostering resilience, peacebuilding, and critical media literacy

Whether examining the escalation of political tensions or exploring the potential for peacebuilding, the Handbook of Social and Political Conflict is ideal for graduate and advanced undergraduate students in conflict resolution, political science, sociology, and communication studies. It is also an invaluable reference for professionals working in conflict management, diplomacy, international relations, and social advocacy.

Sergei A. Samoilenko is an associate professor at the Department of Communication at George Mason University. He served as a past president of the Communication Association of Eurasian Researchers (CAER) and a co-founder of the Research Lab for Character Assassination and Reputation Politics (CARP) at George Mason University. He is a co-editor of Routledge Handbook of Character Assassination and Reputation Management, Handbook of Research on Deception, Fake News, and Misinformation Online, and Media and Public Relations Research in Post-Soviet Societies.

Solon Simmons is an Associate Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University who specializes in American Politics. Solon is a Sociologist, with a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and an undergraduate degree in the History of Science from the University of Chicago. He has published in several top journals in Sociology and Political Science, including Berkeley’s The Forum, Social Forces, The Sociology of Religion, the Annual Review of Public Administration, and the SSRC web forum in addition to several additional articles and chapters on politics and social attitudes, social stratification and educational inequality.