An Analysis of the Transformation Processes of Conflict Theories: Emphasis on History, Disciplines and Basic Views of Theories

Conflicts begin with a difference of viewpoints of two individual perceptions or between two countries. When it intensifies and expands more, it leads to violence among the parties involved. This event has always occurred for various reasons. Various theories have been presented during the history of mankind in relation to the roots of the conflicts. Four outstanding groups of theories contain these theories including theories of political sciences, sociology, international relations, and geographical and geopolitical theories. They are categorized and studied based on four eras of before Christ to fourteenth century, from the fifteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century, the twentieth century, and since the beginning of the 21st century. This is a fundamental research which follows a descriptive-analytical method utilizing library resources for the evaluation of 22 important theories regarding the origins of the conflicts in four groups of political sciences, sociology, international relations, and geographic and geopolitical theories. The main question focuses on how the transformation of theories of identifying the roots of conflicts, with emphasis on its negative impact on security in the history of science and in related disciplines have been. The results indicated that the cause or causes of conflicts have coincided with various political, social, cultural, technological, geopolitical, and other changes in historical eras. Micro and single-factor approach to the roots of the conflicts by the theories presented in this field have developed to multi-factor approach, and sciences have presented various attitude in this regard. Given the nature of the conflicts, which involve insecurity, identifying the theories relating to this phenomenon and familiarity with their origins, will be facilitating, contributing, and will arise as an inevitable practice for designing defense and security strategies for countries like as Iran.