PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

This article develops and applies a sociological differentiation between conflict and competition in three distinct steps: (1) Conflicts can be understood as dynamic processes of communication which are initiated by a concatenation of contradictions of contradictions; they are a direct form of struggle that depends on mutual communication between the parties. (2) In contrast, following Georg Simmel, in situations of competition parties become rivals only once they try to win the favor of a third party; competition is therefore an indirect form of struggle that depends on observation by third parties but does not require contact between the opponents. (3) This differentiation opens up new possibilities of comparison, and it is used here to analyze exemplary cases of coexistence and collision between the two forms. The heuristic advantage of the differentiation is particularly salient in cases in which the public becomes involved as a third party, which brings about the special dynamics of modern competition as a "fight of all for all" (Simmel). It is in these cases that the differentiation of the two forms of struggle gains particular theoretical significance and practical importance.