Conflict is the forgotten sibling of collaborative governance. Variably framed as an alternative to collaboration, a contextual feature shaping interpersonal interactions, or an obstacle to be overcome via deliberation, conflict lurks in the background of discourse about collaboration. However, few theories of collaboration directly address the role of conflict, and those that do focus on conflict as a macro-scale phenomenon, characteristic of a governance forum or participating organizations. Given the importance of short term, person-to-person interactions in shaping the overall trajectory of collaborative dynamics and outcomes, a micro-scale analysis of collaborative conflict is warranted. This paper develops a framework for evaluating the role of micro-scale conflict in collaborative governance, drawing on the case of negotiations to relicense hydropower dams in the Central Valley of California, USA. Data sources include four years of meeting observations, interviews with participating stakeholders, and written comments submitted during the process. The work first classifies all instances of disagreement observed during the negotiations to develop a typology of micro-scale conflict. It then compares differences in the frequency, type, and management of disagreements in high and low collaboration relicensings to explore the interaction between conflict dynamics and overall collaborative approach. In the high collaboration case, interpersonal disagreements occurred frequently, were more dynamic and mutable over time, and served to elaborate and refine management approaches. By evaluating conflict dynamics that occur at the scale of an individual interaction and the positive and negative roles they play in shaping collaborative outcomes, this research moves conflict from being a static barrier or contextual factor to a dynamic ingredient that can be managed to shape policy outcomes.

中文翻译：

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协同治理的微观冲突分析

冲突是协作治理中被遗忘的兄弟。冲突潜伏在有关协作的讨论背景中，被不同地视为协作的替代方案、塑造人际互动的情境特征或需要通过深思熟虑克服的障碍。然而，很少有合作理论直接解决冲突的作用，而那些确实将冲突作为一种宏观现象、治理论坛或参与组织的特征的理论。鉴于短期、人与人之间的互动在塑造协作动态和结果的总体轨迹方面的重要性，有必要对协作冲突进行微观分析。本文借鉴美国加利福尼亚州中央山谷水电大坝重新许可谈判的案例，开发了一个评估微观冲突在协作治理中的作用的框架。数据来源包括四年来的会议观察、与参与利益相关者的访谈以及在此过程中提交的书面评论。这项工作首先对谈判期间观察到的所有分歧实例进行分类，以形成微观冲突的类型。然后，它比较高和低协作重新许可中分歧的频率、类型和管理方面的差异，以探索冲突动态和整体协作方法之间的相互作用。在高度协作的情况下，人际分歧频繁发生，随着时间的推移变得更加动态和可变，并有助于制定和完善管理方法。通过评估个体互动范围内发生的冲突动态以及它们在塑造协作结果中所发挥的积极和消极作用，本研究将冲突从静态障碍或背景因素转变为可以通过管理来塑造政策结果的动态因素。