Truth, Lies, and Partisanship

• In Event: 433 - Section on Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01. Public Policy and Conflict

Abstract

Support from third parties—partisanship—gives aggrieved parties an advantage over their adversaries, and so those on the losing side of a conflict might employ various strategies, some truthful and some deceptive, to attract support and change their fate. They can publicize their adversaries’ wrongdoing so that more people come to know about it. They can reframe the conflict so that they come to be seen as more sympathetic and their adversaries worse. They can make a false accusation against their adversaries so that third parties intervene believing a much more serious offense has occurred. Or they can actually encourage or even provoke their adversaries to engage in some more serious offense. Here I discuss each of these strategies in a variety of contexts—including small-scale interpersonal conflicts and large-scale political conflicts—and I draw from Donald Black’s theories of conflict and social control to identify the social conditions conducive to the occurrence and success of these strategies.

Author

• Bradley Campbell, California State University-Los Angeles