When neighbors feud, lovers quarrel or nations war, the predictable remedy prescribed by the voices of reason is communication. The prevailing view is that, faced with conflict, communicating is always the right thing to do: The U.N. Security Council encourages hostile countries to "hold talks," and marriage counselors advise quarreling couples to "express their feelings." So commonplace is the prescription, that advice to the contrary seems anomalous; it's difficult to imagine the Secretary General imploring hostile nations to refrain from dialogue. The positive role of communication in the amelioration of conflict seems so obvious that the premise is seldom given serious examination. Why should
communicating be so helpful? Under what conditions will communication reduce conflict?
An attempt to answer such questions will be the main burden of this chapter.