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OPPOSITION 
125 
formerly exist. Military alliances and political combina- 
tions are only two instances of this phenomenon, which is 
manifest in all aspects of human life. This blending force 
of conflicts is illustrated not only in the formation of new 
combinations, but also by the fact that the termination of 
the struggle often leads to a split in the victorious party. 
Combinations made especially for the purpose of fighting 
a common opponent often contain elements which could 
not combine for peaceful pursuits. As long as the struggle 
lasts, the individual differences are suppressed, but, once 
the conflict is ended, the divergence between the elements 
reasserts itself and leads to separation or even perhaps to 
a mutual antagonism.! 
The Termination of the Conflict 
The termination of a conflict is a special undertaking 
which differs both from the actual struggle and from a 
condition of peace. It involves more fundamental changes 
in the social relationships than the actual outbreak of a con- 
flict. The latter is usually merely an outburst of a latent an- 
tagonism due to already existing frictions and oppositions. 
But the termination of the conflict involves fundamental 
sociological changes. The sociology of conflict demands 
therefore as an appendix at least a short analysis of the 
forms in which conflicts are terminated. 
Among the many forms in which conflicts come to an 
end there may be distinguished three main groups, accord- 
ing to whether the termination is due to victory, to com- 
promise, or to conciliation. The love of peace will be pres- 
ent as a subjective element in the termination of most con- 
flicts, just as a certain pugnacity plays a role in the out- 
break of most conflicts: but neither is an immediate deter- 
minant of form. 
The simplest and most radical form of passage from 
! Soz., pp. 306-23.