The Lawfulness-Lawlessness Continuum: Interpersonal Dynamics in Conflict Resolution Processes

The ways in which citizens behave, interact, and plan for the future have cumulative significance for the nature and future of society. This project proposes an analytical device (the lawfulness and lawlessness continuum) to describe the types of behaviours and decision-making that individuals use when participating in adjudication, mediation, and other conflict resolution processes. Lawfulness is a dynamic that is cyclical, orderly, and restrained. I suggest that it can be used to analyze the types of interactions between citizens that are associated with law and adjudication. Lawlessness is a dynamic that is emergent, adaptive, and responsive; it may manifest more often in moments between individuals who are using mediation to resolve their conflicts. Interactions between citizens are likely to involve a combination of lawfulness and lawlessness, along the continuum that lies between them. This analytical model offers a lens through which these nuances of citizen interactions can be analyzed.