“Conflict Avoidance” As a Structural Power Realization: Dialogic Pedagogy and Peacebuilding Capabilities in Peace Education

Traditional paradigms in communication studies frequently operationalize "conflict avoidance" as an individual psychological deficit, a manifestation of personal shyness, or an ineffective conflict management style that stalls interpersonal resolution. This study challenges this mainstream framework by analyzing qualitative empirical data from student reflections upon completing a peace education course. This study utilizes a qualitative empirical design. Dialogic pedagogies—such as the Johari Window, open forums, and role-playing simulations—were applied to foster structural discernment. Using a qualitative thematic analysis approach, this research systematically categorizes and analyzes textual data to unpack core insights regarding student experiences
This paper uncovers a conceptual shift articulated by students: the re-conceptualization of conflict avoidance not as a personal failure, but as a rational, protective calculation in response to perceived structural power imbalances. Students developed structural discernment, realizing that silence and withdrawal often map directly onto hidden power dynamics within institutional, cultural, and interpersonal spaces. This paper highlights the main patterns in how students view conflict, explains how this affects professional work and suggests that peace education should transform communicative environments. Rather than forcing marginalized individuals to speak up, we should fix the systems and spaces where conversations happen.

conflict avoidance, power dynamics, dialogic pedagogy, peace education, peacebuilding

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