Political conflict as communication is always embedded in a structural context. The latter forms the
framework for communication and standardizes it, as it makes certain themes and the use of certain
media at certain times by certain actors more probable than the corresponding conceivable
alternatives (Krallmann & Ziemann, 2001: 249; Hansen, 2000: 39; Billington et al., 1991: 5).
First and foremost, it is the socio-cultural (sub) context that is important for a focus on cultural conflicts.
We can distinguish here between the social (institutional/procedural, political as well as
economic and demographic structures) and the cultural context (i. e., culture).
As communication, any political conflict references its context. Cultural conflicts stand out for a
particularity: Cultural conflicts do not simply refer to the cultural context, as in cultural conflicts the
cultural context itself becomes the object of conflict. The special explosiveness of cultural conflicts
stems from the fact that they do not primarily hinge on a clearly definable, interest-based (and thus
essentially negotiable) object, as the actors perceive or assert the existence of a fundamental difference
as regards the framework in which communication takes place: There is thus not only a
contrast in interests, but Actor A discerns or thinks he discerns that Actor B is shaped by a fundamentally
different (as culturally and identity-related) context than is he as regards a core area of
personal identity, thought, emotions and actions.
In customary conflicts, the confrontational communication addresses a “conflict issue” that as a
rule is expressed in explicit demands as a clearly delineated interest-based “conflict item”. Cultural
conflicts, by contrast, revolve around identity, not interests. The conflict issue is determined not by
what the actors want or say they want, but by what they are or believe they are. Even if customary