The study of intractable conflicts and their resolution is an examination of a unique context and real-life societal issue. The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Chechnya, and Rwanda constitute prototypical examples of these types of conflict.
The resolution of any conflict, but especially intractable conflicts involves complicated challenges that demand comprehensive solutions, always include change in the attitudes of leaders and powerful sections of society in order to generate support for solutions to these problems. This challenge is particularly difficult in these type of conflicts because they are fed by socio-psychological repertoire of beliefs, attitudes and emotions that support the continuation of the conflicts. For many engaged society members these beliefs and attitudes are central, held with high confidence, ego-involving, relevant to the present context, and related to the social identity. They are learned at an early age, in some cases reinforced through the years by the educational system, are maintained by the leaders, institutions and channels of communication, are expressed by the cultural products, are supported by positive reference group, and preserved by the context. They become powerful socio-psychological barriers that maintain intractable conflicts, as well as impede progress toward their peaceful settlement. These types of beliefs and attitudes are considered to be frozen, that is, even if alternative beliefs and attitudes are being presented, they are likely to be ignored, rejected, misinterpreted and/or forgotten because of the reigning cognitive-emotional structure and societal system that serve barriers to attitude change. Thus, one major challenge for scholars and practitioners is to overcome these deeply rooted barriers to unfreeze the held conflict-supporting beliefs and attitudes.