Introduction

Escalation and deadlocks share complex mutual causal relations. On the one hand, escalation may lead to a deadlock; on the other, a deadlock may trigger an escalation strategy. In the first case, a deadlock appears to be one of the few possible ways to escape an escalation process as both parties start to fear that the consequences of a bidding war will lead far beyond what was expected. The escalation may also have mobilized so many means of action that the parties feel resources have been exhausted, which thus greatly limits further escalation. Then may come a stage of equalization in threats, in pain inflicted or endured. In the second case, in the midst of a negotiation, a deadlock may trigger an escalation strategy from one party with the goal of moving out of the impasse and forcing the other party to restart the process. Thus, functionally deadlock can be a producer and a product of an escalation process.

Escalation may stop as a result of a swing in the process orientation.