Conflict as Phase Transition: A Dynamical Systems Theory of Escalation in Coupled Organizational Networks

This paper proposes that conflict escalation is not a property of individuals but a phase transition in coupled networks—occurring when the spectral radius of interpersonal coupling exceeds aggregate decay. Drawing on nonlinear dynamics and network science, we formalize organizational conflict as a transmissible quantity propagating through social structures, mathematically analogous to epidemic dynamics. The framework generates a central prediction: in certain network configurations, escalation becomes structurally inevitable regardless of who initiates. This removes moral personalization from conflict analysis and redirects attention to structural conditions. We derive testable predictions, propose empirical validation comparing network properties against individual personality traits, and specify quantitative falsification criteria. If network coupling predicts escalation better than personality variables, this challenges four decades of individualist organizational psychology and suggests that intervention should target structures rather than persons. The core equation treats conflict activation as governed by four terms: decay, violation response, resource modulation, and network coupling—composing established mechanisms into a system where their interaction produces emergent phase transitions not predictable from any mechanism alone. Keywords: phase transition, network dynamics, conflict escalation, spectral radius, coupled systems, organizational behavior, dynamical systems, nonlinear dynamics, threshold models.