Accommodation and Avoidance: Functional Conflict Theory (FCT)-Based Governance Logic of Resettled Community Conflict in China

Abstract

The resettled community is a special type of transitional community in China where the residents are urbanized peasants who lost their lands during urbanization development. However, resettled community conflicts (RCCs) are barriers to sustainable community transformation. Focusing on functional conflict, this study identified the conflicts in the resettled community and proposed feasible governance logic for RCCs. The research in this article has a significant theoretical foundation in functional conflict theory. By examining a large sample of cases, seven RCC types were identified (e.g., inner discontent of residents, mass incidents), of which three have positive functions and four have negative impacts. Furthermore, three RCC causes were identified: right-based, interest-based, and value-based conflicts. Their mechanisms for the conflict function are, respectively, the contextual dual-functional, destructive one-way, and structural dual-functional paths. Considering these findings, we propose a dual governance logic of RCC: accommodation and avoidance. Within the dual logic, specific governance strategies are proposed for the different RCC causes and their functional formation paths. This research serves as an important reference for proper policy measures to govern RCCs and promote the sustainable transformation of resettled communities. The methodology adopted can be extended to the study of RCC in broader global contexts.

1. Introduction

The resettled community for landless peasants is a kind of transitional community occasioned by urbanization in China, which has features of both urban and rural communities. Since 1978, China has experienced rapid and unprecedented urbanization, causing more than 120 million landless peasants to be moved into resettled communities from rural communities as of the end of 2020 [1]. According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, up to 35,000 resettlement communities were built over the last decade, and the population of this kind of community will continue to increase along with China’s rising urbanization rate. The sustainable transformation of a resettled community to an urban community is crucial to the ‘citizenisation’ of landless peasants and has become a core mission in the process of new-type urbanization in China. However, habitual rural life behaviors, for example, the private occupation of public space, competition for parking space, holding wedding and funeral ceremonies in open spaces, growing vegetables by destroying green belts, burning ghost money in corridors, and noise pollution [2,3,4], are quite common in these communities. These behaviors, related to space competition, have caused a large number of conflicts among community residents [5], and severe conflicts challenge the sustainable transformation of resettled communities.

Academia has gradually come to recognize the significance of conflict governance to the sustainable transformation of resettled communities during the urbanization process [6,7,8]. Several studies have investigated resettled community conflicts (RCCs) from the perspectives of concepts, causes, and functions. Most of these studies have focused on cause analysis and proposed governance strategies, usually based on the root causes of conflicts identified in the study. Existing studies have proposed several conflict governance strategies from the perspectives of community planning and construction [2,5,9], resident rights protection [10], cultural transformation [8,11], social capital reconstruction [7,12], and urban adaptation [3]. Meanwhile, numerous studies on governance strategies for conflicts in other kinds of resettled communities, such as slums and refugee communities, can be found worldwide. Similar to the studies on RCC governance strategies, these studies primarily introduce solutions and suggestions for suppressing community conflicts based on the analysis of influencing factors [13,14,15]. In summary, current studies of conflict governance strategies in resettled communities have taken the perspective of conflict suppression and do not explore functional conflict. Furthermore, previous research on RCC has only investigated individual cases.

Community conflict cannot disappear, but it can be properly governed. Thus, the good governance of RCC contributes to a healthy new-type urbanization. With a focus on functional conflict, this paper aims to first identify the conflicts in the resettled community and then propose a feasible governance logic for RCCs. Functional conflict theory constitutes an important basis for the research in this article. To fill the gaps in the current research methodology, we examined a large sample of cases. This study not only extends the research perspective on RCC functional conflicts but also provides decision-makers with important references for introducing a proper policy to RCC governance. The methodology adopted here can be generalized to the study of RCC in a broader global context.

This paper is structured as follows. Section 2 reviews conceptualizations of resettled community conflict, its causes, and debates over its functions. Section 3 describes the adopted methodology. Section 4 explores the functions of RCC. In this part, the types and causes of RCC are identified by content analysis and then their functions are examined based on functional conflict theory (FCT). Lastly, the relationships between RCC functions and causes are presented. Based on the research findings, Section 5 proposes the formation mechanism of RCC functions and then further explores RCC dual governance logic.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Conceptualizing RCC

Coleman [16] proposed the concept of community conflict; that is, conflicts driven by different interests and goals among residents or between residents and organizations inside a community. Sanders [17] then posited three core factors of community conflict: opposite relationships, distribution of different powers, and intense emotions of community residents. Community conflict emphasizes the spatial elements on a community scale and is concerned more with realistic and direct interests within the community. Community conflict has the general characteristics of social conflict since it derives from the study of social conflict. Conflict is the contradictory behavior and psychological opposition caused by different actor orientations, which are reflected in the divergent ways they deal with specific objects. The former is mainly manifested as actors’ behavioral opposition while the latter is mainly as psychological contradictions within individuals [18]. From the perspective of conflict elements, actors can be an organization, group, or individual [19,20] while the objects of conflict can be interests, power, resources, goals, methods, opinions, values, feelings, procedures, information, relations, etc. [21,22]. Regarding conflict forms, conflict is a dynamic process that develops from the interactions among individuals, individuals and groups, individuals and organizations, groups and groups, and organizations and organizations [23,24]. According to the five-stage conflict model proposed by Rubin and Pruitt [25], each stage has different forms of conflict, and the change in forms of conflict along with the stage presents a trend of escalation. Some scholars have elaborated on this model. For example, Glasl [26] classified conflict into nine stages obeying the logic of conflict escalation.

Compared with conflicts in other types of urban communities, RCC has its own exclusive characteristics closely related to the community formation context and community features [3,7]. The resettled community is a production of government-led spatial reconstruction during the urbanization process in which community conflict is connected to space competition [8]. Using a case study, several researchers have investigated the space competition phenomenon in resettled communities and found that after landless farmers moved in, space gradually underwent fragmentation, diversification, and functional shifts [2]. In the meantime, numerous researchers have discovered that space competition is related to RCC, where poor housing quality and space occupancy are frequent drivers of conflicts. These conflicts also attract multiple parties. Housing quality problems are typical in resettled communities, and they frequently trigger inter-group conflicts among residents, governments, developers, and other community actors [27,28]. Simultaneously, many conflicts have resulted from the occupation of public space. The behaviors of community space reconstruction frequently occur, leading to serious conflicts between landless peasants and other community groups (e.g., property management companies, community managers, and other residents).

2.2. Causes of RCC

The causes of RCC are complex because it is a realistic reaction to various contradictions and disputes on the economy, politics, and actor values in the resettled community [8]. Scholars generally analyze the causes of RCC based on negative impacts in the aspect of the social, physical, environmental, and economic realms brought about by demolition and resettlement, such as space transformation, social relationship reconstruction, and cultural adaption [3,4,8]. From the perspective of spatial transformation, numerous scholars have conducted case studies that have noted the prevalence of spatial re-creation in resettled communities. They have also emphasized the disputes that emerge between landless peasants and community managers within the communities due to the competition for space. Some researchers feel that the inadequacy of these community spaces is the cause of the spatial transformation that leads to conflict [5], whereas others believe that conventional lifestyles are to blame [2]. In recent years, scholars have paid increasing attention to the spatial viewpoint of RCC formation [2,4,5,6]. From the perspective of residents’ rights and interests, several researchers have utilized questionnaires to explore the causes of RCC, through which the problem of effectively protecting the rights of migrants was examined. For instance, some scholars have argued that the existing migration system fails to sufficiently preserve the land rights of rural residents and the migratory and adaptation benefits derived from those rights [3]. The lack or abuse of public space exceeds 10% among the causes of RCC while the growing recognition of rights has sparked fierce community conflict [24]. From the perspective of social relations, researchers have found that residents in such communities still have a high degree of interaction with their former neighbors, friends, and village cadres. Social interaction allows them to maintain rural traditions through spatial transformation, which thus causes conflicts [7]. From the perspective of cultural adaptation, it illustrates the psychological dilemmas and cultural barriers experienced by relocated residents during the process of spatial transition. Through interviews and questionnaires, scholars have discovered the connection between cultural adaptability and RCC among landless farmers. The source of RCC is the residents’ retention of the cognitive patterns and behaviors learned in rural life [7]. Institutional and spatial-territorial barriers faced by landless peasants in China have long kept them in a marginalized economic and social position, making their resettlement and adaptation process similar to the experience of international migrants [29]. Thus, RCC in China has a high degree of similarity with the conflict in other kinds of resettled communities worldwide. Cross-cultural issues faced by resettled migrants due to resettlement [30,31], employment and education [32], social services [33], living environment [34,35], and community support [28] are important factors in the formation of such community conflicts. Numerous studies of conflict in immigrant communities have highlighted the themes of cultural shift and psychological adaptation. Through case studies of typical communities, researchers have reported that the origins of immigrant community conflicts are psychological adaption difficulties, stress accumulation, and a lack of coping mechanisms [15,30]. Additionally, place attachment also plays an important role in the formation of RCC [36].

2.3. Debate over the Functions of RCC

The functions of conflict and the harmful nature of conflict were widely recognized by researchers before the concept of the functions of social conflict was proposed by Coser [37]. According to the functional conflict theory (FCT), conflict has both positive and negative functions. For example, conflicts between groups can promote cohesion and integration among the members of each group. Therefore, conflict is not only a destructive force for social stability and order but also a driving force of social development. Regarding the definition of positive conflict functions, Deutsch [38] argued that conflicts are constructive to the extent that participants consider that they gained more benefits than costs overall.

Scholars of organization studies have discussed the positive effects of conflict. Conflict has been linked to learning, higher levels of cooperation [23], the promotion of decision-making [39], and an overall increase in team effectiveness [40]. Some have located these positive effects in the conflict issues, with task-related issues (e.g., what is the best strategy for the organization) generating more positive consequences than relationship-related and person-related issues (e.g., disagreements about values, distrust of other people). Others have located these positive effects in the way conflict situations are perceived and managed. Perceived cooperative goals and ensuing constructive controversy create more positive outcomes than perceived competitive goals and a lack of constructive controversy [41]. The conflict management method also generates positive effects. On the one hand, many studies have argued that open-minded discussions of anger can be very useful for strengthening relationships and restoring respect between persons [39,42]. On the other hand, some scholars have indicated that cooperative conflict management can be very useful for teamwork and alliance partners in China. Indeed, experimental and field studies have found that collectivist, compared to individualistic, values promote cooperative, positive conflict [43].

However, scholars have primarily argued the negative effects of the functions of resettled community conflicts. Interracial conflicts are common in resettled communities, which bring racial tensions and violence. Its negative effects have raised concerns [13,44]. Other adverse psychological impacts in resettled communities were noted as well. Conflicts caused by displacement as multi-dimensional stress and major disruptions [14] and some residents’ dissatisfaction with the government [2] have frequently occurred.

All these studies offer a perspective to understand conflicts since they provide relevant knowledge, such as space competition related to RCC [4,8] and the negative and positive functions of conflict [37,45]. However, there are some obvious limitations in previous studies, which can be summarized as follows: (1) RCC is related to space competition, but the relationship between behaviors of space competition and RCC has not been deeply explored; (2) the causes of RCC are diverse but no consensus exists, and a holistic view of RCC analysis is lacking since previous studies mainly focused on individual cases; and (3) the positive functions of RCC have been neglected, and most previous studies developed community conflict governance strategies from the perspective of conflict mitigation. To fill these research gaps, this study identified both the functions and causes of different RCC types by examining a large sample of cases. The relationship between RCC functions and causes is presented, which serves as a reference for identifying the formation mechanism of different causes of RCC and developing an RCC dual governance logic and specific strategies.

3. Methodology

3.1. Theoretical Framework

Based on FCT, we propose a connection between conflict causes, conflict functions, and conflict governance strategy (Figure 1). Conflict causes can have indirect effects on conflict functions, and then conflict governance strategies can be customized to certain conflict functions. Conflict types directly determine conflict functions, such that realistic conflicts have a positive function and non-realistic conflicts a negative one. This theoretical framework suggests that the most important relationship is that conflict causes influence conflict functions indirectly, primarily via the role of the conflict type to be achieved.

FCT posits that conflict performs both positive and negative functions (see Figure 1). Typically, social conflict is viewed as a harmful phenomenon manifesting in three forms [37]: first, social conflict leads to the disruption of inter-group interactions, hence increasing the instability of group relations. This destructiveness cannot be ignored, as it brings about inter- and intra-group provocations, quarrels, violence, etc. Then, conflict is detrimental to social cohesion. People gradually lose faith in society as a whole. The glue that holds the entire civilization together is lacking. Third, conflict causes the disintegration of specific social systems. This societal transformation typically occurs rapidly and violently.

FCT recognizes the destructive character of social conflicts but focuses on the positive functions that social conflict serves in society and communities as a whole, which emerge in three ways [37]: first, loosely structured groups and open societies allow conflict to exist, thus forming a protective layer that can reduce the threat of disagreement, which may at a minimum undermine the core values of society, and thus serve as a safety valve. Second, the functions of conflict or tension are closely associated with social change. Conflict results in social restructuring, increases its adaptability, and can facilitate or at least benefit social transformation. Last, social conflict with external groups increases internal cohesion. In particular, conflict determines the group’s internal identity and identification and strengthens the group’s solidarity and cohesion.

Based on the conflict types proposed by FCT, we present criteria for determining the positive and negative functions of conflicts. FCT argues that under different conflict circumstances, conflicts not only have negative effects but also positive ones [23,37]. Coser [37] defined realistic and non-realistic conflicts. Realistic conflict serves to achieve one’s desire, under which the conflict is a tool but not a goal. Non-realistic conflict is the release of negative emotions by conflict actors. In this situation, conflict in itself is the goal, not a tool. Current studies have demonstrated a relationship between conflict types and conflict functions. For instance, Van and Doherty [45] argued that task conflicts of communities belong to realistic conflict, whose goals contribute to decision-making. Such realistic conflict has positive functions. However, relationship conflicts belong to non-realistic conflict, whose goal is to release negative emotions. Ultimately, this has a negative impact. This study held that realistic conflict has positive functions and non-realistic conflict has negative effects (see Figure 1).

3.2. Methods

The research methods designed to achieve the defined research objectives are shown in Figure 2. First, a web crawler was adopted to collect news related to RCC online. News reports focus on hot events, offering the advantages of strong timeliness and high credibility. Therefore, news reports form an important data source for RCC. Web crawler technology automatically collects the required information from one or more pages based on a specific strategy and can access network resources using a simulated browser [46]. This is an essential method to make effective use of network resources related to RCC. Next, content analysis was applied to extract key information from the news. The content analysis includes the domain of qualitative methods, focusing on both manifest and latent content [47]. Typically, textual data are coded into different categories at various levels, such as words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or themes. The coding categories represent different characteristics of interest according to the research objective. Qualitative analysis was utilized to identify RCC types and causes. Additionally, we investigated the functions of RCC on the basis of FCT. The relationship between RCC causes and types was then analyzed using co-occurrence analysis, which is commonly employed in bibliometrics to explore collaborative structures between keywords, authors, institutions, terminology, etc. It is a method for quantifying co-occurrence data in multiple information carriers. Through co-occurrence analysis, one can find the close and distant correlations between research objects and investigate implicit or possibly valuable information and understanding [48]. This article uses co-occurrence analysis to explore and quantitatively present the link between RCC causes and types. Finally, RCC governance logic is proposed based on its positive functions and negative effects.

3.2.1. Data Collection

Since Baidu is the largest search engine in China, Baidu News reports information about specific events in a comprehensive and representative manner. Using the Baidu News search engine (http://news.baidu.com/), this study adopted Python codes to add the word ‘conflicts in resettled community’ as a keyword to perform searches. A total of 3800 news items were collected on 10 April 2022, and after screening and deletion, 890 news reports strongly related to RCC remained. These included conflict news items from all provinces in China (Figure 3). To ensure the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the analysis, this study captured the title, time, and full text of news items, yielding about 1,297,000 words of text. The earliest of the 890 news reports on RCC collected appeared in 2007, and the number of news reports has increased annually (see Figure 4). This demonstrates that the issue of RCC is increasing and attracting people’s attention, and RCC news reports may become more abundant.

3.2.2. Data Analysis

First, content analysis was applied to identify RCC types and causes; based on the steps proposed by Elo and Kyngas [49], we used a simple three-phase process of preparation, organizing, and reporting to obtain them. Preparation involves the design, identification of the units of analysis, and representative sampling. The organization phase involves the analytical process of category coding and identification. The final phase is the presentation of the results linking the findings to previous knowledge. We next analyzed the functions separately for each type, according to FCT.

In the second step, this study used co-occurrence analysis to obtain the relationship between types and causes. Adopting co-occurrence analysis, the main cause of RCC was identified in each news item; however, each news item corresponded to multiple types of RCC. Therefore, the co-occurrence matrix of RCC causes and type was obtained as follows:

$$O=\left(\begin{array}{cccc}{C}_1{T}_1& C_1{T}_2& \cdots & C_1{T}_n\\ C_2{T}_1& C_2{T}_2& \cdots & C_2{T}_n\\ \cdots & \cdots & \cdots & \cdots \\ C_m{T}_1& C_m{T}_2& \cdots & C_m{T}_n\end{array}\right)$$

(1)

In the formula, $C_m$ is the cause of RCC in the mth news items, $m=1,2,3,\cdots ,890$; $T_n$ indicates the types of RCC in news, $n=1,2,3,\cdots$; $C_m{T}_n\in \left\{0,1\right\}$.

Finally, based on FCT, we calculated the conflict function values of the different types, more specifically classifying the positive and negative functions of the different types. If the conflict has a positive function, it is assigned the value +1; if the conflict has negative effects, it is assigned −1. Then, the conflict function value was calculated based on the co-occurrence matrix of causes and types of RCC ($V_{T_n}$):

$$V_{T_n}=\{\begin{array}{c}{\displaystyle \sum _{m=1}^{890}{C}_{\mathrm{m}}{T}_n,\mathrm{when} T_n \mathrm{has} \mathrm{positive} \mathrm{functions}}\\ -{\displaystyle \sum _{m=1}^{890}{C}_{\mathrm{m}}{T}_n,\mathrm{when} T_n \mathrm{has} \mathrm{negative} \mathrm{effects}}\end{array}$$

(2)

where $V_{T_n}$ refers to the conflict value corresponding to the nth type of RCC. When $T_n$ has a positive function, the larger its value, the stronger its positive function; when $T_n$ has negative effects, the larger its value, the stronger its negative effects.

4. Results

4.1. RCC Function Analysis

4.1.1. RCC Classification

From the content analysis of 890 news items, we found that RCC may undergo escalation. Conflict escalation is reflected in two aspects: the scope of the conflict’s negative impact is expanded, and more people become involved in the conflict events [24,50]. We explored how RCC escalation is accompanied by diffusion from within to outside the community and how additional actors become involved in conflict events. In addition, RCC destructiveness gradually increases (Figure 5). Seven RCC types are identified: (1) inner discontent of residents; (2) verbal clash between residents; (3) intervention of a property management company; (4) intervention of a neighborhood committee; (5) intervention of local government; (6) intervention of media; and (7) mass incidents (see

Table 1. The distribution characteristic of RCC types.

ID	RCC Types	Features	Frequency	Percentage
CT1	Inner discontent of residents	Residents’ feeling cheated, worried, disturbed, and afraid	890	50.11%
CT2	Verbal clash between residents	Debate, critique, quarrels between residents	130	7.32%
CT3	Intervention of property management company	Ask the property management company to intervene in solving problems	204	11.49%
CT4	Intervention of neighborhood committee	Ask the neighborhood committee to intervene in solving problems	104	5.86%
CT5	Intervention of local government	Leave a message on government affair platform, Complaint call	248	13.96%
CT6	Intervention of media	Call the media hotline, leave a message on the Internet	160	9.01%
CT7	Mass incidents	Group fighting, violent rights protection behaviors, illegal rights protection behaviors	40	2.25%

). Because of the complexity of RCC, each news item may include more than one conflict type. Regarding frequency, ‘inner discontent of residents’ appeared 890 times, which means that all news items included this type. ‘Intervention of local government’ and ‘intervention of property management company’ numbered over 200, followed by ‘intervention of media’, ‘verbal clash between residents’, and ‘intervention of neighborhood committee’. The remaining RCC types occurred less commonly, with ‘mass incidents’ occurring 40 times. In percentages, ‘inner discontent of residents’ accounted for over 50 percent, followed by ‘intervention of local government’ (13.96%) and ‘intervention of property management company’ (11.49%). Other RCC types only accounted for less than 10 percent.

‘Inner discontent of residents’ remains in the stage of emotional perception, which might provide a fertile ground for positive confrontation. Starting from ‘verbal clash between residents’, RCC began to move towards a positive confrontation. ‘Intervention of property management company’ is a powerful means of reflecting on problems and expressing residents’ needs. However, because of the transitional characteristics of the resettled community, the governance of such communities is less effective. Property management companies often have problems such as poor service quality and slow response time [8]. When the ‘intervention of property management company’ fails to solve a conflict, ‘intervention of neighborhood committee’ is an essential way to express residents’ demands. Landless peasants in resettled communities have a habitual reliance on administrative power. They used to look to village committees when they encountered problems; thus, they now turn to neighborhood committees for help [8]. However, because of the formation of such communities, RCC closely relates to the government; when the neighborhood committees fail to fulfil their function, the government intervenes to regulate the conflict. With the awakening regarding residents’ rights and the popularization and facilitation of government complaint channels in recent years [50], ‘intervention of local government’ has become an important RCC type. ‘Intervention of media’ usually refers to community residents seeking attention regarding the community conflict by calling a hotline and leaving messages on the Internet. Finally, conflicts may be resolved by increasing exposure and leading public opinion. ‘Mass incidents’ is important to release negative emotions and incur destructive social impact through group fighting and violent and illegal rights protection behaviors.

4.1.2. RCC Function Analysis Based on RCC Classification

According to the theoretical framework given in this study, realistic conflict serves a positive role while non-realistic conflict serves a negative function. This has led to the functional classification of different RCC types (see

Table 2. Conflict functions based on different types of RCC.

RCC Types	RCC Functions (+, −)	Basis for Determining RCC Functions
Inner discontent of residents	−	Non-realistic conflict
Verbal clash between residents	−	Non-realistic conflict
Intervention of the property management company	+	Realistic conflict
Intervention of the neighborhood committee	+	Realistic conflict
Intervention of the grassroots government	+	Realistic conflict
Intervention of the other government department	+	Realistic conflict
Intervention of the media	+	Realistic conflict
Mass incidents	−	Non-realistic conflict

). ‘Inner discontent of residents’ belongs to non-realistic conflict, whose goal is the conflict itself. As it results in the accumulation of negative emotions [50], this study regarded its conflict function as negative (−). ‘Verbal clash between residents’ is interpersonal conflict, mostly for the purpose of releasing negative emotions. It is a non-realistic conflict that leads to damage to neighborly relationships and personal emotions. Therefore, this study regarded its conflict function as negative (−). ‘Intervention of a property management company’ is a realistic conflict that promotes resolution of the problem, so this study regarded its conflict function as positive (+). ‘Intervention of neighborhood committee’ is an essential method for community residents to seek help [8], and it ultimately promotes the resolution of realistic problems. It is a realistic conflict and was classified as having a positive function (+). ‘Intervention of local government’ is a conflict method with Chinese characteristics. It is a necessary method for residents to express their own ideas and seek help [51]. Therefore, this realistic conflict was regarded as having a as positive (+) conflict function. As a realistic conflict, ‘intervention of media’ is also the method of solving problems. This study regarded its conflict function as positive (+). ‘Mass incidents’ relates to sudden events with a wide influence. It primarily expresses emotions and releases hostilities through group fighting and other violent behaviors, and its consequences are to destroy social stability. It belongs to non-realistic conflicts, so we regarded its conflict function as negative (−).

4.2. RCC Cause Identification

The 890 news items were read and coded as the raw data and units of analysis. These were read and information related to space competition behaviors was identified (meaning units). The coding process entailed the identification of descriptive terms for the relevant areas. After coding 890 news pieces, 19 kinds of space competition behaviors were identified (see

Table 3. The distribution characteristic of RCC causes.

Code	Sub-Category	Category	Frequency	Percentage
Reconstruct houses with group-oriented leasing	Conflicts of right to survival (C11)	Right-based conflicts (C1)	33	3.71%
Construct privately			64	7.19%
Subtotal			97	10.90%
Occupy the road for business activities	Conflicts of right to development (C12)		36	4.04%
Open a store privately			21	2.36%
Subtotal			47	6.40%
Water leakage	Conflicts of immediate interests (C21)	Interest-based conflicts (C2)	79	8.88%
Poor sound insulation			48	5.39%
Peeling walls			31	3.48%
Insufficient lighting			29	3.26%
Subtotal			187	21.01%
Stockpile sundries	Conflicts of secondary benefits (C22)		51	5.73%
Disturb residents by square dancing			38	4.27%
Gambling noise			29	3.26%
Subtotal			118	13.26%
Grow vegetables by destroying the green belt	Conflicts of habitus (C31)	Value-based conflicts (C3)	54	6.07%
Gather together for chatting			14	1.57%
Celebrate positive events and funerals			43	4.83%
Subtotal			111	12.47%
Fight for parking space	Conflicts of public awareness (C32)		112	12.58%
Occupy space for drying			36	4.04%
Destroy public facilities			49	5.50%
Throw objects from high-rise buildings			62	6.97%
Drop litter carelessly			61	6.85%
Subtotal			320	35.96%

). ‘Fight for parking space’ is the most common behavior, whose frequency was over 100, far greater than the next space competition behavior, ‘water leakage’ (79), followed by ‘construct privately’ (64) and ‘throw objects from high-rise buildings’ (62). ‘Gather together for chatting’ (14) seldom happens in the resettled communities.

Sub-categories were then identified from the codes. ‘Conflicts of public awareness’ (35.96%), ‘conflicts of immediate interests’ (21.01%), and ‘conflicts of secondary benefits’ (13.26%) are the top three most represented sub-categories. ‘Conflicts of right to development’ (6.40%) is under-represented, making up less than 10%.

According to the social conflict literature, the object of conflict can be interests, power, resources, goals, methods, opinions, values, feelings, procedures, information, relations, etc. [21,22]. We reviewed the forms of conflict objects in the literature and compared their definitions. Concurrently, based on the content analysis of the sub-category of RCC and definitions of conflict objects, we developed three types of RCC causes: right-based, interest-based, and value-based conflicts (see Table 3). ‘Value-based conflicts’ (48.43%) have the largest proportion, accounting for almost half of the causes. ‘Interest-based conflicts’ (34.27%) rank second, whereas ‘right-based conflicts’ (17.30%) have the lowest percentage.

4.2.1. Right-Based Conflicts

Lefebvre posited the theory of right to the city, and many researchers argued that citizens have aspects of city rights [52]. With the awakening of residents’ rights awareness, conflicts over rights protection occur frequently [24,53]. The right-based conflicts in resettled communities also closely relate to the context of demolition and resettlement. (1) Conflicts of right to survival: landless peasants, who have lost their survival tools, have difficulties in retaining their right to survival. Most also rely on rental income from relocated houses [8]. Therefore, ‘reconstruct houses with group-orientated leasing’ is a method for landless peasants to struggle to survive. In addition, there is insufficient space in the resettled community to meet the needs of landless peasants [5]. Therefore, ‘construct privately’ acts as a complement to space use. (2) Conflicts of right to development: landless peasants have high expectations for development and a better life in the community after demolition. However, there is a large gap between the positive expectations regarding relocation and the actual life of landless peasants [8]. For positive development and to meet their expectations, landless peasants choose to occupy roads for business activities and open stores privately to achieve their rights to development.

4.2.2. Interest-Based Conflicts

Because of extensive interests and motivations in the use of space, there are contradictions between different actors [54]. Specifically, because of the limitations on their resources, social status, and powers [55], different actors strive to maximize self-interest, especially marginalized landless peasants, in such communities. (1) Conflicts of immediate interests: because the resettlement policy has economic benefits as the main goal [56], the construction of a large number of relocated houses only meets minimum standards. This has frequently led to quality problems such as water leakage, poor sound insulation, and insufficient lighting, which cause landless farmers to strive to protect their immediate interests through conflict. (2) Conflicts over secondary benefits: this kind of conflict arises from the negative externalities affecting others generated by individual activities. How to use public space is becoming an important source of conflict [5]. At present, the issue of noise pollution, such as noise from gambling and disturbance of residents by square dancing, has become an important manifestation of the conflict of secondary benefits. In addition, stockpiling sundries is quite common in resettled communities, which is a form of interest competition among community residents for the use of corridor space.

4.2.3. Value-Based Conflicts

Value-based conflicts generally refer to distinct differences in values [57]. Landless peasants in the resettled communities experienced the transition from the countryside to the city, which means the transformation from agricultural to industrial civilization. This process is accompanied by opposition and inconsistency in values [7], leading to value-based conflicts. (1) Conflicts of habitus: rapid urbanization leads to great changes in such a community’s physical and communication environments, leaving little time for the adaptation of landless peasants. In this case, inner psychological perceptions, such as emotions related to the land, nostalgia for rural living environments, and a vague cognition of identity, make it inevitable that landless peasants continue their rural living habitus [58]. However, other residents living in such communities resist behaviors associated with retaining habitus. Different attitudes towards rural habitus stem from the gap between different groups’ perceptions of traditional rural customs [5,6]. The conflict of habitus is therefore a highly characteristic value-based conflict in resettled communities for landless peasants. (2) Conflicts of public awareness: public awareness refers to caring more about public interests than individual benefits. Researchers have shown that there is a significant gap between the public awareness of landless peasants and the public spirit and ethics required by urban communities [8]. Landless peasants focus more on their own benefits than on maintaining public interests. Thus, conflicts of public awareness are an important part of the value-based conflicts in the context of resettled communities. According to current studies of RCC related to space competition [3,4,5,6,8,56,58], three aspects are correlated with conflicts of public awareness, namely, fight for public space, destruction of public facilities, and destruction of sanitary conditions. Based on these aspects, our spatial competition behaviors corresponding to them are, respectively, ‘fight for parking space’ and ‘occupy space for drying’; ‘destroy public facilities’; and ‘throw objects from high-rise buildings’ and ‘drop litter carelessly’.

4.3. Relationships between RCC Functions and Causes

4.3.1. Comparison of RCC Dual Functions by Cause

The results show that RCC not only has positive functions but also negative effects (see Figure 6). In addition, the negative effects of RCC in general outweigh the positive functions. Interestingly, different causes of RCC have different functions. In the first group of causes, the positive effects of RCC are close to its negative effects. Under C11, the difference between the value of positive effects and negative effects is 3 while under C12, the difference is 25. In the second group of causes, the negative effects of RCC slightly outweigh the positive effects. Under C21, the value of negative effects exceeds the value of positive effects by 59, and under C22 by 82. In the third group of causes, the negative effects greatly outweigh the positive effects. Under the influence of C32, the value of negative effects exceeds positive effects by 264. In the fourth group of causes, the positive effects exceed the negative effects. Notably, the fact that certain types of RCC causes can have positive effects is identified for the first time in this study.

4.3.2. Distribution Characteristics of Positive RCC Functions

Four types of RCC having positive functions play different respective roles by cause (see Figure 7). Under C1, CT5(+68) is the most essential form while CT4(+20) is less important. It can be concluded that when facing right-based conflicts, residents more readily turn to the government for help than to the neighborhood committee. Previous studies have pointed out the importance of government and the neighborhood committee in the resettled community [8,24], but we explain this point based on the priority of the government in the settlement of right-based conflicts. Under C2, we find similar results: CT5(+72) ranks first and CT4(+20) ranks last. Therefore, the government is the most essential actor in interest-based conflicts while the neighborhood committee plays a marginalized role. This finding is consistent with previous studies emphasizing the importance of the government when residents face interest-based conflicts. Under C3, the results are different. CT3(+100) has the largest score while CT6(+56) has the smallest. The property management company is the most important party in managing value-based conflicts, whereas the government plays a relatively small role. Some studies have mentioned value-based conflicts between community residents and property management companies [5], but we point out that the property management company has a major role in such conflicts having positive effects.

4.3.3. Distribution Characteristics of Negative RCC Effects

Three types of RCC that bring negative effects play different roles by cause (see Figure 8), but there is no obvious difference in RCC forms by cause. Under C1, C2, and C3, CT1 always has a decisive role. We can thus conclude that residents’ inner discontent is common in resettled communities when facing issues of interests, rights, and values. This finding is consistent with previous studies [3,9]. Apart from CT1, CT2 and CT7 are also important forms. RCC with negative effects is closely related to interpersonal conflicts, such as verbal clashes. This may be because RCC mostly occurs among community residents [8]. Second, mass incidents are also an essential RCC form, but they occur infrequently; in contrast to social conflicts, the destructiveness of RCC is kept to a relatively modest level.

5. Discussion

5.1. Formation Mechanism of RCC Functions

5.1.1. Right-Based Conflict: Contextual Dual-Functional Path

The magnitude of positive functions of conflicts regarding the right to survival and conflicts of right to development are close to that of negative effects (see Figure 6). These positive effects of conflicts are proposed here for the first time, contrary to the results of previous studies analyzing right-based conflicts from the perspective of negative effects [4]. This article further discovered how these right-based conflicts have positive and negative functions based on FCT. Regarding positive functions, FCT holds that the functions of conflict or tension are closely associated with social change in the community [37]. We argue that right-based conflicts can promote resettled community development. Conflicts of survival guide the government and community managers to pay attention to the survival needs of landless peasants, such as leasing their houses to earn a living [8]. In the demolition and resettlement process, ways to protect the survival right of landless peasants are a crucial issue that deserves greater attention. In addition, development conflicts increase the community’s economic vitality. All this ultimately promotes community development. Negative and positive functions occur simultaneously in right-based conflicts. Regarding negative effects, FCT holds that conflict causes the disintegration of specific social systems. In the context of resettled communities, we found that these conflicts destroy resettled communities’ physical environment. Space competition behaviors, such as reconstructing houses with group-oriented leasing, constructing privately, occupying roads for business activities, and opening stores privately not only destroy the quality and structure of private physical space but also encroach on public space. We call this equal positive and negative function of right-based conflicts a contextual dual-functional path, which is similar to the concept of contextual ambidexterity [59]. Notably, the positive and negative functions of a right-based conflict are regarded as a whole and are synergistic.

5.1.2. Interest-Based Conflict: Destructive One-Way Path

Conflicts of immediate interests and conflicts of secondary benefits both have more negative than positive effects (see Figure 7). These negative effects of interest-based conflicts are consistent with the findings of previous research [6,28]. This study further discovered how these interest-based conflicts bring about negative effects based on FCT. As FCT points out, social conflicts have negative outcomes as they disrupt social relations. From the analysis of Figure 8, the negative effects of interest-based conflicts are primarily felt by community residents, which has a significant negative impact on neighborhood relations. Different groups within the resettled community have distinguishable differences in their living habits, community awareness, and values. Therefore, it is easy for contradictions to arise during communication [8]. These interest-based conflicts will encourage a preference for inter-group communication, which soon leads to isolation from and mutual hostility with other groups (tenants and urban residents), negatively affecting harmonious neighborhood ties. Moreover, interest-based disputes can result in multiple mass incidents with horrifyingly damaging consequences for the community and society [24,50]. This is because both sub-categories of interest-based conflicts are dominated by negative effects and negatively impact neighborhoods. We consequently refer to the mechanism of interest-based conflicts as a destructive one-way path.

5.1.3. Value-Based Conflict: Structural Dual-Functional Path

Conflicts of habitus have more positive functions than negative effects while conflicts of public awareness have more negative effects than positive functions (see Figure 6). Even though numerous studies have revealed the harmful consequences of public awareness conflicts [5,7], this study highlights the good functions of habitus conflicts. We analyzed the function of value conflict formation mechanisms on the basis of the FCT. According to FCT, the adverse consequences of social conflict are reflected in its damage to social cohesion. In the context of resettled communities of landless peasants, conflicts of public awareness aggravate the social exclusion of landless peasants, which is equally damaging to social cohesion. Social exclusion has been widely mentioned in previous studies [60,61,62] but not fully addressed. Within the context of China, landless peasants are regarded as outsiders in terms of location, culture, psychology, and relationship network [60]. Based on the theory of territorial stigmatization proposed by Wacquant [63], we found that the resettled community is labeled with undesirable characteristics (e.g., poor sanitary conditions), which makes these locations inferior to others. However, the conflicts of public consciousness have undoubtedly exacerbated the stigmatization of community residents, and the group of landless peasants is regarded as inferior.

The formation mechanism of positive functions can be attributed to the following three factors based on FCT. First, FCT argues that loosely structured groups and open societies allow conflict to exist, thus forming a protective layer that can reduce the threat of disagreement, which may at a minimum undermine the core values of society [37]. RCC can effectively identify landless peasants’ value orientations that bring positive effects, thus preventing the generation of core value conflicts and embracing a greater number of values. Second, FCT holds that the functions of conflict or tension are closely associated with social change in the community [37]. Conflicts of habitus can promote updating of the physical space of such a community. After conflicts end, the property management company will take action and update the physical space. Through the reconstruction of the physical environment, habitus needs can be met, and the quality of the physical space may be improved. Lastly, FCT posits that conflict with external groups increases internal cohesion. Group boundaries between landless peasants and urban residents are established through conflicts. Conflicts thus strengthen the internal cohesion of the landless peasants’ group.

We regard the existence of positive functions of these conflicts and the negative effects of public awareness in value-based conflicts as a structural dual-functional path, which is similar to the concept of structural ambidexterity [64]. The structural dual-functional path emphasizes that value-based conflict separates positive functions from negative effects. By establishing dual structures, the separated conflict causes both positive and negative functions.

5.2. Dual Governance Logic of RCC

From the formation mechanism of RCC functions, we conclude that RCC’s positive functions help form a protective layer for the community while RCC’s negative effects hinder the community’s sustainable transformation. Based on the Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) positing five styles of conflict management (competing, compromising, avoiding, collaborating, and accommodating), we propose RCC’s dual governance logic: when faced with conflicts that have positive functions, ‘accommodation’ should be adopted; when facing negative-effect conflicts, ‘avoidance’ may be applied. RCC governance will then be more effective, thus promoting the resettled community’s sustainable transformation (see Figure 9).

5.2.1. Accommodation: Governance Logic Based on Positive Functions of RCC

Strategies should be proposed to achieve accommodation, which contributes to the transformation of landless peasants’ resettled communities. RCC accommodation strategies are embodied in two dimensions. One is retaining beneficial habitus to enhance cultural integration; the other is to respect the needs of landless peasants and foster diversity and inclusion in cities. Regarding conflicts of habitus belonging to value-based conflicts, cultural integration is an essential issue. This means that society must adhere to modern urban culture and embrace traditional village culture. Previous studies of the governance of resettled communities for landless peasants mostly argued that they should follow urban community rules and that rural behaviors should be eliminated, gradually enhancing citizenship [3,5,7,29]. However, this study shows that traditional Chinese village culture, characterized by emphases on unity, cooperation, and emotional sharing between individuals, should be fully utilized. The habitus of landless peasants should be respected as well. Hence, we should make efforts to promote beneficial values and habitus. As RCC is closely related to space competition, we propose specific strategies for physical space and social spaces to make use of beneficial habitus. Scholars have found that physical space transformation can contribute to migrants’ adaption to the resettled community [7,36]. Therefore, the planning and construction of resettled communities’ physical space should help retain the habitus of landless peasants. Some such practices have been implemented, such as ‘shared vegetable gardens’. Public spaces should be systematically redesigned and constructed to satisfy the needs of habitus conservation. Regarding social space, many scholars have argued that the advantages of the semi-acquaintance society could be used to promote the reconstruction of neighborhood relationships [8]. We analyze how to realize this. The landless peasants’ reservation of habitus can be utilized to increase the frequency and depth of communication between residents, strengthening internal cohesion. Regarding respect for the needs of landless peasants, this method of settling rights conflicts is crucial because behind the struggle for rights is the expression of the needs of landless farmers. The model of urban communities cannot be rigidly applied to resettled communities. Landless farmers’ needs should be respected, not neglected. This illustrates the need for inclusive and varied cities. The suggested governance strategy drew heavily on this as inspiration.

5.2.2. Avoidance: Governance Logic Based on the Negative Effects of RCC

Strategies should be formulated to avoid conflicts, which would promote a smooth transition in the resettled community. RCC avoidance strategies can be applied in the following three respects. First, public awareness of landless peasants needs to be cultivated to cultivate landless peasants’ sense of belonging and enhance community responsibility [8]. Simultaneously, their identities require nurturing. This ultimately contributes to the cultivation of public awareness. Then, strategies should be formulated to secure the space supply to prevent interest-based conflicts. The quality of private space and public spaces should be improved. Previous studies have shown that it is necessary to fully guarantee construction standards in such communities and improve space quality [5,7]. We found that the built community should be renovated to optimize the layout of spatial functions and improve the utilization rate of community spaces. Interest-based conflicts can thus be avoided. Lastly, the behaviors of space encroachment should be prohibited to protect the physical environment of the community. For example, the reconstruction of houses for group-oriented leasing should be prohibited. However, resettlement policies can be introduced to reduce this kind of behavior; for instance, resettlement houses are currently of a small size.

6. Conclusions

The resettled community for landless peasants is a kind of transitional community with both rural and urban features, which causes serious community conflicts. Previous research has only taken conflict functions into consideration, which makes it difficult to provide guidance for proper governance of RCC. Taking a holistic view instead of considering individual cases, this study proposes a dual governance logic for RCC based on FCT. First, 890 RCC case reports were collected using the Baidu search engine. The functions of seven RCC types and three RCC causes were identified using content analysis. Using co-occurrence analysis, the relationship between RCC functions and causes was presented. Finally, the formation mechanism of RCC functions and dual governance logic was proposed.

Results show that there are seven RCC types: inner discontent of residents, verbal clashes between residents, mass incidents, and interventions of property management companies, neighborhood committees, local governments, and media. Based on FCT, three RCC types have positive functions and four have negative effects. We next identified three causes of RCC (right-based, interest-based, and value-based conflicts), with six sub-categories of causes. Regarding the relationship between RCC functions and causes, we conclude that RCC not only has positive functions but also negative effects. In addition, the negative effects of RCC in general outweigh its positive functions. Different RCC causes lead to different functions as follows: the negative effects of interest-based conflicts outweigh positive functions; the positive functions of right-based conflicts are close to the negative effects; the positive functions of habitus conflicts (a sub-category of value-based conflict) exceed the negative effects while the negative effects of public-awareness conflicts (another sub-category of value-based conflict) far outweigh the positive functions. We explored these RCC formation mechanism functions, which constitute a destructive one-way path, a contextual dual-functional path, and a structural dual-functional path, respectively.

Based on RCC function formation mechanisms, this study proposes a dual governance logic for RCC. When facing conflicts with positive functions, ‘accommodation’ should be adopted; when facing negative-effect conflicts, ‘avoidance’ should be applied. Accommodation includes two aspects. One is to retain beneficial habitus to enhance cultural integration; the other is to respect the needs of landless peasants and foster diversity and inclusion in cities. Avoidance also has three aspects: public awareness of landless peasants needs to be cultivated; strategies should be formulated to secure space supply to prevent interest-based conflicts; and behaviors of space encroachment should be prohibited to protect the community’s physical environment.

This research also has some limitations regarding specific strategies in different conflict scenarios. This requires the proposal of a governance framework for different conflict scenarios to provide more specific references for RCC governance and to promote the sustainable transformation of resettled communities.