Context or Conflict Types: Which Determines the Selection of Communication Mode

The article is concerned with the question whether it is context or conflict type that determines the selection of arguing or bargaining. A speech act analysis of two German cases of communicative resolution of conflict, a mediation on a waste management conflict and a parliamentary debate on embryonic stem cells, shows that conflict type is an important factor for the selection of the mode of communication. However, it is not the only one. Institutional context also plays a role.