STAGE 1: Entrenchment The first stage of conflict escalation develops when a disagreement over some issue or frustration in a relationship proves resistant to resolution efforts. The problem remains and leads to irritation. The stage 2 threshold is crossed when one or both parties lose confidence in the ability to resolve problems through direct and fair verbal discussions. PHASE 2: Debate The parties seek more decisive and forceful ways of pushing forward their points of view. The dispute is no longer limited to just one well-defined issue, but the parties begin to feel that their overall position is at stake. Debates no longer focus only on which point of view has more merit, but also on who is most successful in promoting the points of view and how the results of debates affect a person's reputation. When rational, issue-relevant arguments do not guarantee promising success, parties resort to "quasi-rational" arguments, such as the underlying causes of current problems, avoiding blame; strong exaggeration of the implications and consequences of the other party's views; suggestive comments on the relationship of the central issue to other concerns, linking the issue to ideologies of broader value, reference to recognized authorities or traditions in order to gain legitimacy for a point of view; declare the alternatives as extreme, so as to induce the opponent to accept a "reasonable compromise". Discussions now turn into debates, where inflexible points of view clash. Growing distrust creates a sense of insecurity and loss of control. Efforts to control the other party belong to the later stages of escalation. The stage 3 threshold is linked to each party's fundamental right to be heard regarding their mutual interests. S......half of the card......the opponent. When a party is attacked in a way that threatens to shatter it, it is forced to make great efforts to quell internal conflicts. The only limiting factor is concern for one's survival. The threshold of stage 9 is reached when the self-preservation drive is given up. When this happens, there is no control over further destructiveness. PHASE 9: Total Destruction In the final phase of conflict escalation, the drive to annihilate the enemy is so strong that even the instinct of self-preservation is neglected. Not even one's own survival matters, the enemy will be exterminated even at the cost of destroying one's own existence as an organization, group or individual. All bridges are burned, there is no return. The only concern left in the race to the other side is making sure the other side is equally destroyed.