metaconflict

Etymology

From meta- + conflict.

metaconflict means conflict over whether or how to engage in a conflict. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.

Why “metaconflict” is a great word

METACONFLICT — [Noun] A second-order disagreement concerning whether or how to engage in a primary conflict. From the prefix meta- (denoting a concept at a higher or second-order level) + conflict (a serious disagreement or struggle). Unlike "conflict" (the primary struggle itself) or "mediation" (a process of intervention to resolve a conflict), metaconflict is the procedural and existential argument that envelops the original fight. It is the bitter quarrel over whether a couple's therapy is even worth attending; the committee deadlocked on the rules for debating the agenda; the diplomatic stalemate over the shape of the negotiating table while the war rages. The greatest battles are not about the thing itself, but about the very permission to do battle.

noun

Conflict over whether or how to engage in a conflict.“You face this choice repeatedly throughout a conflict; it is so fundamental that parties often get stuck in cycles of metaconflict — conflicting over whether they will engage one another in the conflict.”