Trust and Conflict in the Structure of Social Interaction: Theoretical Approaches and Contemporary Interpretations

Abstract

The article analyzes social interaction as a fundamental mechanism for the formation of trust and conflict in contemporary society through the synthesis of conflictological, functionalist, and interactionist approaches. It is established that social interaction constitutes a primary social process within which both trust, ensuring cooperation, predictability, and integration, and conflict, performing the functions of identifying contradictions, adaptation, and social change, are formed. The generalization of scientific approaches made it possible to conceptualize trust as a multidimensional social resource operating simultaneously at interpersonal, group, and institutional levels. Particular attention is devoted to conflict as a specific form of social interaction. The study substantiates the expediency of considering conflict not only as a result of structural contradictions but also as a multidimensional process shaped by social, psychological, communicative, and institutional factors. An integrative approach to conflict analysis is proposed, combining macro-, meso-, and microsociological levels of inquiry while accounting for the dynamic and processual nature of conflict development. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the development of a comprehensive theoretical model of the interrelationship between social interaction, trust, and conflict, according to which trust and conflict are interpreted as complementary mechanisms of the functioning and transformation of the social system. It is demonstrated that under wartime conditions trust serves as a strategic resource for societal mobilization and resilience, whereas conflict may perform functions of adaptation, reconfiguration of social ties, and the formation of new models of collective interaction.