How do land use conflicts escalate? Identifying causal mechanisms in a conflict over a biogas plant in Brandenburg, Germany

Abstract The dynamics of land use conflicts have recently received increasing interest in the scholarly debate; however, research thus far has focussed on the causes of different conflict dynamics. In contrast, this paper starts from the assumption that knowledge of the processes by which certain conditions trigger escalation is important for improved theorizing about land use conflict dynamics and allows us to identify options for more targeted interventions. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to analyse how escalation is triggered in land use conflicts. Process tracing is performed on an in‐depth case study of a conflict over a biogas plant in Brandenburg, Germany, which escalated into coercive dynamics, ending in a lawsuit. Materials are obtained through document analysis and semistructured, episodic interviews with all involved actors and are analysed via qualitative text analysis. Five causal mechanisms that trigger escalation are identified: A lack of dialogue during the early phase of the conflict (1) hinders mutual understanding between the conflict parties (2), preventing central actors from envisioning a compromise (3). Consequently, they become unwilling to seek a compromise (4), which ultimately reinforces their perception that a lawsuit is more likely to achieve their goals than collaboration (5). The results refine our understanding of the conditions that trigger escalating dynamics in land use conflicts, of the mechanisms through which these conditions become effective, and, consequently, of measures that could contribute to avoiding escalation. In particular, they highlight the role of the involved actors' perceptions and of power relations in land use conflict escalation, demonstrating that escalation towards coercive dynamics is triggered primarily by a chain of cognitive processes among initially weaker actors that ultimately leads them to choose escalation. Synthesis and applications . The results confirm previous findings regarding the relevance of timely conflict management, with achieving a dialogue from the very beginning as the key leverage for interrupting the mechanism chain that triggers escalation. Additionally, they emphasize the relevance of the perceived relative attractiveness of collaboration versus escalation, an aspect that has been under‐represented in the literature, and offer insights on how this could be addressed. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.