Conflict over whether or how to engage in a conflict.
1985, Joyce L. Hocker, William W. Wilmot,Interpersonal conflict:
You face this choice repeatedly throughout a conflict; it is so fundamental that parties often get stuck in cycles ofmetaconflict — conflicting over whether they will engage one another in the conflict.
1992, Donald L. Horowitz,A Democratic South Africa?, page27:
First, themetaconflict places severe constraints on political discourse. Second, it contracts the range of acceptable innovations and future arrangements.
