The CAM originated from the study of land tenure and forest conflict (Ho, 2005, 2006), and was gradually developed to include a set of seven variables (Ho, 2014), notably, timing, source, nature, frequency, intensity, duration, and outcome of conflict. This was later expanded with an additional indicator of the different actors involved in conflict (Ho and Zhao, forthcoming; Yang and Ho, 2019). The model is a heuristic tool to which indicators can be added, adjusted, and operationalized according to the needs of the study. In effect, it is a flexible, analytical instrument to assess the variables at play rather than a rigid model in which each indicator needs to be present (Figure below).

The aim of the CAM is to approach conflict in a multi-dimensional, temporally, and spatially sensitive manner by going through a reiterative process of hermeneutical data interpretation. To date, the CAM and its constitutive elements have been applied and tested through a variety of studies, such as on rural tenancy (You et al., forthcoming), urban commons (Arvanitidis and Papagiannitsis, 2020), nature conservation (Fan et al., 2019; and forthcoming), and forest disputes (Krul et al., 2021). Geographically speaking, these studies encompass regions ranging from Asia to Europe.