Mutual goals

Many conflicts across the world usually has same interests or similar objectives. As would it be for any goal or outcome, who is that going to benefit from a particular thing changes. Considering this perspective, you can often see many intangible conflicts, especially related to a piece of land, there would be mutually conflicting goals, not in terms of the final objective, but in conflict of who gets it. 

This reminds me of the famous example where the reply that Francis I of France gave in the early sixteenth century when he was asked what differences led to constant warfare with Spain's Charles V. He replied, "None whatever. We agree perfectly. We both want control of Italy!"

As such, you can see both have more commonalities than differences. But, how can this change perspectives?

What if something can be mutually used by both parties? or maybe more parties? What stops someone from doing that? It's a simple logic. The greed and possessiveness, whether it's for oneself or his/her family, friends, community, religion, caste, class, etc. The innate nature to see ourselves as different from a different person leads to such situations. What can be done about it?

Start by asking the question, are we the people whom we are trying to exhibit? What do we want? Why do we want it?