This chapter is the second of two on ‘reactive politeness’; in other words, on the ways that interlocutors react and respond to something that has happened previously. It starts by considering the pros and cons of disagreement and conflict, and argues that, contrary to much public opinion, disagreement and conflict can be positive if handled well. Chapter 13 reports linguistic findings on conflict management strategies and provides an extensive analysis of a conflict in which culture plays a role. The chapter examines the different ways in which culture can affect disagreement and conflict, and notes the impact of the following: cultural membership/identity, different assessments/expectations associated with the communicative activity in which the disagreement takes place, and different assessments/expectations associated with the nature of the participant relations. In relation to cultural membership/identity, the chapter introduces faultline theory, explaining the impact that ‘identity faultlines’ can have on group or team relations. There are six main sections to the chapter: pros and cons of disagreement; conflict management orientations and strategies; dynamics of disagreement; cultural membership and disagreement; cultural orientation and tactics; culture, context and disagreement.