Nine communities with high susceptibility to rancorcous conflict are compared with nine others in which such episodes are rare. Those which experience such conflict differ, with certain exceptions, in the extent to which they are undergoing shifts in political control. They also differ with respect to several measures of structural integration and these differences explain some of the exceptions. Two measures of conduciveness to rancorous conflict-a participative political structure and the existence of clearly defined solidary groups-do not differentiate the two kinds of communities. COMMUNITY issues differ in many respects. Some involve vitriolic exchanges of threats and denunciations while others run their course through routine hearings and are resolved before unfilled council chambers. The same issuefor example, fluoridation-may run its course in undramatic fashion in one town, but prove to be the trigger for an explosive confrontation in another town with seemingly similar characteristics. This paper addresses itself to the structural differences between those communities in which such outbursts occur and those in which they do not. In particular, two ways of carrying on conflict in the local community are contrasted. In conventional conflicts, established means of political expression are used to influence the outcome of issues. Opponents regard each other as mistaken or as pursuing different but legitimate goals, but