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During my research when I was attempting to interpret "resolve conflicts quickly" I found a few words that indicate resolving.

The translation that I previously had was Konflikte zu lösen schnell

But I was not sure if lösen was the best fit because though it seemed to be a direct translation, it seems to be more related to physical actions.

bereinigen seems like a good fit because it seems to indicate settling conflict in a context related to social interaction.

beschließen also seemed like a fit because it seems to indicate deciding on something.

However so far the one that seems to fit the most is aufklären because it seems to mean to "clear up"

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Your first attempt is closest, but you got the word order wrong. Standing by itself (as a headline etc.) it would be:

Konflikte schnell lösen

Depending on context, it may be embedded in a sentence like:

Mit diplomatischem Geschick gelang es ihr, die Konflikte schnell zu lösen.

An alternative is the word beilegen, which can also be used to express the resolution of all kinds of disputes:

Der Konflikt konnte glücklicherweise schnell beigelegt werden.

or

Das Ziel besteht darin, den Konflikt möglichst rasch beizulegen.

Your other options don’t really work with Konflikt, but they might be used in related situations:

Bereinigen can be used with Situation, Lage or more generally with anything that needs to be cleansed/purged of something to be put into its proper state.

Durch das entschlossene Eingreifen der Polizei konnte die Situation rasch bereinigt werden.

Beschließen means (as you correctly noted) to decide or to agree on something, as in:

Die Regierungen beider Länder beschlossen in dem Abkommen, den Konflikt beizulegen.

Aufklären is used in the context of solving crimes or revealing something not known to all participants, e.g.:

In den Gesprächen konnten einige Missverständnisse zwischen den beteiligten Parteien aufgeklärt werden.

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    Note that "beilegen" should only be used in passive form (as in the the two examples), or in active form when the subject is the conflicting parties (as in the example for "beschließen"). It cannot be used to describe an external actor resolving a conflict (as implied in the first example for "lösen").
    – Sebastian Redl
    Mar 20, 2014 at 16:16
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I'd opt for lösen. Generally there are very few things you can do with a Konflikt anyway: You can ihn lösen (resolve it) or you can ihn beenden (end it). bereinigen, beschließen and aufklären do not really work with Konflikt.

There are several contexts of lösen where it has no relation to physical things:

  • Ein Problem lösen. (Solve a problem)
  • Eine Aufgabe lösen. (Solve a problem/finish a task)
  • Sich von jemandem lösen (Distance oneself from someone)
  • (innere) Spannungen lösen (Dissipate (inner) tensions)

So don't hesitate to apply lösen to Konflikt!

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  • +1 für die Erwähnung der einfachsten Alternative - an beenden habe ich nicht gedacht.
    – Hulk
    Mar 19, 2014 at 17:52
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Regarding beschließen: This does not fit, it means decide, not resolve.

I guess this is a problem with these funny prefixes: you could say den Konflikt schließen (close the conflict), but it's rather unusual. Germans would say den Konflikt beenden, as mentioned before.

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  • Schließen does not work with Konflikt. It implies closing, joining or completing something. It may be used for ending something (like a conference or a meeting - see Eröffnen and (Ab-)Schließen), but these terms are not used for conflicts.
    – Hulk
    Mar 19, 2014 at 18:13
  • @Hulk: that's what I say above.
    – Zane
    Mar 20, 2014 at 16:32

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