Conflict involving France, Spain and united Germany (4)
I believe the answer is:
feud
'conflict' is the definition.
(feud is a kind of conflict)
'france spain and united germany' is the wordplay.
'france' becomes 'f'.
'spain' becomes 'e' (abbreviation for Espana).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'united' becomes 'u'.
'germany' becomes 'd' (international vehicle registration code).
'f'+'e'+'u'+'d'='FEUD'
'involving' is the link.
(Other definitions for feud that I've seen before include "Squabble" , "Quarrel; spat" , "Long-running disagreement" , "Long-running quarrel" , "Sustained enmity" .)