Lie about Republican producing conflict (8)
I believe the answer is:
friction
'conflict' is the definition.
(friction is a kind of conflict)
'lie about republican' is the wordplay.
'lie' becomes 'fiction' (I've seen this before).
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'republican' becomes 'r' (abbreviation).
'fiction' going around 'r' is 'FRICTION'.
'producing' is the link.
(Other definitions for friction that I've seen before include "Retarding factor - discord" , "bad blood" , "State of conflict, clash" , "A rubbing between two surfaces" , "Chafing -- disharmony" .)