Conflict happens whenever people work together, but drama is what you get when you ignore it. Unresolved conflict breeds gossip, backstabbing, passive-aggression, and people taking sides. The difference between the two is how you handle it.
I believe that conflict and drama are different but are certainly related to one another. Most of us probably understand that conflict is basically a natural result of putting people together. You put people together long enough and then add in a little bit of stress or some busyness, and you're going to end up with some conflict of one type or another. Now, how does drama play into this? Well, what happens when some piece of conflict isn't dealt with correctly? When some sort of issue of some kind isn't identified, addressed, or resolved. You take something like that, then you sprinkle in some favoritism, maybe a little gossip, some backstabbing, some passive-aggressive or maybe overtly aggressive talk and actions. Then you throw in ego and emotions and people starting to take sides, and now you've got some drama.
