def conflict(self, key, **kwargs):
        """
        A helper method that simply raises a validation error.
        """
        try:
            msg = self.error_messages[key]
        except KeyError:
            class_name = self.__class__.__name__
            msg = MISSING_ERROR_MESSAGE.format(class_name=class_name, key=key)
            raise AssertionError(msg)
        message_string = msg.format(**kwargs)
        raise Conflict(message_string)
A helper method that simply raises a validation error.