While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic groups position within society. This paper analyses the main theories of ethnic conflict. Srilankas ethnic conflicts, israelarabic dispute, chinese tibet, indo pakistan issue are the best. In developing country incidence were low and in the developing sever. Existing studies of ethnic war have failed to combine factors into an integrated theory via mechanisms horowitz 2008. We derive a number of implications of the model relating social. In short, there is no general theory of ethnic war. Eurasia foundations south caucasus cooperation program, in. Articles nationalism, ethnic conflict, and rationality of value rationality and instrumental rationality. Concepts and theories 25 of treaties and the coining of money is independent of the government of the associated states, and, on the other hand, state governments which in certain matters are, in their turn, independent of the general government. Both of these rationalities are expressions of goaldirected behavior, but their conceptions of costs widely diverge. It offers a summary statement of one particular perspective on the issues, drawing upon the existing. This study thus supplements classical international politics theory with its attention to both institutional and ethnic elements.
Abstract ethnicity and ethnic politics is an important phenomenon of plural societies. Correspondingly, theories of ethnic conflict have been primarily focused. Conflict theory also takes into account broad sociological factors, the most important of which is access to wealth and social capital. This article examines the framing of ethnic conflict in northeast india, focusing on militant groups and insurgency in the hill areas of assam and a form of political violence known locally. A class alliance is a merging of interests over ethnic groups, but maintaining. Ethnic conflict now presents the thorniest problems for military and civilian strategists of all stripes. The twodecade long conflict in somalia can be explained by instrumentalism. Instrumentalism is a theory that posits that politicians and the media play a paramount role in the formation of ethnic identity and rivalry. Theory and approach systemism ethnic conflict occurs neither wholly in nor between states. But the ubiquity of ethnic conflict is a different proposition from the assertion of an empirical link between existing ethnic divisions and conflict intensity. How useful are the main existing theories of ethnic conflict. Economic fluctuations and growth we present a theory of ethnic conflict in which coalitions formed along ethnic lines compete for the economys resources. She argues that this ethnic antagonism dd 71 6242008 5.
However, when the usage of these terms in books over time is examined, a different picture emerges. Indeed, brubaker and laitin 1998 implicitly dismissed the possibility of a general theory of ethnic war cf. The causes of ethnic conflict in multiethnic societies. The seeming salience of ethnic conflict is a serious puzzle for social scientists. Choose from 471 different sets of ethnic conflict flashcards on quizlet. An empirical study by joan esteban, laura mayoral, and debraj ray we examine empirically the impact of ethnic divisions on conflict, by using a specification based on esteban and ray 2011.
His dissertation, the functions of social conflict, took conflict theory in a new direction and was later named as one of the bestselling sociology books of the twenti. Lieberman and prerna singh the theory of ethnic violence we develop in this article highlights the role of the states institutionalization of ethnic categories. Competition theory of race and ethnic conflict specifies three mechanisms under which racial ethnic conflict and protest occurs. Theories of conflict 16 theories of conflict conflict is a pervasive element in our society. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author. Greece and closed all possibilities of turkey joining. We present a theory of ethnic conflict in which coalitions formed along ethnic lines compete.
We use the models predictions to interpret historical examples of conflict associated with skin pigmentation, body size, language, and religion. Competing theories of ethnic conflict in the caucasus abstract. This final criterion differentiates ethnic conflict from other forms of struggle. Pdf the ethnic dimension to social relations can be distinguished from dimensions based on. However, when it is cited, these sociologists voiced very diverse opinions on the matter of race and oppression. Human rights in russia and the former soviet republics 22 ethnic conflict by kristina libby since the fall of the soviet union, russia has experienced high levels of ethnic conflict with regard to exit claims by former satellite states that. This book presents a new general theory of strategy, encompassing studies of the relationship between values, interest, and strategy as these relate to ethnic conflicts. An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. It presents a survey of the explanations provided in four traditions of enquiry, and also provides an analysis of the inadequacies or merits of arguments within each tradition. Instrumental rationality entails a strict costbenefit calculus with respect to goals, necessi. The institutional focus goes a long way toward incorporating constructivist insights about the origins of ethnicity, which have been. The balkans, chechnya, ukraine, india, sri lanka, iraq, israel, the west bank and the gaza strip, and most of subsaharan africa, particularly the great lakes region, all bear vestiges of the danger of ethnic conflict. The challenge of ethnic conflict central intelligence agency. It begins by differentiating these from nationalism, national identity, and civil wars.
Though most theorists from this perspective see conflict as emanating from one dominant group, conflict may also be mutual. It argues that, from an epistemological point of view, the unique nature of these theories are useful in comprehending the factors behind ethnic conflicts. Horowitz april 1998 paper prepared for the annual world bank conference on development economics, washington, d. Rushton complemented the theories of kin selection and ethnic nepotism by his. Conflict and critical theories 215 united states and arrived in new york in 1941. In our theory ethnic markers help enforce group membership.
The conflict is usually not about ethnic differences themselves but over. This study presents a conceptual framework for understanding the conflict in one of the most dangerous regions of the world the caucasus. Linking instrumentalist and primordialist theories of. Lake and donald rothchild s i n c e the end of the parts of eastern europe, the former soviet union, and africa. September 2011 1london school of economics, cepr and nber f. Karl marx s view on race and ethnicity 865 words bartleby.
Rulers inculcate ethnic values into its citizens starting from birth. Our argument also provides indirect evidence that ethnic conflicts are likely. Marx regarded race as vestige of the preindustrial era and. Ethnic conflict and civil society india and beyond by ashutosh varshney much scholarly work has been done on the topics of civil society and ethnic con. The conflict is usually not about ethnic differences themselves but over political, economic, social, cultural, or territorial matters. Accordingly, the research has established that the post 1991 ethnic conflicts in ethiopia consisted of multifaceted variables which made the conflicts simply appear as a mere inter ethnic differences. Edna bonacich 1972 offers a theory of ethnic antagonism, encompassing all levels of mutual intergroup conflict. A theoretical perspective rehana saeed hashmi university of the punjab, lahore. Karl marx is regarded as the father of social conflict theory, citation needed which is a component of the four major paradigms of sociology. The first reflects a familiar racial threat argument, suggesting that the magnitude of response by dominant groups depends on the timing and size of the incoming group and on the clarity of ethnic distinctions made between newcomers and residents. Structure and strategy in ethnic conflict donald l. The impact of ethnic conflict on economic development.
Weve argued in this article that such a link can indeed be unearthed, provided that were willing to write down a theory that tells us what the appropriate notion of an ethnic. The main results indicate that ethnicity does not seem to be a very important factor in starting both the civil and ethnic. One of the insights is that the incidence of ethnic conflict is nonmonotonic in expropriable resources as a fraction of total resources, with a low incidence for either low or high values. Ethnic conflict constitutes a major challenge to international peace and security.
On the theory of ethnic conflict francesco caselli, wilbur john coleman ii. Race is rarely mentioned by the three early proponents of the field of sociology, karl marx, emiele durkheim and max weber. I suggest that employment of this principle and the attitudes deriving from this principle can make a more thorough conflict. The conflict theory is especially concerned with inequality and the need for social justice. Esteban and ray 2008a base a theory of ethnic salience in conflict on this premise. Competition theory of ethnicracial conflict and protest. Although there are as many theories of conflict among the primordialists as there are primordialists themselves, the general logic of conflict generation runs somewhat along the following lines. Ethnic conflict and racial conflict are phrases often taken to describe the same phenomenon.
Ethnic conflict is defined in this paper as conflict where at least one group defines its goals exclusively in ethnic terms and in which the faultline of confrontation is one of ethnic variation cordell and wolf, 2010. Uncertainty, each ethnic conflict has its own unique characteristics and, in different contexts, some of these elements will be more prominent than the others, but all of them are the common denominators necessary for ethnic conflict to occur. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content containingfear the origins and management of ethnic conflict cold war, a wave of ethnic conflict has swept across david a. By proposing a typology of armed conflict, the study seeks to achieve analytical clarity and contribute to conflict analysis. Developing country management ethnic conflict by participation and justice policy that the equality is the best way for resolve this problem. Thirdly, i take up the issue of the most general principles that guide approaches to ethnic conflict resolution and argue in favor of the principle of identity recognition.
Our theory suggests that a decomposition of such inequality into within. Pdf multinational corporations and ethnic conflict. But incidence of ethnic violence was different in varying country. However, no social breakdown happens for no reason. Ethnic conflict, a form of conflict in which the objectives of at least one party are defined in ethnic terms, and the conflict, its antecedents, and possible solutions are perceived along ethnic lines. At the same time, the four cases do combine to exhaust the. This article focuses on ethnic conflict and ethnic identity. The institutional origins of ethnic violence evan s.
It is, in fact, almost selfevident, and as a result its theory of conflict is also relatively simple and easy to discern. Conflict theories draw attention to power differentials, such as class conflict, and generally contrast historically dominant ideologies. Explaining thirdparty intervention in ethnic conflict. Learn ethnic conflict with free interactive flashcards.