Social aspects of ethnic conflicts in Temerin

Due to ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversities, there is potential for ethnic conflicts and ethnic tensions in community, but the emergence and occurrence of ethnic conflicts depend on the state's approach to managing or suppressing ethnic, linguistic, and cultural variations. Federalism is one of the most important mechanisms that governments adopt to manage ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversities. But the function of federalism in reducing ethnic conflicts is not necessarily positive, and in some cases, it has led to an escalation of ethnic conflicts. Accordingly, the central question is to examine whether federalism is a system to resolve or reduce ethnic conflicts? With an emphasis on ethnic conflicts in Iraq. The research hypothesis is that federalism, through the creation of bureaucratic structures, the development of political parties, the identification, and acceptance of cultural and linguistic commonalities, will restrict and reduce ethnic violence and conflict but not necessarily ethnic protest.
 
 Received: 26 December 2021 / Accepted: 28 February 2022 / Published: 5 March 2022

Ethnic conflict seems to be common in all countries of the world where people are divided into separate ethnic groups, that may have a racial, national, linguistic, tribal, religious or caste basis. In this article it is proposed that a significant part of the universality of ethnic conflict can be explained by our evolved predisposition to ethnic nepotism, which can be regarded as an extended form of nepotism. Evolutionary theories of inclusive fitness and kin selection explain the origin and universality of nepotism. The members of an ethnic group tend to favour their group members over non-members because they are more related to their group members than to outsiders. This disposition to favour kin over non-kin becomes important in social life and politics when people and groups of people have to compete for scarce resources. Two hypotheses on political consequences of ethnic nepotism are presented: (1) significant ethnic division tends to lead to ethnic interest conflict in all societies and (2) the more a society is ethnically divided, the more political and other interest conflict tend to become channelled into ethnic lines. These two hypotheses are tested by empirical evidence for 183 contemporary states. The hypothetical concepts `ethnic division' and `ethnic conflict' are operationalized into empirical variables. The results support the two hypotheses. Deviating cases underline the importance of other relevant factors behind ethnic conflict and violence.

Adopted in 1991, ethnic federalism indeed paved the way for the recognition, accommodation, and institutionalization of ethnocultural diversity for the first time in the country’s history since its modern existence. What is equally important is, the practice of ethnic federalism complicated state-society and inter-group relationships creating a favorable environment for ethnic confrontation and conflict to take place in the country threatening national unity, eroded century-old values of coexistence, a hard ethnic boundary where administrative boundaries are served as political and ethnic differentiators like the Oromo and Somali conflict over contested boundaries. Territorial recognition, and institutionalization of ethnicity gave room for the emergence of ‘ethnic like and ethnic others’ thinking, made minorities in different regions victims of politics and failed to provide sound accommodation mechanisms from them, severely restricted people’s constitutional rights including the right to mobility and right to work, created room for the re-emergence of secessionist tendency. Hence, ethnic federalism while solving old problems of ethnic inequality and injustice; has created new problems of ethnic tensions and conflict across Ethiopia. It is the purpose of this study to investigate how and why federalism is being considered as the source of ethnic conflicts in the Ethiopian context. The study adopted a qualitative comparative approach while FGDs and key informant interviews were used to gather data. The finding of the study shows that though multinational federation plays an irreplaceable role to accommodate and institutionalize ethnocultural diversity, the notion and implementation of federalism instigate ethnic conflict in the Ethiopian context.

A chief obstacle to community development and progress in sub-Saharan Africa is persistent, widespread, low-scale, yet catastrophic, ethnic and communal conflicts. Nigeria is no exception! Nigeria's Middle-Belt region has experienced long-standing ethno-religious and political conflict/crises. Frequent and intermittent ethnic conflicts have persisted among the various ethnic groups. This research looks at the seemingly contrasting, yet complimentary, roles of traditional and new media in ethnic conflict transformation in the area. Using a peace journalism media-ecological model that incorporates spiral of silence, priming, agenda-setting, and framing theoretical frameworks, the research analyzes the (dis)functional roles legacy and new media play in conflict exacerbation, resolution, and mediation. It employs a qualitative interpretive critical approach to examine how traditional and new media respond to ethnic conflicts in the region. It proposes a new ethic for ethnic conflict reporting, suitable for professional and citizen journalists.

A chief obstacle to community development and progress in sub-Saharan Africa is persistent, widespread, low-scale, yet catastrophic, ethnic and communal conflicts. Nigeria is no exception! Nigeria's Middle-Belt region has experienced long-standing ethno-religious and political conflict/crises. Frequent and intermittent ethnic conflicts have persisted among the various ethnic groups. This research looks at the seemingly contrasting, yet complimentary, roles of traditional and new media in ethnic conflict transformation in the area. Using a peace journalism media-ecological model that incorporates spiral of silence, priming, agenda-setting, and framing theoretical frameworks, the research analyzes the (dis)functional roles legacy and new media play in conflict exacerbation, resolution, and mediation. It employs a qualitative interpretive critical approach to examine how traditional and new media respond to ethnic conflicts in the region. It proposes a new ethic for ethnic conflict reporting, suitable for professional and citizen journalists.

Ethnic conflict appears to be a catch-all term, which covers a wide array of different kinds of social and political confrontations. In fact, it may not be appropriate to use the term 'ethnic conflict' in all situations currently so described. It is debatable whether the use of the word 'ethnic' actually aids the better understanding of the dynamics and underlying forces involved in conflictive situations or, on the contrary, whether the recourse to the presumed 'ethnic' identity of the groups and actors in such conflicts contributes more to a blurring of the basic issues. Such problems are often addressed in theoretical discussions, but they must also be dealt with in concrete situations and they have practical implications. Policy alternatives must consider whether ethnicity (that is, the nature and characteristics of ethnic groups and their members) is a factor when the management and possible solution of conflicts is dealt with. Politicians have to decide whether 'ethnic' criteria should be incorporated in electoral systems, power-sharing arrangements or the writing of constitutions and the adoption of legislations. The success of economic development strategies may depend on the way their hoped for results will benefit or harm different ethnic communities.KeywordsEthnic GroupEthnic IdentityEthnic CommunityEthnic ConflictTerritorial StateThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This note provides an overview of available cross-country data on ethnic conflict, tensions, and protests. First, it documents the steps taken in the selection of 16 different relevant data sources, before they are briefly described, and their distinct aspects are highlighted. Second, it includes some descriptive analysis of selected indicators, as well as comparisons between them. Overall, it suggests that data on ethnic armed conflict is easily accessible, especially through the GROWup – Geographical Research on War, Unified Platform. Moreover, the updated version of the Minorities at Risk (MAR) and accompanying datasets will also provide useful data. However, data on ethnic tensions, protests, and other types of violent and non-violent events (including the actors involved) is currently scattered across different sources, with differences in coverage and in the information provided.

Ethnic identity is one of the most significant types of identities. Meanwhile, some researchers have recently begun to criticise the term ‘identity’ as being too excessively associated with political ideologies, lacking operational power and being difficult to define precisely. Simultaneously, attention has been drawn to what can be referred to as ‘ethnic revival.’ Ethnic identity is created based on the opposition between what is ‘one’s own’ and what is ‘foreign.’. Even though the category of ‘the Other’ or the ‘foreign’ always appears in the context of identity, it has a special significance in the case of ethnic identity. By such means, the belonging to a particular ethnic group is emphasized, while simultaneously one is cut off from other groups. Conflicts between clans, tribes and ethnic groups have occurred throughout the ages and in all civilisations. There is no single opinion among researchers about how ethnic conflict should be defined. Increasingly, in recent literature of the subject, the distinction between ethnic conflicts and communal conflicts has come to be applied. The article aims to analyse the identity problems expressed in ethnic and communal conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is based on the critically reviewed literature of the subject, as well as the author’s conclusions from many years of research on the problem of state dysfunctionality, conducted in Sub-Saharan African countries.

Ethnic conflict as a destructive phenomenon of modern human civilization is the object of the study. The specific subject under examination is identity that presents one of the characteristic foundations of an ethnic group. The research goal identified by the authors is to conduct an analysis of the identities of the ethnic groups of India, Middle East, and African and European countries to identify their characteristic features and sources, as well as examine them as a sociocultural factor in the system of ethnic conflict origin and development. The theoretical basis is composed of a set of scientific papers examining the process of the formation of ethnic groups and conflicts, sociological survey results, and statistical data. The methodological foundation of the study is formed by the retrospective analysis of scientific works revealing the process of ethnic group formation and the systematic approach that allowed identifying and justifying the role of identity in the genesis of ethnic groups and the structure of modern ethnic conflicts. The epistemological potential of statistical and sociological methods of quantitative and qualitative research made it possible to adequately interpret the current scientific research results regarding the hypothesis proposed by the authors. The novelty of the study and its results are determined by the original approach towards identifying the characteristic features of identity and studying its systemic relationships with the nature of modern ethnic conflicts. The results acquired in the course of the study support the conclusion that identity plays a significant role in the process of ethnic group formation, is closely intertwined with other characteristics of ethnos, and contains a specific structure of elements classified by the authors into three groups. In the context of the formation of dangers and threats to the identity, the ethnic group takes comprehensive action to counter it, which ultimately leads to the emergence and development of the ethnic conflict.

Ethnic groups and conflicts often transcend country borders, indicating that notions of relative strength and resolve may also surpass such borders. This study focuses on the association between ethnic polarization and conflict in a widened strategic environment, encapsulating each state that experiences ethnic conflict and its neighboring states, and involving contagion processes. Two claims are presented. First, when a state experiences ethnic conflict, neighboring states that are ethnically polarized are more likely to also experience ethnic conflict. Second, when a group involved in ethnic conflict has a kinship tie to a group in a neighboring state, the latter group is increasingly likely to be inspired to challenge the government and end up in ethnic conflict. This should be especially likely if the group resides in a state characterized by ethnic polarization. To evaluate these claims, this article employs logit regression on a global dataset covering the period from 1989 to 2004. The empirical analysis supports the first claim; polarized states are indeed associated with an increased likelihood of contagion processes. The findings also demonstrate that kinship links make contagion more likely; however, this effect is not conditioned by the level of ethnic polarization. The results are robust to a series of alternative specifications. In conclusion, these findings point to the importance of incorporating a widened strategic setting in the analysis when examining the association between ethnic polarization and civil conflict.

Until the early 1970s many scholars believed that the process of economic modernization would result in the decline of ethnic political activity throughout the world. This melting pot modernization perspective failed on both theoretical and empirical grounds. After its collapse, scholars promoted a new conflictual modernization approach, which argued that modernization brought previously isolated ethnic groups into conflict. Although this approach accounted for the origins of ethnic conflict, it relied too heavily on elite motivations and could not account for the behavior of ethnic political movements. In the last five years, scholars have tried to develop a psychological approach to ethnic conflict. These scholars see conflict as stemming from stereotyped perceptions of differences among ethnic groups. This approach fails to analyze the tangible group disparities that reinforce these identifications and that may serve as the actual catalysts for ethnic political conflict. The conflictual modernization approach is reinvigorated by applying it to the cases of ethnic conflict in Canada and Belgium. In both of these countries the twin processes of economic modernization and political centralization intensified ethnic conflict while stripping ethnic movements of the romantic cultural ideologies and institutional frameworks that could provide these movements with some long-term stability. Thus, by integrating the modernization approach with a resource mobilization perspective we can develop theories that can account for ethnic conflict throughout the world.

Racial and ethnic violence takes many forms. Genocides, ethnic cleansing, pogroms, civil wars, and violent separatist movements are the most obvious and extreme expressions, but less organized violence such as rioting, and hate crimes by individuals or small groups are products of racial and ethnic conflict as well. Also, the distribution of criminal violence within societies, which may or may not be aimed at members of another group, is in some places a by-product of ongoing conflicts between superior and subordinated racial or ethnic groups. Although estimates of the number of deaths attributable to ethnic violence vary widely, range of eleven to twenty million given for the period between 1945 and the early 1990s show the gravity of this type of conflict (Williams 1994, 50). So it comes as no surprise that scholars have paid increasing attention to such conflicts over the last decades.

This study of ethnic violence in the United States from 1877 to 1914 reveals that not all ethnic groups were equally likely to be victims of violence; the author seeks the reasons for this historical record. Earlier theories of race and ethnic conflict often assumed that ethnic conflict is primarily a function of poverty or deprivation but Olzak suggests that conflict can equally arise during times of economic growth. She explains this by arguing that conflict erupts when racially ordered systems break down, in other words when different ethnic groups find themselves competing for key resources such as jobs and houses. 'This analysis of the causes of urban racial and ethnic strife in large American cities at the turn of the century is a tour de force. It is bound to become an important empirical and theoretical reference for social scientists and historians alike.' -William Julius Wilson, University of Chicago

Did strikes effect the extent of ethnic and racial conflicts in late 19th-and early 20th-century America? If so, How? Data on the occurrence of conflicts and of violence against various ethnic or racial groups in the 81 largest cities, 1880-1914, show that the growth of the union movement and the rising supply of low-wage labor increased levels of ethnic competition in urban labor markets, thus raising rates of ethnic comflict. The findings support the argument that ethnic conflict and labor unrest are parallel forms of collective action and that each depends on the number and foundings of national labor unions. The effect of labor union organization is strongest for all attacks on blacks. In addition, sharp increases in immigration, a downturn in economic fortunes, and contagion processes all raise rates of ethnic conflict.

Work plays a fundamental role in the life of individuals, who make an absolute commitment to it in terms of time; work has notable social and economic consequences in organisations and society at large. For most people, the meaning of work has generally been expounded by three propositions. The most prominent one is economic or instrumental, the second concerns commitment to work as part of human nature and human needs, and the third is sociopsychological (Sharabi and Harpaz 2007). Work values and ethics at the level of groups within society, and in society at large, can affect the extent of the society’s economic success (Child 1981; Mannheim et al. 1997; Sharabi and Harpaz 2007; Weber 1958). Several comparative studies have found significant differences concerning the work values between societies (e.g. MOW 1987; Sharabi and Harpaz 2007; Super et al. 1995), but none have compared the work values of different ethnic groups in the same country. Hofstede (1980, 2001) also compared values between nations, not between ethnic groups in those nations. There is hardly any research on the values of ethnic groups who have been living together in the same country for more than several decades. Gaines et al. (1997) found, in the USA, almost no cultural values differences between the AngloAmerican and AfricanAmerican men and women, whereas the differences between the AngloAmericans and the Latin-American and AsianAmerican men and women (who are more recent ethnic immigrants) were wider. Another research comparing cultural values among ethnic groups was that of Rodrigue and Richardson (2005). It compared Chinese, Malays, and Indians in Malaysia, and found that there were few differences in cultural values between these ethnic groups. In these two cases, ethnic groups who have been living peacefully in the same country for a long time (Anglo-Americans and AfricanAmericans in the USA, and Chinese, Malays, and Indians in Malaysia) share similar values although they are segregated and are characterised by socioeconomic gaps. This strengthens the claim that the level of trust among groups in general, and ethnic groups in particular, can affect the individuals’ attachment to cultural values (Berry et al. 1997). In addition, the level of friendship, trust, and collaboration between individuals of different ethnic groups can affect their mutual understanding and their willingness to accept each other’s values (Hewstone 2003). Higher levels of trust can lead to higher levels of cultural similarity between societies and ethnic groups, whereas mistrust and conflict between societies and ethnic groups may lead to rejection of the other’s culture and values (Ward et al. 2001). The long escalating conflict between Israel and the Palestinians prevents Israeli Arabs (who are Palestinians as well) from identifying with the dominant Jewish culture and values. There is a Moshe Sharabi earned his PhD at the University of Haifa; he is a senior lecturer at the Sociology and Anthropology Department at the Yezreel Valley College and a researcher at the Center for the Study of Organisations and Human Resource Management, in the University of Haifa. His current research interests include human resource management, organisational leadership, and crosscultural comparative research on work values. E-mail: moshes@yvc.ac.il