Tackling Puzzles of Identity-Based Conflict: The Promise of Framing Theory

Abstract

This article assesses explanations of identity-based violence, evaluating in particular framing theory's strengths. It argues that framing specifies some of the key mechanisms and processes between factors too often studied in vacuum: the purposefulness of human beings, social structures, as well as environmental factors and opportunities. Framing therefore suggests answers to the main puzzles in conflict studies and enjoys a broader explanatory reach than existing perspectives because it coherently integrates existing theoretical insights, as well as takes us beyond them.