Societal Conflicts Research Articles

The Continuum of Human Insecurity for Women: Femicide in War and Peace

Many post-conflict countries are characterized by a lack of human security. Women are particularly affected by violent crimes, sometimes akin to or even more than during armed conflict. Only recently has attention been drawn to femicides. Why does femicide appear to transcend between war and peace? How can the (human) security of women be improved in the long-term through a profound process of societal conflict transformation? This article answers these questions with an empirical focus on how the past of internal armed conflict was dealt with in Latin America. The region experienced state terrorism by military dictatorships in the second half of the 20th century and is one of the most insecure places for women today. Our concrete research aims are threefold: First, to locate femicide on a continuum of human insecurity between war and peace; second, to make gender-related killings committed during dictatorship visible as femicides, not solely sexualized crimes; and third, to highlight the need for a more comprehensive gender-critical human security concept. The article interprets achievements in international criminal justice as well as the increasing social protest against gendered crimes in Latin America as a starting point for a “Conflict Transformation 2.0.”

Caught between COVID-19, Coup and Conflict—What Future for Myanmar Higher Education Reforms?

On 1 February 2021, Myanmar military dictators seized power from the elected government and halted the country’s budding reform process. This article explores how Myanmar’s higher education (HE) sector was affected by the coup and COVID-19 and how this has resulted in societal conflict. The article reviews first the history of military coups, then the education reforms in general and what was done in HE, before discussing the effects of COVID-19 and the coup on the sector. Voices from HE teaching staff show the tension in the role of HE as a vehicle for reform and promulgation of those in power. The article argues that the national vision propagated by Myanmar’s HE sector is juxtaposed to that propagated by the Tatmadaw, both claiming to represent Myanmar’s future. This research highlights the dual forces of the COVID-19 pandemic and military coup at a crucial time for HE reforms in a fragile, conflict-affected state, with the future of the reform goals of equity and equality of the sector at stake.

Rethinking individual relationships with entities of nature

Abstract Recognizing variation in human–nature relationships across different contexts, entities of nature and individual people is central to an equitable management of nature and its contributions to people, and to design effective strategies for encouraging and guiding more sustainable human behaviour. We complement the broader Intergovernmental Science‐Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) conceptual framework by zooming in from relationships between people and nature to individual relationships with entities of nature (IREN), and introduce a new typology that categorizes those relationships based on individual attitude, behavioural preference and behaviour towards an entity. These three dimensions illustrate if an individual perceives the entity to provide mainly positive, negative or no contributions; prefers to have a mainly positive, negative or no impact on the entity; and performs mainly actions with positive, negative or no impacts on the entity. The IREN typology defines 17 overarching relationship types, including not only types where attitude, behavioural preference and behaviour are all negative (intolerance), all neutral (indifference) or all positive (stewardship), but also types where the valence of some dimensions diverges. Among those, we integrate and redefine established types like tolerance, and introduce new ones like ambivalent opposition, which is highly relevant for the management of overabundant or invasive species. Combining attitude, behavioural preference and behaviour to categorize different IREN types can help detect inequalities in the benefits and detriments individual people receive from different entities, and signal societal conflict potential or misalignment of behaviour with conservation goals. Combining those three dimensions also indicates the relative importance of goal‐oriented motives like the desire to optimize an entity's perceived contributions, moral motives like the desire to act righteously and implementation barriers preventing individuals from acting according to their preference. By adding an individual‐ and entity‐specific perspective, the IREN framework and typology can encourage more equitable approaches to managing the benefits and detriments people derive from nature, and assist the development of more effective strategies for aligning human behaviour with conservation and sustainability goals.

Technologies as Anchors for Societal Confl icts. An Outline of the Concept

This article sketches out the approach of ‘Technologies as Anchors for Societal Conflicts’. TASC is conceived as a heuristic tool to help systematically bring into focus societal conflicts and debates that became anchored to technologies without being directly connected to them. This paper’s main hypothesis is that these anchors were developed, deliberately or unintentionally, to make complex issues seem more tangible and easier to resolve. Technological anchors, therefore, could function as a catalyst for a dispute or even turn into a connecting hub between various societal conflicts and debates. TASC is intended to help identify technologies utilised in this way as an object of research that is of interest for a cultural history of technology. To sketch out the utility of TASC and place it within the existing spectrum of methods and concepts applied by historians of technology, debates anchored to the bicycle, electricity generation, the machines of the early Industrial Revolution and nuclear power plants are discussed as examples.

Confl icting Threads. Technological Innovation and the Socio-technical Ensemble of Weaving

This paper refers to two new approaches to conceive the relationship between technological innovation and society as one of anchoring: The TASC concept (Technologies as Anchors for Societal Conflicts) aims to show how societal conflicts are anchored in technologies that, as such, are not responsible for the conflict. The ‘Anchoring Innovation’ research program of the Dutch Research School in Classical Studies (OIKOS) aims to explain how technological in- novations were anchored in ancient society. Our paper trials these concepts along the threads that connect the social and the technical in the weaving of contemporary India and archaic Greece. The first part of the paper examines the Indian government’s efforts to provide technological upgradation to a community of weavers who insist on their loin loom that is embedded in their local ecology, making them appear backward and ignorant of innovation. In the second part, we examine how innovation in ancient Greece was anchored in the socially ubiquitous technology of weaving. In both cases, the social turns out to be an essential part of (the technology of) weaving. Conflicts arise where technology claims to be ahead of a society that must constantly adapt to it.

Technologies as Anchors for Societal Confl icts. An Introduction

Technologies as Anchors for Societal Confl icts. An Introduction

Identifying Pathways to Peace: How International Support Can Help Prevent Conflict Recurrence

AbstractThis article provides new evidence on how the international community can effectively foster peace after civil war. It expands the current literature's narrow focus on either peacekeeping or aggregated aid flows, adopting a comprehensive, yet disaggregated, view on international peacebuilding efforts. We distinguish five areas of peacebuilding support (peacekeeping, nonmilitary security support, support for politics and governance, for socioeconomic development, and for societal conflict transformation) and analyze which types or combinations are particularly effective and in which context. Applying configurational analysis (qualitative comparative analysis) to all thirty-six post-civil war peace episodes between 1990 and 2014, we find that (1) peacekeeping is only one important component of effective post-conflict support, (2) the largest share of peaceful cases can be explained by support for politics and governance, (3) only combined international efforts across all types of support can address difficult contexts, and (4) countries neglected by the international community are highly prone to experiencing conflict recurrence. Three case studies shed light on underlying causal mechanisms.

Tribes and Proto-Tribes: The Deep Roots of Political Differences

Abstract People belong to political tribes that support particular positions on a variety of substantive policy topics; however, when the topics that divide a polity involve identity, in-groups, out-groups, core institutions, homogeneity, diversity, security from outsiders, and immigration, tribalism will be especially ferocious and debilitating. I refer to tribes based on these core matters as proto-tribes because the issues involved connect to our species’ evolutionary past. Due to longstanding individual predispositions, people manifest deep policy preferences either 1) to protect their society’s insider populations and institutions by being relentlessly vigilant against the intrusions of human outsiders, especially immigrants or 2) to enrich their society by embracing diverse outsiders and by being vigilant against the untoward power of insider institutions. Whenever societal conflict centers on proto-tribes—as was the case in the 1860s and 1960s and is the case today—rather than tribes that emphasize positions on issues such as taxes, regulations, transgender rights, and preferred governmental structure, the political system will be endangered.

Of war, tusks, and genes.

Societal conflict leaves an evolutionary signature in wildlife.

Web of Human Relationships in Select Novels of J. M. Coetzee: A Literature Review

Purpose: The depiction of the problems of conflicts and contradictions and graphical portrayal of the web of human relationship among people of varied races in South African society by Coetzee has been identified as the focus of the study. The British rule had an impact on South Africa that comprised the native South Africans or black race, Afrikaners or the white South Africans and the white people of colonial authority. The research has reviewed related research articles, books and research theses done on the novels of J.M. Coetzee to consolidate the data on the portrayal of the web of human relationship among people of varied races in South Africa. A close reading of select novels of Coetzee also reveals the effects of racism and colonial oppression. More importantly, his writings transcend political, geographical and social boundaries to achieve universal significance. The study of related literature in the works of Coetzee further discloses his ability not only to delineate local situations and characters but to infuse them with universal ideology and characteristics of his mission as well. However, the study to achieve research focus has been confined to the web of human relationships. His use of the country's apartheid system and its post-apartheid transition to represent the bareness and desolation of the human state has also been brought under the discussion. Thus, the present study intends to bring out social relationship existing amidst the native South Africans, the Afrikaners or the white South Africans and the people from white authority in apartheid society of South Africa, with specific reference to select novels. Design/Methodology/Approach: The researcher has reviewed almost fifty research articles, fifteen books and fifteen research theses for Master Degree, Master of Philosophy and Doctorate in Philosophy on the novels of Coetzee. Hard copies of some of the books were accessed in the St. Aloysius College library, Mangalore and EFLU library, Hyderabad. The online search was made to collect the database through Google scholar. The studies reviewed are peer reviewed journals, original research papers, National and International Publications. The researcher has referred and followed APA Manuel for the analyses of the research work. Findings/Result: After reviewing a greater number of articles, books and theses it has been found that the multiple interpretations which were given to Coetzee’s novels help to emerge his mission which is more quizzical, more explorative. On reading his novels, one may find out that Coetzee does not stop with describing and delineating local situations and characters, but infuses them with universal ideology and characteristics of his mission. Originality/Value: It’s proven that the web of social relationship and social reality are not a fixed presence; it varies from person to person, place to place, culture to culture, and country to country in any moment or situation. Genuine social and human relationship developed and sustained with the true nobleness of humanity is the means to thwart the ills and troubles of the societal conflicts and contradictions. Paper Type: Analytical research based on review of literature.

The divergent narratives and strategies of unions in times of social-ecological crises: fracking and the UK energy sector

The issue of fracking highlights the variability of trade union approaches to the environment in the UK energy sector, as reflected in their narratives and strategic organising orientations. Stories alone cannot change the material interests underlying complex societal conflicts, yet transformative policies on the climate crisis cannot emerge without a coherent story about the environmental crises and possible solutions. This article uses unions’ positions on fracking as a proxy for opposing/supporting/hedging against climate action to see how divergent positions amongst the UK’s three biggest unions in the energy sector (UNISON, Unite and GMB) and the TUC are reinforced or challenged by internal union narratives and strategic foci. Drawing on four in-depth expert interviews and 148 union documents, the main union narratives and strategies are analysed and clustered. The article’s key insight is that unions’ specific narratives differ depending on a union’s orientation. Pro-fracking unions address the short-term immediate financial and material concerns of members and hence promote business partnerships, while anti-fracking unions develop broad-based grass-roots alliances to address the climate crisis. The key entry point for transformative coalitions lies in promoting a coherent and positive narrative about transformative change, in line with scientific evidence.

English

The perpetual search for solutions to societal conflicts, particularly those tagged intractable, that is, irresolvable, took a dramatic turn when South Africa, one of such age-long conflicts, bowed to mediation after about 48 years of fierce existence. Until now, no rigorously deep insight that is capable of accurately and adequately accounting for the dialectics of history that brought apartheid to such an abrupt end. South Africa became a new model of a democratic society in a transition that did not involve an external third-party and bloodshed. A rigorous study of the South African conflict, using critical discourse analysis and navigating through the political theory of nation-building, reveals that a set of theoretical paradoxes may have underlain the peace process as teased out in this paper.   Key words: Apartheid, de-escalation, intractable conflict, transition, sustainability, deconstruction, societal peace.

Wise reasoning, intergroup positivity, and attitude polarization across contexts

We hypothesized that a wisdom-based reasoning process comprised of epistemic humility, accounting for context, and integrating different perspectives and interests, would be helpful in overcoming intergroup bias and attitude polarization in societal conflicts. Here we test the hypothesis using both the Situated Wise Reasoning Scale and experimental induction. In each study, we recruited participants who self-identified as members of a group implicated in an ongoing intergroup situation. In five correlational studies (Studies 1-5) we examined the relations between measured wise reasoning and intergroup positivity and attitude polarization. In two experiments, we tested the effects of a brief online wise-reasoning thought exercise on intergroup positivity and polarization (Studies 6-7), and charitable behaviors to an outgroup (Study 6). We found that wise reasoning relates to more positivity toward outgroups and less attitude polarization across different groups and conflicts. The results have implications for theory and may also have implications for future research on interventions to improve intergroup relations.

Development and Validation of the Perceived Societal Marginalization Scale

Abstract. Current societal conflicts are characterized by identity struggles and discontent concerning globalization and modernization. While the literature identifies several psychological determinants of this discontent, systematic measurement approaches based on well-defined constructs are rare. Here, we present the development and validation of the Perceived Societal Marginalization (PSM) scale, which aims to assess individual differences in people’s subjective perceptions of the insignificance and lack of recognition of their own social groups in the domains of economy, culture, and politics. We first provide a definition of PSM and a conceptual analysis of its components based on (a) a top-down review of relevant psychological, sociological, and political science theories and (b) a bottom-up approach involving semi-structured group interviews with various German citizen associations followed by qualitative content analysis. We then present the results of psychometric validation of the PSM scale (factor structure, reliability) based on three large online surveys with heterogeneous samples (total N = 2,566) and explore sociodemographic, personality, and attitudinal correlates. The discussion focuses on applications of the PSM scale, that is, the role of PSM in explaining societal cleavages as well as threat perceptions towards and rejection of cultural, ethnic, and religious minorities.

The Salience of Perceived Societal Conflict in Europe: A 27 Country Study on the Development of a Measure for Generalized Conflict Thinking

Over the last two decades, European countries have struggled with several crises (e.g., the Great Recession, the refugee crisis) which had a tremendous impact on (some) societies. Typically, these crises were accompanied by divisive public discourses that rely heavily on a sharp and moralistic us-them distinction. Especially extreme right- and left-wing parties have adopted such conflict discourses and have gained much electoral support. Against this background, this paper has two objectives. First, data from the European Quality of Life Survey from 2003 to 2016 in 27 countries are used to provide a comprehensive overview of the salience of perceived societal conflicts between seven pairs of groups between countries and across time. We find substantial differences between countries and longitudinal trend variation in the salience of perceived societal conflict. For example, in Eastern European countries more economic conflict is perceived, while in Western European countries people perceive more cultural conflict between different ethnic and religious groups. Second, multigroup confirmatory factor analyses reveal that specific perceptions of conflict are structured by an underlying general orientation, generalized conflict thinking: people’s tendency to perceive society through the lens of conflict regardless of the specificity of these groups. The measure for generalized conflict thinking is metric equivalent across a large sample of countries. This demonstrates that generalized conflict thinking can be used as a social indicator for comparative research. In the conclusion we elaborate on the implications of our findings and develop a research agenda regarding generalized conflict thinking.

Sonic witnesses: music, testimony, and truth

ABSTRACT Ever since Richard Taruskin pointed to Steve Reich’s use of survivor testimony in hailing the composer’s Different Trains (1988) as ‘the only adequate musical response … to the Holocaust’, composers of Western art music have embraced musicalised testimony as a form of truthful sonic witnessing to historical conflict. This persistent connection between music and testimony often is framed as documenting memories of trauma, yet this interpretation does not address the reciprocal relationships between the presumed truths of sound and its aesthetic presentation in music. Driven by Hannah Arendt’s claim that ‘factual truths are never compellingly true’, in this essay I trace the interpenetration of documentary sound and music as conveying a compelling reality or truth. This is followed by examples of testimonial witnesses in works by Philip Miller and Mary Kouyoumdjian. Finally, I reflect on the roles that testimonial music might play in imparting such compelling truths in connection with societal conflict.

Peace Education and Colombia’s Efforts Against Violence: A Literature Review of Cátedra de la Paz

As long as there has been violence in organized societies, achieving peace has been a goal through different means, including education. In Colombia –a country where the national government and the guerrilla FARC reached a peace agreement–, education was set to be essential to promote a culture of peace. Accordingly, this article presents a literature review of Cátedra de la Paz, a peace education course that seeks to encourage and strengthen a culture of peace in every educational institution in Colombia. The literature review suggests that, whereas this course reveals a positive impact in the communities, a lack of institutional support –which could stem from larger-scale political and societal conflicts over what peace means and how to achieve it– trumps its implementation. Furthermore, this paper argues that –if Cátedra de la Paz or other future peace education courses aim to promote a culture of peace grounded in contextualized needs and opportunities– critical lenses towards the topics and pedagogy are necessary.

Pollinator conservation requires a stronger and broader application of the precautionary principle.

The accumulating scientific evidence on global insect and pollinator decline is fuelling calls for pollinator conservation policies. A broad range of regulating and incentivising policies is undoubtedly needed to address the diverse threats to pollinator abundance and diversity, but implementing policies and regulations is beset by socio-political challenges. Lessons could be learned from the past and current applications of concepts central to biodiversity conservation. Given the uncertainties and data gaps, the concept of the Precautionary Principle (PP) is particularly important. The PP means that when it is scientifically plausible that human activities may lead to morally unacceptable harm, actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that harm: uncertainty should not be an excuse to delay action. This paper reviews the role of the PP in pollinator conservation. The current research front is fragmented: the PP is briefly mentioned as relevant in literature on biodiversity conservation because of the scientific uncertainties regarding insect decline and their diverse drivers. A separate strand of literature contains studies on specific cases where the PP has played a role in the regulation of specific threats to pollinators: systemic insecticides and global trade in bees. Although limited to two significant threats to pollinator abundance and diversity, these studies provide important lessons on the challenges of implementing precautionary pollinator conservation policies and underline socio-political aspects of the 'human-dimensions' of pollinator conservation. Specifically, they highlight that ambiguity is a greater challenge than scientific uncertainty, which may be heightened when policies are intended to regulate specific economic sectors. We suggest that more attention should be paid to the discrepancy between the PP as formally included in policies or regulations and its inadequate implementation (too little too late) in a context of scientific uncertainty and societal conflict.

Conflicts, situated inequality and politics of everyday life

This article discusses theoretical challenges in conceptualising the dialectical relationship between historical conditions and the situated interplay between people in concrete everyday practice. The concept of conflict may help us move beyond tendencies within psychology to separate history and situated practice, structure and activity, and micro- and macroprocesses – and to regard social life as unambiguous or as governed through hegemony. Research on the everyday social life of schools describes societal conflicts about education and how school children deal with unequal conditions when handling the conflictuality of their everyday lives. Analyses of coordination and conflicts between various parties (e.g. children, parents, teachers and psychologists) elucidate connections between intersubjective efforts to make things work in everyday practice and historical struggles related to the school as a social institution. Concepts are required that enable understanding of these processes as historical and political, driven by intersubjectivity related to concrete dilemmas, connected to personal and collaborative conduct of everyday life – processes we term the politics of everyday life. From a social practice perspective, we discuss how to grasp the ways in which people constitute the conditions for each other in a situated interplay in which they deal with common problems and – through these activities – also produce history.

How disasters drive media channel preferences: Tracing news consumption before, during, and after Hurricane Harvey

AbstractUnderstanding public media channel preferences can inform preparedness plans, response strategies and long‐term recovery. However, questions remain about how media consumption changes across pre‐crisis, crisis, and post‐crisis phases. Past theories argue that media use may change for several reasons, including during times of societal conflict and challenge. These theories point to the belief that, during a crisis, we expect media channel use to change because media preferences during a crisis will be fundamentally different compared with everyday routines.This paper takes advantage of a survey fielded to Texas residents soon after Hurricane Harvey. Here, we ask the following: (a) “what media channels are most prominent in each crisis phase?” and (b) “do media channel preferences change across crisis phases?”. We use simple descriptive statistics and chi‐square tests to describe media channel preferences across the three crisis phases by demographics. Additionally, we use alluvial diagrams to visualize media channel preferences over time. In total, 62% (n = 174) of respondents reported no changes in channel preferences. However, chi‐square tests identified significant differences in media use changes related to a handful of demographic characteristics. These findings are explored alongside theories that would hypothesize likely media use changes across pre‐crisis, crisis and post‐crisis phases.