Causes of ethnic violence pdf

Using the evc database, we demonstrate some initial results modelling ethnic violence in xinjiang. Over the years, nigeria has been fertile ground for the perpetration of various acts of violence. The causes of intrastate wars from 1989 to 1996 there were 69 armed conflicts, of which only five have been between states. 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. The state might resort to genocide of a group, deportation, or relocation, as has happened in rwanda and chechnya. As kenya prepares to hold elections in march, we ask if politicians are stirring up tribal rivalries for political gain. Pdf this article argues that ethnic conflicts in africa often have structural sources. Data and documents show that ethnic differences and discrimination were the main cause of ethnic violence. Pdf background violence is universal act that threatens life, health and happiness of all human beings. Weak governments can create conditions favorable to the emergence of ethnic conflicts. These groups, throughout time, have used violence to achieve their goals. Despite beliefs that ethnic differences are the sole factors in triggering violence, there is no single cause of violence in afghanistans complex situation. Ethnic conflict causes of ethnic conflict in nigeria. Prepared as part of an education project of the global health education consortium and collaborating partners.

Nigerians tend to segregate and discriminate against people that are not from the same tribe. Ethnic violence in ethiopia leaves deep wounds africa. From the colonial times till date, leaders use ethnic biases to win election and divide the country. Contending nationalisms are not a new phenomenon in this part of the horn of africa. Causes, consequences, responses, by karl cordell and stefan wolff. Continuous examination of the causes of ethnic conflict is necessary, so that we may develop a better understanding of what causes the breakdown of peace in.

Ethnic conflicts were the main forms of political instability in the multi ethnic societies during second half of twenty century and beginning of new century. Lets just focus on the social aspect of violence first and the influences around us. A decade of electoral violence in africa, 2004 to 20 electoral violence has, in certain instances, catalyzed prolonged political conflict. The causes of ethnic conflict in multiethnic societies. From ethnic conflicts to religious conflicts to terrorist attacks, violence seems to be a neverending trend. The country has been an ethnically divided society11. By proposing a typology of armed conflict, the study seeks to achieve analytical clarity and contribute to conflict analysis. Even today, ethnic wars continue to be the most common form of armed conflicts around the world.

Ethnicity and ethnic conflict violence in twentieth century. Among these factors, brown argues, that underlying causes of internal war lies on two factors. 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. The challenge of ethnic conflict central intelligence agency. Ethnic violence in ethiopia leaves deep wounds africa dw. Armed conflict and its international dimensions, 19462004 pdf. In 2012, clashes over cattle between the ethnic groups in samburu district resulted in the deaths of over 40 people including police officers sent to quell the violence. Disarmament campaigns, increased security presence, and peacebuilding from below to address intercommunal violence in the pastoralist drylands. Violence has always been a part of the afghan way of life. The conflict was primarily between the kalenjin and kikuyu communities with land ownership cited as one of key reasons for the conflict.

Root causes of violent conflict in developing countries. But incidence of ethnic violence was different in varying country. Racist terrorism is a form of ethnic violence dominated by overt racism and xenophobic reactionism. According to the causes of ethnic conflicts there is another types of ethnic conflicts. Most countries in subsaharan africa are home to diverse ethnic groups living together within borders that were arbitrarily drawn during the colonial period. The causes and dynamics of conflict in subsaharan africa subsaharan africa is a vast land rich in natural resources with great potential for investment and opportunity. Fsi spice social conflict and political violence in africa. The origins and management of ethnic onflict, international security, vol. The destabilization of provinces, states, and, in some cases, even whole regions is a common consequence of ethnic violence. A significant increase in the severity of such conflicts between the various ethnic groups inhabiting the country was witnessed after the introduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s, especially during the 200708 kenyan crisis. You will become familiar with the terminology of development and core issues such as poverty, inequality and health. Understanding the causes of conflicts in africa africa has a high prevalence of civil wars and this is commonly attributed to the ethnic diversity of its countries. Evidence from hindumuslim riots in india jeanlouis arcandyand pavel chakrabortyz department of economics graduate institute iheid, geneva december 30, 20 abstract we utilize a unique data set on hindumuslim riots at the statelevel in india to investigate the determinants. Crisis in the central african republic car is longterm and characterised by sporadic surges of violence against a backdrop of state disintegration, a survival economy and deep inter ethnic cleavages.

Research conducted across the subregion identifies ethnicity and ethnic fragmentation as one of the root causes of violent conflicts in west africa. Specifically, we highlight the effects of the states institutionalization of ethnic catego ries on the likelihood of violent conflict. Understanding the causes of ethnic based violence in ethiopia should start with. Conflict can be defined as a clash or disagreement often violent between opposing groups or individuals. Structural violence and the underlying causes of violent conflict general objectives in this course you will examine the interconnections between poverty, development and violent conflict. One of the goals of the national educational goals panel 2000, an independent agency of the executive branch of the federal government, is the following. Ethnic conflict along the border between the two regions and in the regional rural hinterlands has been going on for a long time. This paper considers such issues as geography, regional and historical factors, ethnic makeupalong with religious, political.

Feb 09, 2002 modern war is not an expression of innate aggression but an economic and social construction. Mar 22, 2019 we decided to take a look at the possible solutions and major causes of violence in nigeria from a different angle naijaquest. Competing theories of ethnic conflict in the caucasus abstract. Causes and drivers of ethnic extremism in ethiopia 17 the flaws of ethnic federalism 17 exploiting opportunities 18 a fracturing ruling party 22 unemployment, propaganda, and social inequality 27 porous borders 29 5. These o s cieties are often characterized by persistent deeprooted and identityrelated. People from different ethnic groups immigrate and relocate to new regions or countries, often leading to an outbreak in violence. Ethnic conflicts are often accompanied by gross human rights violations, such as genocide and crimes against humanity, and by economic decline, state failure, environmental problems, and refugee flows. The causes of violence and the effects of violence on community and individual health.

The article attempts to explain the causes of ethnic conflict by combining the possibilities of socialpsychological and sociological approaches. My first expectation is that religious diversity is nonlinearly related to ethnic conflict. Such a response involves the four classic steps of public health, namely. Th e rationale of the paper is to understand how such violence can best be prevented. Wars in developing countries have heavy human, economic, and social costs and are a major cause of poverty and underdevelopment. Drivers of ethnic conflict in contemporary ethiopia.

The causes of conflicts in africa are many and they frequently recur, including major causes of potential tensions and conflicts, which could perhaps be summarised and classified below. Loyalty to ethnic groups impedes true nationalism and unity of the country. But ethnic violence in urban areas well removed from the border is rare, and all the more shocking for seemingly. Tribalism is one of the causes of ethnic conflict in nigeria. Ethnic violence in an organized, sustained form is known as ethnic conflict or warfare, in contrast to class conflict, where the dividing line i.

Examining the role of religious diversity and contagion effects introduction throughout history, ethnic conflicts have long been a component of international politics. Developing country management ethnic conflict by participation and justice policy that the equality is the best way for resolve this problem. The world report on violence and healthis intended to raise awareness of this potential and to call for a much wider and more comprehensive role for public health in the response to violence. These are criticised for neglecting the political dimension of the problem and state responsibility. Ethnic conflicts in kenya occur frequently, although most are minor skirmishes. This inference seems selfevident to many, given that african rebel movements almost always are ethnically. Introduction this paper explores the relationship between armed conflict and constitutional and political engineering in ethnoplural african societies. Causes of electoral violence in africa written by ngah. To do this, we must fi rst understand the history of political violence in kenya and what. Jun 02, 2010 my paper is a reflection of my opinion on what i think the main cause of violence is and whether or not it is biological or social and what can be done to correct it. Ethnic conflicts were the main forms of political instability in the multi ethnic societies during.

This causes jealousy, hatred and can further cause conflict between two or more ethnic groups. The causes of ethnic conflict in multiethnic societies world. This time, i offer my thoughts on political violence in africa both its causes, and its mitigators. The causes of ethnic conflicts byu scholarsarchive. Ethnic violence, impact on afghanistan afghanistan is a country made up of numerous ethnic groups. This paper locates ethnicity and political violence in the failure of the neoclassical trajectory of modernisation resourceextraction, free trade, multiparty democracy, international aid and social darwinism to improve the social and economic conditions of the ordinary burundian. Conflict analysis of 2007 postelection violence in kenya. While the political dispute that triggered this crisis was not clearly based on ethnic identity, it overlapped with preexisting ethnic and political fault lines and sparked armed clashes and targeted ethnic killings in the capital, juba, and beyond. The causes of violence and the effects of violence on community and individual health stephen c.

Thoughts on its causes and mitigators the following is an additional essay written for my african politics course. Yale section of emergency medicine, department of surgery, yale school of medicine september, 2007. Ethnic violence is a form of political violence expressly motivated by ethnic hatred and ethnic conflict. Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project. In my opinion, i think violence stems from both biological and social stand points. Since the period of decolonization, many of these places have been the scenes of significant. The recent 2016 post election crisis in gabon12 that left scores dead seems to shows that electoral violence is an intractable phenomenon on the continent. We decided to take a look at the possible solutions and major causes of violence in nigeria from a different angle naijaquest. The empirical chapters apply these four models to important events of ethnic conflict in eastern europe, from the 1905 russian revolution to the collapse of yugoslavia in the 1990s. Yale section of emergency medicine, department of surgery, yale school of medicine september, 2007 prepared as part of an education project of the global health education consortium and collaborating partners. In developing country incidence were low and in the developing sever. The article looks at the representation of causes of conflict as well as the.

The impact of ethnic conflict on economic development. Maykel verkuyten, author of the social psychology of ethnic identity, articulates this phenomenon stating, many people from ethnic minority groups, for example, have cultural background that differs from that of. Violent ethnic conflict leads to tremendous human suffering. Social conflict and political violence in africa is a complex subject, and it will be useful to note a few trends in african civil violence, discuss a common but misleading explanations for civil wars in africa, and then suggest two alternative framing for the patterns observed. The causes of intrastate wars besides brown himself underlines the fact, that while these factors could be the underlying causes of intrastate violence, it is hard to find a factor which triggers internal conflicts. Since then, the trend line seems to be decreasing but still remains close to 50 percent.

Tracing the roots of ethnic violence in kenya the month of ethnic bloodletting in kenya has historic roots. Evidence from hindumuslim riots in india jeanlouis arcandyand pavel chakrabortyz department of economics graduate institute iheid, geneva december 30, 20 abstract we utilize a unique data set on hindumuslim riots at the statelevel in. Pdf ethnicity as the root cause of conflict and its. Pdf structural causes of ethnic conflict researchgate. However, the two modern trends of democracy and economic prosperity elude this region due in large part to persistent conflict and complex sociopolitical dynamics. Eight out of 10 of the worlds poorest countries are suffering, or have recently suffered, from large scale violent conflict. The implication is that political and economic development can effectively reduce or eradicate political violence in africa. Kenya has been riddled with conflict and violence throughout its brief history as a nation. Rummel 1997 argues that more religious groups in a state increases general violence. Each historical chapter generates questions about the timing and target of ethnic violence. In describing the conflicts outbreak, gbowee frames it as decades worth of ethnic tensions finally exploding. Explaining ethnic violence on chinas western frontier. Ethnic conflict was also a big deal after world war ii and during the cold war, when. One of the many case studies that supports this view of ethnicity s role in political violence is the aforementioned liberian civil war.

Their resort to violence could be based upon a combination of family loyalties, or religious and ethnic issues, or local and national politics, or other cultural matters. They arise from anomalous economic, political and social. The results indicated that much country in the world encounter with ethnic conflict during decades. Causes of conflict in sri lanka citizenship right when sri lanka gained independence in 1948, the sri lankan government passed the ceylon citizenship act of 1948. The conflict is usually not about ethnic differences themselves but over political, economic. Political violence in kenya a study of causes, responses, and a framework for discussing preventive action introduction th is paper focuses on political violence in kenya. In this paper, i perform an analysis of the conflict to examine why widespread violence erupted in the wake of kibakis presidential reelection. Forms of ethnic violence which can be argued to have the character of terrorism may be known as ethnic terrorism or ethnicallymotivated terrorism. Continuous examination of the causes of ethnic conflict is necessary, so that we may. Causes of electoral violence in africa written by ngah gabriel sous dir. A historical and sociopolitical outline sasanka perera february 2001 public disclosure authorized public disclosure authorized public disclosure authorized public disclosure authorized. Common to many conflicts is the unsatisfactory nature of interstate borders. It can also be said to be an incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled. School violence irvin sam schonfeld 9 a book on workplace violence requires a chapter on school violence.

Did violence at the time of yugoslavias breakup show that in times of state collapse, ethnic antagonisms flare up, or that ethnic hatreds caused the collapse of. This act granted citizenship only to those who were either born in sri lanka or whose forefathers were born there. An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two ethnic groups within a state, one dominant and one subordinate. This volume is a background paper prepared for the international bank for reconstruction and development the world bank.