Civilian Victimization and Ethnic Civil War

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1199-1225
Author(s):  
Lars-Erik Cederman ◽  
Simon Hug ◽  
Livia I. Schubiger ◽  
Francisco Villamil
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
The State ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
Targeted Violence ◽  
Structural Variables ◽  
Global Coverage

While many studies provide insights into the causes of wartime civilian victimization, we know little about how the targeting of particular segments of the civilian population affects the onset and escalation of armed conflict. Previous research on conflict onset has been largely limited to structural variables, both theoretically and empirically. Moving beyond these static approaches, this article assesses how the state-led targeting of specific ethnic groups affects the likelihood of ethnic conflict onset and the evolution of conflicts once they break out. Relying on a new data set with global coverage that captures the ethnic identity of civilian victims of targeted violence, we find evidence that the state-led civilian victimization of particular ethnic groups increases the likelihood that the latter become involved in ethnic civil war. We also find tentative, yet more nuanced, evidence that ethnic targeting by state forces affects the escalation of ongoing conflicts.

Afars of Ethiopia in the system of ethnic federalism

2018 ◽  
pp. 126-146
Author(s):  
Roza Ismagilova
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
Ethnic Relations ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Horn Of Africa ◽  
State Structure ◽  
Ethnic Federalism

The article pioneers the analyses of the results of ethnic federalism introduced in Ethiopia in 1991 – and its influence on Afar. Ethnicity was proclaimed the fundamental principle of the state structure. The idea of ethnicity has become the basis of official ideology. The ethnic groups and ethnic identity have acquired fundamentally importance on the political and social levels . The country has been divided into nine ethnically-based regions. The article exposes the complex ethno-political and economic situation in the Afar State, roots and causes of inter- and intra-ethnic relations and conflicts with Amhara, Oromo, Tigray and Somali-Issa, competition of ethnic elites for power and recourses. Alive is the idea of “The Greater Afar”which would unite all Afar of the Horn of Africa. The protests in Oromia and Amhara Regions in 2015–2017 influenced the Afar state as welll. The situation in Ethiopia nowadays is extremely tense. Ethiopia is plunging into serious political crisis. Some observers call it “the beginning of Ethiopian spring”, the others – “Color revolution”

Why Ethnic Subaltern-Led Parties Crowd Out Armed Organizations: Explaining Maoist Violence in India

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanchan Chandra ◽  
Omar García-Ponce
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Field Research ◽  
District Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Armed Violence ◽  
Maoist Movement ◽  
New Hypothesis

AbstractThis article asks why some Indian districts experience chronic Maoist violence while others do not. The answer helps to explain India’s Maoist civil war, which is the product of the accumulation of violence in a few districts, as well as to generate a new hypothesis about the causes of civil war more generally. The authors argue that, other things equal, the emergence of subaltern-led parties at the critical juncture before armed organizations enter crowds them out: the stronger the presence of subaltern-led political parties in a district at this juncture, the lower the likelihood of experiencing chronic armed violence subsequently. They develop their argument through field research and test its main prediction using an original, district-level data set on subaltern incorporation and Maoist violence in India between 1967 and 2008. The article contributes a new, party-based explanation to the literatures on both civil war and Maoist violence in India. It also introduces new district-level data on the Maoist movement and on the incorporation of subaltern ethnic groups by political parties in India.

Repression by Proxy

2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 924-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine Eck
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Organizational Capacity ◽  
The State ◽  
Military Leaders ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
Intelligence Gathering ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Intelligence Control ◽  
The Military

Why do regimes delegate authority over a territory to nonstate militias, in effect voluntarily sacrificing their monopoly over the use of violence? This article argues that two factors increase the probability of states delegating control to a proxy militia, namely, military purges and armed conflict. Military purges disrupt intelligence-gathering structures and the organizational capacity of the military. To counteract this disruption, military leaders subcontract the task of control and repression to allied militias that have the local intelligence skills necessary to manage the civilian population. This argument is conditioned by whether the state faces an armed insurgency in a given region since intelligence, control, and repression are needed most where the state is being challenged. This hypothesis is tested on unique data for all subnational regions within Myanmar during the period 1962 to 2010 and finds that proxy militias are more likely to be raised in conflict areas after military purges.

scholarly journals Why Do Ethnic Groups Rebel? New Data and Analysis

2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars-Erik Cederman ◽  
Andreas Wimmer ◽  
Brian Min
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
State Power ◽  
The State ◽  
Central State ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
The Government

Much of the quantitative literature on civil wars and ethnic conflict ignores the role of the state or treats it as a mere arena for political competition among ethnic groups. Other studies analyze how the state grants or withholds minority rights and faces ethnic protest and rebellion accordingly, while largely overlooking the ethnic power configurations at the state's center. Drawing on a new data set on Ethnic Power Relations (EPR) that identifies all politically relevant ethnic groups and their access to central state power around the world from 1946 through 2005, the authors analyze outbreaks of armed conflict as the result of competing ethnonationalist claims to state power. The findings indicate that representatives of ethnic groups are more likely to initiate conflict with the government (1) the more excluded from state power they are, especially if they have recently lost power, (2) the higher their mobilizational capacity, and (3) the more they have experienced conflict in the past.

'They Give us the Categories and We Fill Ourselves in' Ethnic Thinking in Singapore

1996 ◽  
Vol 4 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 451-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
The State ◽  
Ethnic Violence ◽  
Ethnic Culture ◽  
State Support ◽  
Religious Festivals ◽  
The Future

AbstractThis paper will demonstrate the prevalence of 'ethnic thinking' in everyday life and the role which culture plays in defining individuals and groups in Singapore. I will argue that the Singapore state has intentionally created a national identity which rests on the idea of the assumed purity of the different ethnic groups which exist within that nation. Singpore's multi-racial policies force the heterogeneous character of the population into four 'races' and there are no officially recognised inter-ethnic individuals within the state. The official promotion of 'ethnic' culture which claims that ethnic identity and culture are somehow identical results in a culture of stereotypes which shapes everyday life - where people live and how they interact as neighbours, for example. The stereotypes are reinforced by religious festivals. While state support of ethnic differentiation has helped to prevent ethnic violence, the politicisation of ethnic identity may ironically encourage conflict in the future when ethnic and economic divisions coincide.

Islam and Ethnicity: The Case Study of Ombatse Crisis 2011-2015 in Nasarawa State, Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
Jibrin Yusuf Danladi ◽  
Muhammad Maga Sule
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
The State ◽  
Violent Conflict ◽  
Ethnic Consciousness ◽  
Qualitative Technique ◽  
Violent Conflicts ◽  
Depth Interviews

This paper examines the activities of the Ombatse cult group and the violent conflicts that occurred as a result of their activities which took place in some parts of Nasarawa State from 2011 – 2015. The aim of the study is to portray how Islam is against ethnic bigotry. It also intends solutions based on Islamic teachings on how to resolve disputes especially which is ethnically related. It also discussed its effects on Islam and Muslims in the State. The paper found out that peace is one of the basic tools for the development of any society, as Islam encourages peaceful co-existence among/between Muslims and non- Muslims as well as co-existence among other ethnic nationalities as Islam prohibits ethnicity and nationalism. Therefore, the paper further revealed that the major actors who participated in the crises were predominately Muslim youths from the ethnic groups involved in the violent conflict. The research also unveils the context and undertone which precipitated establishment and those who financed activities of Ombatse group in the areas studied. Regarding methodology, this study utilizes a qualitative technique. In-Depth Interviews (IDI) were conducted to obtain data for the study. The study concludes that some Muslim who are ignorant of the basic tenets of Islam were easily brainwashed to show allegiance to their ethnic identity than Islam. The Ombatse mobilized support along ethnic consciousness in order to achieve hidden political motives of those who initiated the cult group.

scholarly journals State Networks and Intra-Ethnic Group Variation in the 2011 Syrian Uprising

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 995-1027
Author(s):  
Kevin Mazur
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Original Data ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Ethnic Exclusion ◽  
Group Variation

The 2011 Syrian uprising looks, from afar, like a paradigmatic example of ethnically exclusive rule giving way to civil war. The ruling regime is drawn almost exclusively from the Alawi minority, and the challengers were drawn heavily from the Sunni majority. But many Sunnis remained quiescent or actively supported the regime. This article argues that variation in revolutionary participation among members of an excluded ethnic group is best explained in terms of the networks states construct across ethnic boundaries. It identifies several forms of linkage that regimes can develop with their subject populations and relates them to variations in local social structure. Drawing on an original data set of ethnic identity and challenge events in the Syrian uprising, the article quantitatively tests the state networks hypothesis. Its findings suggest that the mechanisms commonly associated with ethnic identity and “ethnic exclusion” frequently operate upon social boundaries below the ethnic group level.

Civil War and the Formation of Social Trust in Kosovo

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Kijewski ◽  
Markus Freitag
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
Event Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Social Structural ◽  
War Experiences ◽  
The Impact

While a new, growing subset of the literature argues that armed conflict does not necessarily erode social cohesion in the postwar era, we challenge this perspective and examine how civil war experiences shape social trust in Kosovo after the war from 1998 to 1999. Based on a nationwide survey conducted in 2010 and the disaggregated conflict event data set of the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, we simultaneously analyze the impact of individual war-related experiences and exposure to war in the community through hierarchical analyses of twenty-six municipalities. Our findings confirm that civil war is negatively related to social trust. This effect proves to be more conclusive for individual war experiences than for contextual war exposure. Arguably, the occurrence of instances of violence with lasting psychological as well as social structural consequences provides people with clear evidence of the untrustworthiness, uncooperativeness, and hostility of others, diminishing social trust in the aftermath of war.

scholarly journals “Drawn Together in a Blood Brotherhood”: Civic Nationalism amongst Scandinavian Immigrants in the American Civil War Crucible

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-31
Author(s):  
Anders Bo Rasmussen
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Civil War ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
American Society ◽  
Civic Nationalism

The American Civil War, 1861-1865, broke out during a time of intense debate over slavery and fear of foreign-born influence on American society. The war’s outbreak, however, provided both freedmen and immigrants an opportunity to prove their loyalty to the United States. Scandinavian Americans, among other ethnic groups, seized the opportunity. This article argues that the Scandinavian elite implicitly constructed at least three different forms of ethnic identity – here termed exclusive, political, and national – to spur enlistment at the ground level, gain political influence, and demonstrate American allegiance. In the process the Scandinavian war effort strengthened these immigrant soldiers’ ties to their adopted nation, while a political ethnic identity, initially constructed in opposition to other ethnic groups, was weakened by the Scandinavians’ experience in the American multiethnic military crucible. The Civil War thereby hastened Scandinavian immigrants’ path towards the American mainstream, where many veterans subsequently served as a bridge between their local communities and broader American society, and reinforced their belief in American civic nationalism.

scholarly journals The Ties That Bind: Ethnicity, Pro-government Militia, and the Dynamics of Violence in Civil War

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 903-932
Author(s):  
Luke Abbs ◽  
Govinda Clayton ◽  
Andrew Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Civil Conflict ◽  
The State ◽  
Principal Agent ◽  
Ethnic Communities ◽  
Political Ties ◽  
Data Capturing ◽  
Civil Violence ◽  
Irregular Forces

Existing research reveals many of the ways pro-government militia (PGM) shape civil violence but overlooks how the ethno-political ties between the state and a PGM might influence these effects. We argue that co-ethnic militia (i.e., groups composed of the ruling elite’s ethnic kin) are relatively loyal irregular forces that multiply state military capacity. The greater loyalty of co-ethnic groups mitigates principal–agent problems but further polarizes ethnic communities, and as a result, co-ethnic PGMs are likely to be associated with longer and more intense civil conflict. We test this argument on a global sample of cases from 1989 to 2007 using new data capturing the ethnic ties of all PGMs. The results support our claims that co-ethnic militia are associated with more intense and longer civil conflict.

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