The Nature and Nurture of Ethnic Violence
This chapter examines the nature and nurture of ethnic violence. It begins with a discussion of the behavioral problems of border collies and how they are related to ethnic violence, noting that both are promoted by the combination of group-wide genetic traits and changing social environments. It then considers the biology of ethnic violence by focusing on the propensity to divide people into ingroups and outgroups and how that propensity is linked to human emotions. It also offers a biological explanation for gender differences in ethnic violence and explores the social determinants of ethnic violence such as ethnicity, emotional prejudice, ethnic obligations, mobilizational resources, and political opportunities. Finally, it advances the notion that ethnic violence is caused by modernity.