Intergroup Contact, Intergroup Anxiety, and Attitudes towards the Opposing Group in Divided Society

The negative attitudes and negative emotions play a key role in maintaining the hostilities between the groups of a divided society. Evidence suggests that intergroup contact can improve or worsen intergroup attitudes. The current study examined the mediating role of intergroup anxiety on quantity of interethnic contact and acculturation attitudes and emotional responses to contradictory conflict narratives in a divided society with a background of armed conflict in the past. The study was conducted among 202 Albanians and 239 Serbs in Kosovo. The results indicate that as more as they meet members of the opposing group the less they feel intergroup anxiety and the more they show acculturation attitudes towards the opposing group among both Albanians and Serbs. However, such mediating role of intergroup anxiety was not found on emotional responses to contradictory conflict narratives, except among Serbs who live in certain enclaves. The findings are discussed in terms of context, reconciliation, and maintenance of frozen conflict.

ROLE OF RELIGION IN PEACEBUILDING AND SOCIAL COHESION IN BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

One basic component that represents a genuine danger to International Peace and Security was and is Ethno-Religious situated clashes in a profoundly divided society. Ethno-Religious clashes in Iraq, Syria, the Central African Republic, Myanmar, Nigeria, South Sudan and Ukraine among others pull in worldwide consideration and present horrible situations of mass abominations in the influenced state. This paper explores a critical question, what can religious actors do to help deeply divided societies rediscover a sense of living together and building long term peace in the wake of identity-based violence? The objective of this paper is to examine the role of religion in peacebuilding and social cohesion. This paper employs the multidimensional approach of research which is in pursuit of truth, and also the paper relies mainly on research works such as thesis, dissertations, research journals, newspapers and magazines. The finding reveals that religious actors play a critical role as a stakeholder in peacebuilding in deeply divided societies to rediscover a sense of living together and building long term peace in the wake of identity-based violence and should be involved at all stages of the peace process. The study recommends that the Borno State Government should engage religious actors or faith-based organisations in formulating a policy program that is directed towards promoting social coexistence in a deeply divided society like ours to improve social well-being as well as critical drivers of sustainable development, peace and security.

“At least I have a house to live in”: Māori and Pacific young people’s hopes and fears about the future

<p>Young people are often represented as the leaders of the next generation and much attention is given to the need for them to become more active participants in shaping the nation’s future. Over the years, education policy makers, health officials, government representatives in the criminal justice and welfare systems have sought ways of involving New Zealand’s youth more closely in civic society as they grapple with a daunting range of problems, many of which are likely to significantly worsen in the coming years. Despite these efforts, the views of some of the most economically and politically marginalised indigenous and/or racialized young people continue to be elusive and as a result a less nuanced understanding is available about how young people think about their lives in times ahead. This study explores the hopes and fears that marginalised urban Māori and Pacific youth hold about the future and how they establish a sometimes fragile sense of belonging in precarious and uncertain times. In this project, Māori and Pacific young people were invited to discuss their aspirations and anxieties about the future and how these ideas are influenced by their everyday local ‘places’ in the present. Two participant groups were involved in the project; one included Māori youth in an urban centre where there were few opportunities for unemployed young people while the other group included Pacific youth living in a city area where many families experience high levels of economic hardship. The research tracks their views about who they are now as young people growing up in a complex and increasingly divided society and who they might become in the years ahead. Taking a place-based approach, focus groups and walk-along interviews were conducted in two New Zealand cities. As the study progressed, the participants began to talk about the significance of hope, and lack of hope, in their everyday lives. Drawing on the work of Paulo Freire, it is argued that informed hope can be a powerful humanizing force in young people’s lives and the study suggests that when youth have a strong foundation of hope and belonging, they are often capable of becoming active agents of social change.</p>

“At least I have a house to live in”: Māori and Pacific young people’s hopes and fears about the future

<p>Young people are often represented as the leaders of the next generation and much attention is given to the need for them to become more active participants in shaping the nation’s future. Over the years, education policy makers, health officials, government representatives in the criminal justice and welfare systems have sought ways of involving New Zealand’s youth more closely in civic society as they grapple with a daunting range of problems, many of which are likely to significantly worsen in the coming years. Despite these efforts, the views of some of the most economically and politically marginalised indigenous and/or racialized young people continue to be elusive and as a result a less nuanced understanding is available about how young people think about their lives in times ahead. This study explores the hopes and fears that marginalised urban Māori and Pacific youth hold about the future and how they establish a sometimes fragile sense of belonging in precarious and uncertain times. In this project, Māori and Pacific young people were invited to discuss their aspirations and anxieties about the future and how these ideas are influenced by their everyday local ‘places’ in the present. Two participant groups were involved in the project; one included Māori youth in an urban centre where there were few opportunities for unemployed young people while the other group included Pacific youth living in a city area where many families experience high levels of economic hardship. The research tracks their views about who they are now as young people growing up in a complex and increasingly divided society and who they might become in the years ahead. Taking a place-based approach, focus groups and walk-along interviews were conducted in two New Zealand cities. As the study progressed, the participants began to talk about the significance of hope, and lack of hope, in their everyday lives. Drawing on the work of Paulo Freire, it is argued that informed hope can be a powerful humanizing force in young people’s lives and the study suggests that when youth have a strong foundation of hope and belonging, they are often capable of becoming active agents of social change.</p>

English The origin and development of Sufism in Bengal and Assam in India

Sufism refers to the mystical dimension of Islam, which, moving away from its rigid doctrinal form, speaks of self-realization, love, submission, and intense personal devotion as being the path to reach God. This paper attempts to understand Sufism and its essential principles, proceeding to trace its establishment and evolution in the Indian subcontinent, with a special focus on Bengal and Assam. The paper discusses the development of Sufism in the regions of Bengal and Assam by situating it in its precise historical and cultural context, exploring at length its interactions with the Bhakti movement and Buddhist Sahajiya tantrism, its impact on the folk art, culture and literature of the regions, and its role in shaping the socio-political climate of the regions over the ages. Lastly, the paper attempts to comment upon how Sufism, with its inherent variations and contradictions, survives in these regions today, and the significance that it holds for the people in contemporary times. In doing so, the paper attempts to understand whether Sufism and its ideals can become useful in promulgating a culture of peace and tolerance in an increasingly polarized and divided society.