Do Grievances Matter in Ethnic Conflict? An Experimental Approach
These four articles talk about conflict and civil strife. Each article takes a different perspective in examining the development and occurrence of conflicts in our societies. The article Do Grievances Matter in Ethnic Conflict? An Experimental Approach gives an experimental approach to civil and ethnic conflicts. In this approach, it focuses on the perennial ethnic grievances that have never been fully settled. Shaykhutdinov and Shagg argue that people who tend to solve these grievances through sophisticated arguments and techniques are always frustrated. This frustration further triggers off aggressive political struggle leading to civil wars or strife. The citizens who feel frustrated in a country try to use political means to achieve their rights. However, when politicians end them up to the same frustrations they underwent, they get more depressed and anger builds up brewing civil conflicts.
In fact, Shaykhutdinov and Shagg emphasize the theory of frustration and aggression that links aggressiveness and violence to failure to achieve a particular goal. In this case, failure to get citizens grievances addressed by their political leaders leads to aggression and hence conflicts. According to this theory, that short time anger is easier to cool down than a long time one. Most civil and ethnic conflicts and wars are caused by long term anger.
Mark Lichbach uses two models to answer this question, Will Rational People Rebel against Inequality: the Rational Actor (RA) and the Deprived Actor (DA). These models revolve around the poor and the rich in the society. This is the actual sense of economic inequality. In this situation, the poor will always appear deprived of some important economic powers as opposed to the rich people. Mark realizes that inequality does not directly drive people into conflicts. However, high relative deprivation is a likely cause of conflict. For instance, strikes among laborious are very common during good economic times. Workers are much aware that their bosses would listen to them at the time when they fear making losses in the market.
Similarly, a situation of high relative deprivation is depicted by the United States is the racial conflict. By 1960s, the blacks were relatively deprived of some of their rights. In this regard, Ghetto riots during the period when the United States economy was expanding. The blacks therefore tried to hurt the white people without considering the effects of their actions. Finally, high relative deprivation is common in consociational democracies where learned people tend to use democratic avenues to achieve joint bargains without thus avoiding conflicts. In general, this article attempts to locate rational dissent against inequality.
On the same note, Peoples against States: Ethnopolitical Conflict and the Changing World System examines ethnic insurgency against states is the centerpiece of this article. This is an aggregate of ethnic group stratification and the historical structures that are created to safeguard them. What follows this great diversity is great competition over resources and inequality. The minority groups are always the victims of such ethnic disparities as they are mostly discriminated upon. Apart from this discrimination, the majority groups do organize themselves against the minority groups as they pursue their self interest.
Collier approaches this topic by assessing both economic motivations and grievances. According to his article the Doing Well out of War: An Economic Perspective, many people are driven into war with assumptions of gaining some economic benefits over the others. The control of natural resources of a particular country or nation has always been the driving force behind civil wars. According to Collier, rebels in a particular region would tend to recruit les educated young men who in turn propagate their selfish interests of controlling key natural resources. But he asserts that the political and democracy status of the nation are key determinants of what direction such rebellions take. This article cautions that presence of only two ethnic groups in a society is very volatile and civil conflicts can arise any time. However, on the grievances, Collier resolves that grievances are not key to fueling civil conflicts and wars. He totally differs with the previous researchers that civil and ethnic groups would draw swords against each other due to grievances.
This article goes further to examine the results and beneficiaries of civil wars. Civil conflicts results into prolonged lawlessness, economic exploitations and economic regression. The propagators of these conflicts get the opportunity to satisfy their selfish ambitions of controlling key factors of production such as land and mineral deposits. Some firms also get to benefit in moments of civil strife as they dominate the industry and make big profits. Since the rule of law does not apply during war time, a lot of crimes are committed and criminals walk away with them.
References
Collier, Paul. "Doing Well Out of War: An Economic Perspective." (n.d.).
Gurr, Ted Robert. "Peoples Against States: Ethnopolitical Conflict and the Changing World
System ." International Studies Quarterly 1994: 347-377.
Lichbac, Mark Irving. "Will Rational People Rebel against Inequality? Samson's Choic."
American Journal of Political Science 34.4 (1990): 1049-1076.
Renat Shaykhutdinov and Belinda Bragg. "Do Grievances Matter in Ethnic Conflict? An
Experimental Approach." Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy 00.0 (2011): 1-17.
