Causes of Communal War

Fear and Feasibility

Bibliographic Data

ID12407136
AuthorsSarah Kenyon Lischer (0000-0002-4807-723X, corresponding author)
Year1999
Volume22
Issue4
Pages331-355
Publication date1999-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Conflict and Terrorism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1057-610X • E-ISSN: 1521-0731
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/105761099265676
OpenAlexW1992871048
LanguageEN
Citations received7

Communal war results from two types of change-increases in fear and increases in the feasibility of gaining aims by force. Fear, or insecurity, becomes a trigger of war when an oppressed group perceives a heightened threat to its cultural or physical survival. Fear of domination or extinction leads to war when a threatened group believes that it can reduce or avoid danger by using violence. Indicators of increasing feasibility of violence include shifts in relative military capability, heightened international legitimacy, and false optimism. The combination of a security dilemma and the ability to act determines when, and if, simmering ethnic tensions will erupt into violence. The propositions presented in this article are tested using the cases of ethnic civil war in Nigeria and Sudan. Those conflicts broke out when fearful communal groups saw violence as a practical solution to political oppression. The analysis of causation suggests that prevention of conflict must deactivate the volatile mix of fear and feasibility in order to achieve a stable peace

Causation · Criminology · Dilemma · Ethnic group · Legitimacy · Oppression · Optimism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Indian History and Philosophy · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Psychology · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

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