Education for peace

Protest strategies of ethnic resistance movements

Bibliographic Data

ID12876276
AuthorsRenat Shaykhutdinov (0000-0003-2937-7437, Florida Atlantic University, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume8
Issue2
Pages143-155
Publication date2011-07-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Peace Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1740-0201 • E-ISSN: 1740-021X
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17400201.2011.589252
OpenAlexW1964020327
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited27

While studying the consequences of violent and non-violent protests, the current literature is mostly mute on the question of why some ethnic collectivities prefer violent political action over non-violence. This question is especially interesting as recent empirical studies reveal functional effectiveness of non-violent tactics vis-à-vis violent strategies in achieving communal goals. Why then do some groups still employ violent tactics? Drawing on the literature that connects educational level with utilization of democratic practices, I argue that ethnic groups that enjoy a higher educational status are less prone to using violent strategies choosing instead peaceful protest. I test this hypothesis using data on 238 ethnic groups in 106 states from 1945 to 2000. The results of the statistical analysis indicate that groups with higher levels of educational attainment are more likely to engage in non-violent protest. Conversely, groups that enjoy lower educational status in their respective societies tend to use violent tactics. Keywords: non-violencepolitical strategieseducationethnic movements Notes 1. In the original MAR coding, the minimum value of one reflects instances in which the efforts of elites were confined to public statements pressing for political demands; a two reflects acts of symbolic resistance, including sit-ins, sabotage, and blockage of traffic; a three signifies small demonstrations, rallies, strikes, and/or riots with a total participation of less than 10,000; a four is assigned to the instances of medium demonstrations with the total number of participants of less than 100,000. A value of five indicates the holding of demonstrations involving at least 100,000 people. Although the MAR scale of the protest variable reflects the action of groups, which, in certain instances, might follow the actions of states, the scale captures primarily groups' behavior. Complete information concerning this coding scale is available from the MAR website at http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/data.asp. 2. In the original MAR coding, the score for this indicator ranges between one and seven with the scale representing increasing degrees of violence. The minimum value of one identifies those cases in which activities were limited to sporadic terrorism; the maximum value indicates the existence of a protracted civil war; a group is scored with a two if it conducts terrorist campaigns; a three reflects local rebellions; a four signifies small-scale guerilla activity; a five is assigned to intermediate guerilla activity; a six reflects large-scale guerrilla activity. Complete information concerning this coding scale is available from the MAR website at http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/data.asp. 3. The unit of analysis in the OLS test is ethnic group–country. Data for each independent variable in the analysis was averaged out for all available years from 1945 to 2000

Criminology · Ethnic conflict · Ethnic group · Peace Education · Pedagogy · Political science · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · Gender Studies · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub