Can Evolutionary Theory Explain Nationalist Violence? Czecho Slovak and Bosnian Illustrations
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6307193 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Hislope (Grinnell College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 463-482 |
| Publication date | 1998-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Nations and Nationalism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1345-5078 • E-ISSN: 1469-8129 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1354-5078.1998.00463.x |
| OpenAlex | W1993252329 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 24 |
This study tests whether evolutionary theory can explain the outbreak of ethnic conflict. Microlevel hypotheses of cultural evolutionary theory are developed and applied to the peaceful breakup of Czechoslovakia and the violent collapse of Bosnia‐Hercegovina. The more traditional social science approaches of Donald Horowitz and David Laitin are presented as a comparative base to assess the relative explanatory power of evolutionary theory. It is found that in conjunction with Horowitz's and Laitin's work, evolutionary theory can make sense of some patterns of ethnic conflict. However, its central weakness is linking proximate triggering mechanisms of nationalist violence to biological foundations. Without a convincing connection between microlevel propositions and survival and reproductive imperatives, evolutionary theory fails to offer a unique and credible explanation of nationalist violence
Bosnian · Economics · Epistemology · Ethnic group · Evolutionary theory · Explanatory power · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Slovak · Sociology · Anthropology · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Law · Philosophy
Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes
Life Histories, Blood Revenge, and Warfare in a Tribal Population
Coevolution
The international politics of ethnic conflict
The Role of Evolution in Ethnocentric Conflict and Its Management
When Push Comes to Shove
Czechoslovakia in transition
National revivals and violence
The Social Sciences Since the Second World War
Race and ethnicity
Imagined communities
Ethnic groups in conflict
The Federal State and the Breakup of Czechoslovakia
Many Borders to Cross
In the Name of the Fatherland
Evolutionary Paradigm for Global Politics
The Evolution of International Norms
The generosity moment
Dissolution of the state
Transition, constitution-making and separation in Czechoslovakia
Constitutional Nationalism in the Formerly Yugoslav Republics
Bringing Beasts Back In
War and Peace
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,14 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2019 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |