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OCR for page 17
Priorities for Research on
Culture, Identity, and Conflict
Anatoly M. Khazanov, Aleksey Miller, 7~eokadia Drobizheva,
Matthew Evangelista, Yoshiko M. Herrera,
Aleksandr Kamensky, Valikhan Merzikhanov,
Eduard D. Ponarin
his working group's assignment is culture, identity, and conflict. The
group was not appointed by the National Research Council or the
National Academies. Therefore, its findings reflect the views of the
individuals composing the group, not necessarily those of the National
Academies or the appointed committee.
The relationship between identity and ethnic conflict should be stud-
ied with regard to the following four themes (1) the relationship be-
tween identity and action; (2) the dynamics of ethnic identity; (3) the role
of social, economic, and cultural conditions; and (4) the role of the state
and elites.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IDENTITY AND ACTION
It should be recognized that identities by themselves do not generate
conflict and violence. Moreover, if the goal is to explain specific out-
comes, such as ethnic strife, the relationship between identity and action
must be addressed more fully. Therefore, it is worthwhile to shift atten-
tion from theorizing ethnicity and identity formation to understanding
ethnically motivated behavior, in other words, how ethnic identity influ-
ences behavior and actions that lead to conflict. Among other things, this
should facilitate the forecasting of imminent ethnic conflicts.
One may suggest further research along the following lines:
17
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8
CONFLICT AND RECONSTRUCTION IN MULTIETHNIC SOCIETIES
· Interests are indeed the motor that drives the establishment and
orientation of identity into action. One must better understand the rela-
tionship between identity, interests, and action. Also, one needs to take
into account the idea of perceived interests, which might not always be
the same as objective assessments of interests.
· Indicators of the self-consciousness or status of ethnic groups
should be developed. A group's perception of social and political inequal-
ity, trampled dignity, and a sense of humiliation are causes of negativism
in identity. A condition for tolerant interethnic relations may be the posi-
tive perception of one's own group (including a critical regard for nega-
tive facts in its history and current life) and the readiness for contacts with
other groups.
· Quantitative and qualitative measures and indicators of the level
of tension between different groups as well as the conditions under which
tension is transformed into actual conflict are needed.
· Certain values, behavioral norms, and worldviews separate the
groups that are in conflict or in a state of interethnic tension. Moreover,
certain ideologies can lead to violent conflicts in specific situations. Rigor-
ous study must be undertaken to clarify the connections between ideas,
programs, and specific actions.
· The relationship between content and intensity of the components
of ethnic identity and action must be further explored. In particular, spe-
cific behavioral outcomes must be studied with respect to the components
of ethnic identity.
THE DYNAMICS OF ETHNIC IDENTITY
In the study of identity and its relationship to conflict, it is necessary
to understand identity as a dynamic process, meaning that the compo-
nents of identity are subject to change. These changes may have impor-
tant implications for ethnic relations; some changes may be related to
greater levels of conflict and others, to lower levels.
It is necessary to consider more fully the following types of changes:
· Content or bases of ethnic identity: The content of identity may
include, for example, race, gender, language, culture, symbolic bound-
aries, political positions, territorial claims, or economic positions. This
content is not constant but also subject to change; moreover, certain as-
pects of content are more or less subject to change.
· Intensity: The intensity of groups' attachment to particular aspects
of identity may change. For example, at one time, language may be seen
as a very important component of identity, and at another time, territorial
claims might be seen as primary.
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PRIORITIES FOR RESEARCH ON CULTURE, IDENTITY, AND CONFLICT
19
· Contestation: The components of identity are subject to contesta-
tion within groups. In other words, there may be competition within the
groups for the primacy of particular ideas, values, or claims.
· Historical change, or changes over time: This point may seem obvi-
ous, but it is often not taken into account, especially in the construction of
data sets, which are compiled at a certain point in time and not subse-
quently updated as identities change.
· Orientation of ethnic identity to various types of nationalism, such
as civic, ethnic, political, cultural, and others: There are different types of
relationships between particular identities and various nationalist pro-
grams, and these relations are subject to change.
· Relations between ethnic groups: The level of tension as well as
actual relations between groups change, and these changes must be moni-
tored.
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS
Worldwide political and economic changes, often associated with the
term globalization, can contribute to altering social, economic, and cultural
conditions in a way that contributes to the emergence of ethnic conflict.
Moreover, in the former Soviet area, transitions from one-party rule and
centralized state control of the economy also constitute an important
source of complementary change in these conditions.
The study of this topic presupposes that
· Ethnic identities become salient and relevant to conflict under cer-
tain conditions.
· One mechanism by which such external and internal changes can
activate ethnic conflict is by creating differential impacts on particular
groups and provoking concerns about inequality of both opportunity and
status.
· Not only the differential impact of such changes on groups or re-
gions but particularly the perceptions of those changes must be consid-
ered; some groups perceive that they are doing better or worse than other
groups under the new conditions, or have greater or lesser opportunities
to take advantage of the new conditions. These changes and perceptions
may be related to the potential for conflict.
· It is important to better understand how changes in status or op-
portunities stemming from economic and political transitions and global-
ization are interpreted through institutions such as the media and educa-
tion. The media and educational institutions can heighten the salience of
ethnic identity by invoking historical myths and grievances.
· One must understand why the differential impact of the changes is
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20
CONFLICT AND RECONSTRUCTION IN MULTIETHNIC SOCIETIES
perceived in terms of ethnic identity rather than other possible identities,
such as class, gender, or age (generations).
THE ROLE OF THE STATE AND ELITES
Almost all CIS states consist of multiethnic and multinational societ-
ies with pluralistic identities and narratives, which increase the necessity
for and simultaneously the danger of an activist state. In this respect,
the role of the state in regulating ethnic relations may include legislative
acts, executive or governmental decisions, selective enforcement of laws
and administrative practices, as well as the use of police or military force.
Along these themes, further research is needed on the following is-
sues:
· More work should be done in determining the optimal role of the
state in regulating ethnic relations and its intervention on ethnoterritorial
Foundries, especially in conditions where a state is identified with an
ethnonational majority, or where linguistic and/or cultural assimilation
or accommodation has progressed. At present, nationalizing and assimi-
lating projects are often less successful than in the past because ethnic
collectivities are differentiated today more and more by symbolic bound-
aries and markers, rather than by real and significant cultural differences.
· It is necessary to understand whether minority groups perceive
their relations with the state in strictly formal terms of citizenship or
whether they embrace the more ambitious program of civic nationalism,
which implies the acceptance and interiorization of common historical
memories, values, norms, rituals, and symbols that exceed the formal
pledge of allegiance.
· Finally, it remains underinvestigated to what extent and why eth-
nic elites are enjoying the support of their coethnics. One may wonder
whether, in the post-Soviet context, ethnic solidarity is mainly based on
historical memory (real or constructed and manipulated) and common
experiences (or experiences that can be presented as common), which
flowed into overall legitimation myths, or if it is a more rational response
to the interplay of sociopolitical, cultural, and economic factors. It is also
worth exploring the extent to which ethnopolitics provide real or per-
ceived benefits to the members of corresponding groups, for example,
social advancement, new economic opportunities, or cultural reproduc-
tion.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
cultural conditions
