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A Typology of Identity Conflicts
for Comparative Research
Andrew Bennett
Georgetown University
Paul C. Stern
National Research Council
Edward W. Walker
University of California at Berkeley
s background for discussions about a research agenda for compara-
tive studies of identity conflicts, it is useful to consider a broad ty-
~ pology of conflicts, a range of conflicts in the former Soviet space
that might be included in comparative studies, and the expanse of rel-
evant literature. It is not expected that the eventual research will cover all
this range of topics and conflicts. However, having a broad view at the
outset may help guide choices of more specific research directions.
TYPOLOGY OF CONFLICTS
This typology includes not only a classification of identity conflicts
and their sources, but also classifications of factors that may affect the
course of conflicts (particularly the likelihood that they will become vio-
lent); ways in which conflicts are manifested; conflict outcomes; and policy
tools for preventing, mitigating, transforming, or resolving identity con-
flicts. We conclude by presenting a model that can address issues of pro-
cess in identity conflicts, such as the potential for change in the ways the
conflict is defined.
Types of Cleavage and Sources of Conflict
Every society has the potential for conflict along various lines of cleav-
age social, economic, and political. In an identity conflict, at least some
of the parties define their grievances and objectives and organize them-
86
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A TYPOLOGY OF IDENTITY CONFLICTS FOR COMPA~TIVE RESEARCH 87
selves in terms of identity markers in the society. It is useful to distinguish
the markers that are associated in a statistical sense with objective differ-
ences between groups from those that are used as the basis for organizing
grievances. For example, the greatest economic differentiation in a coun-
try may be by region, but an internal conflict may be organized around
ethnicity instead.
Social cleavages may be defined by a variety of identity markers, in-
cluding nationality or ethnicity, religion, region, and clan or tribe. Any of
these cleavages may be used to organize the grievances of social groups.
It is useful to consider both the amount of diversity on these dimensions
(for example, the number of ethnic groups and their relative proportions
in the population) and the geographic distribution of the diversity (for
example, are the ethnic groups stratified by region or dispersed?.
Economic and political cleavages and sources of grievances may also
arise along several dimensions. These include levels of income and wealth;
differences in political power, influence, and access; freedom or restric-
tions on cultural, linguistic, or religious expression; demands for political
independence or autonomy; and access to land or other natural resources.
Possibilities for Nonviolent Expression
and Adjudication of Grievances
The course of a conflict may be influenced by the availability of meth-
ods and institutions in the larger society that allow grievances to be ex-
pressed and addressed by nonviolent means. It is sometimes hypoth-
esized that conflicts are less likely to become violent if those pressing
grievances can take advantage of the following: free elections; free press
(though propagandistic media may incite violence); free assembly and
expression; traditional conflict resolution methods, for example, inter-
tribal councils; political representation; and effective legal recourse against
violence, discrimination, and slander.
Other Contextual Factors Affecting Conflicts
The course of a conflict may also be affected by a variety of other
attributes of the society, the conflict, or the groups involved in the con-
flict. One of these is the balance offorces between the parties (typically the
government and an opposition group). The balance may be equal or un-
equal, and if unequal, may be government- or opposition-dominated. The
balance includes military capabilities, and also strength of commitment to
the conflict (King, 1997~. Other factors include the number of parties to the
conflict (two, three, or multiple); the existence of external assistance to any or
all parties and the extent and type of such assistance (military, economic,
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88
CONFLICT AND RECONSTRUCTION IN MULTIETHNIC SOCIETIES
diplomatic, ideational); internal sources of resources for the parties (for ex-
ample, revenue, arms) and the type and extent of such resources; the
degree of group cohesion maintained by each party; and the level of external
interest in conflict resolution.
Manifestations and Outcomes of Conflict
Identity conflicts may have a variety of violent and nonviolent mani-
festations, all of which may be treated analytically as outcomes of the
conflict at the time they are observed. The violent manifestations, ordered
roughly from most to least extensive, include organized large-scale war-
fare; guerilla warfare; ethnic cleansing and forced migration; riots and
other mass civil disturbances, either spontaneous or planned, for example,
pogroms; and isolated incidents of small-scale violence, such as attacks
on individuals or businesses. The variety of nonviolent manifestations of
identity conflict includes protests; electoral polarization on identity-group
lines; creation of civil society organizations that express political agendas
on identity lines, for example, newspapers, identity-defined civic organi-
zations; and complaints in the legal system. Other aspects of identity
conflicts may also be analyzed as outcomes. These include changes in the
political objectives of the parties, redefinition of the conflict by the parties,
and changes in levels of hostility between identity groups.
Policy Tools
Policy tools may be used by parties to the conflict and by third parties
within and outside the country where the conflict is located. Some tools
are more readily used by internal parties and some by third parties; some
tools benefit from the involvement of both. Several general policy strate-
gies and some tools that (primarily) employ each strategy have been iden-
tified. The major categories derive from the typology in Stern and Druck-
man (2000~.
Power politics strategies are usually imposed from outside. They in-
clude arms embargoes, economic sanctions, judicial measures such as
criminal tribunals, military intervention (limited or full-scale; unilateral
or multilateral), threats of force, inducements to negotiate, bargaining to
trade off interests, and so-called power mediation.
Conflict mitigation strategies may be initiated from outside or by the
parties. These include humanitarian assistance, fact-finding missions,
mediation, confidence-building measures, traditional peacekeeping op-
erations, multifunctional peacekeeping operations, military and economic
technical assistance, and unilateral conflict reduction initiatives for ex-
ample, inducements, graduated reciprocation in tension-reduction (GRIT),
. .
compromise on grievances.
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A TYPOLOGY OF IDENTITY CONFLICTS FOR COMPA~TIVE RESEARCH 89
Conflict transformation strategies are often initiated from outside, but
always involve the parties. These include problem-solving workshops,
alternative dispute resolution techniques, and attempts at reconciliation
by truth commissions.
Structural prevention strategies always involve the parties and often
involve support from outside. These include strategies of electoral system
design, autonomy arrangements, power-sharing arrangements for ex-
ample, consociationism, ethnic set-asides, legal guarantees of free speech
and association, and the development of civil institutions for expression
and adjudication of grievances.
Normative change strategies involve the application of international
norms, such as human rights, to conflicts that might otherwise be ad-
dressed only by local- and national-level institutions.
Modeling Process in Identity Conflicts
It is important for research to pay attention to the variety and fluidity
of ways identity conflicts are defined. For example, it is important to take
into account the fact that political objectives do not remain the same over
time. Moreover, there can be conflicts about objectives within a group,
lack of clarity about what a group's objectives are, and different objectives
for different groups in a conflict. Sometimes a policy goal is to change the
parties' political objectives, for example, from independence to autonomy.
A typology that divides conflicts into categories such as ethnic, religious,
etc. avoids that problem but doesn't adequately distinguish the objective
dimensions of cleavage in the society from the identity markers around
which groups organize. Sometimes there may be great economic differ-
ences by region, but an insurgency organizes around ethnicity. It may be
useful to think about these issues with a metamodel (see Figure 1~.
Contextual
factors
Policy
interventions
-
-
-
-
-
-
q~_
-
Intervening
variables
FIGURE 1 A metamodel of issues contributing to identity conflicts.
~ Outcomes
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So
CONFLICT AND RECONSTRUCTION IN MULTIETHNIC SOCIETIES
Contextual factors are things a policy cannot change in a given time
frame, but outcomes are contingent on them. Intervening variables are
things the policy can target, and outcomes are contingent on them, too,
but context may affect them. From this perspective, the category of possi-
bilities for nonviolent expression/adjudication of grievances represents
an important class of intervening variables affecting whether a conflict
becomes violent. A typology of outcomes should include both violent and
nonviolent types.
Research needs to recognize that conflicts are dynamic that is, that
there are important feedbacks not shown in the above simple model. All
outcomes are interim, and over the long term, policies may even change
contextual factors, for example, the structure of the state, by altering the
interim outcomes of the conflict. A fruitful conceptual framework is one
that allows the examination of conflicts in time series and that allows for
the consideration of feedbacks.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The problem of conflict perpetuation and termination has been ap-
proached in several ways, with each approach focusing on specific as-
pects of conflict, and therefore prescribing different paths to resolution.
Early studies argued that the issues at stake in civil wars are indivisible,
and therefore negotiated settlements are nearly impossible (Ikle, 1971;
Modelski, 1964; Pillar, 1983~. This approach was later taken by many of
those studying ethnic conflict, leading some to argue that the only solu-
tion is partition (Kaufmann, 1996~.
Approached from the point of view of causes of conflict or griev-
ances, conflict is seen as the violent expression of unresolved political
issues and inequalities. The answer to this situation is often a political
solution of democratic governance (Lake, 2001; Rothchild, 1997; Sisk;
1996~. Others focus on the termination of conflict and a concern with
stable peace agreements, arguing that conflict termination is hindered by
security dilemmas and spoilers (Walter and Snyder, 1999; Posen, 1993;
Stedman, 1991, 1997~. The solution suggested is a power-sharing agree-
ment ensured by a credible security guarantee from international actors.
These approaches tend to focus on static moments in the conflict, rather
than acknowledging the organic and changing nature of conflict. In other
words, these approaches often assume that what initiated the conflict is
what keeps it going, and that the groups prefer peace to war.
In contrast to these political and security approaches, a different ap-
proach looks at the economics of conflict and the motivation of greed
(Berdal and Malone 2000; Collier, 1999; Collier and Hoeffler 2000; Keen,
1998; Reno, 1998~. This approach suggests that parties may not only fi-
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A TYPOLOGY OF IDENTITY CONFLICTS FOR COMPARATIVE RESEARCH 91
nance their war efforts through economic and political networks, but also
get rich while doing so. This suggests one reason conflicts persist in re-
source-rich areas, and also raises a challenge to the assumption that bel-
ligerent groups prefer peace to war. The solution suggested is the elimi-
nation of access to these economic benefits, often through the imposition
of sanctions, as in Sierra Leone. However, these remedies have been rela-
tively ineffective to date.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
civil wars
