Ethnic conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethnic conflict - Essay Example Fractionalization and polarization are two specific channels of ethnic division that jointly influence social conflict. Polarization influences social conflict more when winners attain a public prize, for example, political power. On the other hand, when prizes are of a private nature, for example infrastructure, government subsidies, or looted resources, ethnic fractionalization is more influential to social conflict (Ganguly 13). The research paper will seek to use recent theoretical research to provide evidence that social conflict is influenced by pre-existing ethnic tension and differences. Ethnicity, by itself, does not cause violent social conflict with most ethnic groups pursuing similar interests peaceful most of the time, despite inter-ethnic differences. The main causes of ethnic conflict, Ganguly (43) portends, are based on the domestic and systemic level of analysis. The systemic approach contends that ethnic conflict is dependent on the nature of security systems that the different ethnic sides operate, as well as their concerns about their security. The first systemic prerequisite is that more than one group lives live in close proximity. The second one is that international, regional, and national authorities are unable to prevent fighting among the different ethnic groups, as well as assure individual ethnic groups of their security. If anarchy prevails in a specific system, it becomes essential for the groups to defend themselves, especially if none of them can absorb the other culturally, economically, or politically (Ganguly 44). Security concerns become a paramount distress when collective fears about the capability of the state to arbitrate between different ethnic groups. In this case, some of the involved groups mobilize and deploy military resources, as the other group seeks to diminish the first group’s security, with most groups unaware of their actions’ impact on