Violence: Analysis, Intervention, and Prevention

Chapter 7: Ethnopolitical Conflict: Causes, Intervention, and Prevention

138 7 Ethnopolitical Conflict Causes, Intervention, and Prevention Today Moamer Hasonovic is a thirty-nine-year-old man living on the outskirts of Sarajevo. He was studying electrical engineering at the University of Sarajevo when the war broke out. Suddenly on April 5, 1992, during the siege of Sarajevo, Moamer and his classmates were thrown into the defense of their city against the surrounding Serbian forces. He served in the same squad with his six friends, sharing two AK-47 rifles among ten soldiers. When the siege lifted on February 29, 1996, four of his friends had perished in the war. Moamer is not bitter about the war, just about the loss of his friends who had so much to live for. He pays tribute to and honors the memory of his Croat, Serb, and Bosniak friends who died together defending their homes, families, and fellow citizens of Sarajevo. Sarajevo was and is a multicultural city whose residents live as cosmopolitan citizens in an exciting and eclectic cross-cultural milieu. Moamer successfully earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering at Syracuse University. He is very positive and has great hope for the future of his city, whose young citizens rebuild their lives in a positive transcultural environment (Moamer Hasonovic, personal communication, July 1996). Ethnopolitical Conflict |  Ted Robert Gurr (1993) argues that the analysis of intergroup and ethnopolitical conflicts considers the role of relative deprivation and group mobilization as well as primordialist, constructionist, and instrumentalist interpretations of ethnicity. The end of the Cold War witnessed a realignment of power in intrastate conflicts along ethnopolitical lines (Gurr 1993). Ethnic nationalism became a mechanism of belonging, recognition, and revenge as ethnopolitical groups mobilized against state dominance (Wallensteen 2002; Wolff 2006). Ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Burundi, and Bosnia demonstrated the role of revenge by ethnopolitical elites bent on the genocide of rival ethnopolitical groups (Paris 2004; Sekulic 1997). Ethnically divisive strategies provoked ethnic warfare (Carment and James 1998). Because of stalemate or war weariness, ethnopolitical groups must take advantage of ripe moments to negotiate, especially when they perceive that they cannot win (Zartman 1995). A thirdparty intermediary can assist in negotiating an end to the conflict and in settling substantive issues (Pearson 2001). Consequently, in the postaccord peace-building phase, efforts are needed to promote contact at the grassroots so that bridges are built between people (Oberschall 2008). In combination with elite agreements, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international NGOs (INGOs) can assist by encouraging communication and confidence building among grassroots people to change attitudes and perceptions and to build common goals (Miall, Woodhouse, and Ramsbotham 1999). Critical spaces have to be created in which people can get to know each other across the ethnopolitical divide and to build trust and respect for each other (Bose 2007). Track II diplomacy (or citizen diplomacy), expressed through problem-solving workshops and dialogue groups, rehumanize the enemy (Fisher 1997; Rothman 1997). Reconciliation and cooperative relationships can also assist in embedding changes at the personal, relational, and structural levels to fulfill people’s basic human needs (Lederach 1997). The infrastructure of the postaccord society also must be rebuilt to nurture capacity building and sustainable economic development (Byrne et al. 2000). External international agencies as  | Chapter 7 well as private sector investment are crucial to building the peace dividend in postagreement societies (Byrne and Irvin 2002). Peace-making skills can also be taught through workshops in the workplace. In Northern Ireland, cultural-traditions training, antisectarian training, communications, and problem-solving skills have been relatively successful in empowering Protestant and Catholic workers from the Unionist and Nationalist communities (Fitzduff 1996). Analysis and intervention in the postaccord peace-building phase involves a continuous interaction of six social forces—historical , psychocultural, religious, political, economic, and demographic —over time and space (Byrne and Carter 1996; Byrne, Carter, and Senehi 2003). Moreover, policy makers and conflict resolution practitioners need to examine the increase in the range of interventions in the postagreement peace-building phase to accommodate the intricate web of individuals, groups, and organizations with their own approaches and resources (Byrne and Keashly 2000). Coordinated action across the levels of intervention is necessary to prevent duplication and to ensure that the tangible and intangible conditions are met to build the peace process (Diamond and McDonald 2000). This chapter uses the social cubism analytical model to outline some of the underlying micro and macro causes of ethnopolitical conflict, examines the...