Cultural Contestation in Ethnic Conflict

Front Cover
Cambridge University Press, 2007 M05 3
Ethnic conflict often focuses on culturally charged symbols and rituals that evoke strong emotions from all sides. Marc Howard Ross examines battles over diverse cultural expressions, including Islamic headscarves in France, parades in Northern Ireland, holy sites in Jerusalem and Confederate flags in the American South to propose a psychocultural framework for understanding ethnic conflict, as well as barriers to, and opportunities for, its mitigation. His analysis explores how culture frames interests, structures demand-making and shapes how opponents can find common ground to produce constructive outcomes to long-term disputes. He focuses on participants' accounts of conflict to identify emotionally significant issues, and the power of cultural expressions to link individuals to larger identities and shape action. Ross shows that, contrary to popular belief, culture does not necessarily exacerbate conflict; rather, the constructed nature of psychocultural narratives can facilitate successful conflict mitigation through the development of more inclusive narratives and identities.
 

Selected pages

Contents

Section 1
30
Section 2
63
Section 3
88
Section 4
93
Section 5
102
Section 6
109
Section 7
127
Section 8
154
Section 13
242
Section 14
243
Section 15
251
Section 16
253
Section 17
262
Section 18
266
Section 19
274
Section 20
280

Section 9
155
Section 10
185
Section 11
191
Section 12
193
Section 21
287
Section 22
302
Section 23
312

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Page 9 - Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on. We need all...

About the author (2007)

Marc Howard Ross is William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor of Political Science at Bryn Mawr College where he has taught since 1968. He has had a long term interest in social science theories of conflict and their implications for conflict management and has done research in East Africa, France, Northern Ireland, the Middle East, Spain, South Africa and the United States. Professor Ross has written or edited six books including The Culture of Conflict (1993) and The Management of Conflict (1993).

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