Revisiting Ethnic Framing in Conflicts: Challenging the Concept of Ethnic Conflict

Yıl 2024, Cilt: 1 Sayı: 1, 49 - 64, 11.06.2024

İbrahim Fevzi Güven

https://doi.org/10.26650/hupej.2024.10.1.1459672

Öz

One of the primary research agendas in the fields of conflict resolution, security studies, and international relations in the post-Cold War era has been the rise of ethnic conflicts. Ethnic conflict has been one of the most widely used concepts in the scholarly literature, as well as by international organizations, peace practitioners, and other stakeholders working to end conflicts and build peace. During the 1990s when interstate wars were overshadowed by civil wars, conflicts in the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union and in Africa, the Middle East, and many other parts of the world were defined as ethnic conflicts. But do ethnic conflicts really have different characteristics that could call for a different conceptualization than other comparable conflicts? Has it been the increase in ethnic conflicts in the post-Cold War period, or has it been the ethnic framing of conflicts in certain geographies? Is a discussion of the ontological differences that distinguish an ethnic conflict from other interstate or intrastate wars possible? The study assumes that wars identified as ethnic conflicts do not have different dynamics that require a different conceptual framework than other civil wars. The concept of ethnic conflict would only be useful if it offered a different causal explanation than other alternative concepts for the conflict patterns it addresses. However, empirical analysis indicates both ethnic and non-ethnic conflicts to be largely related to the same factors. In other words, ethnic conflicts do not arise as a result of different causes, processes, or actors that place them in a separate category. While the concept of ethnic conflict does not effectively fill an analytical gap in understanding civil war dynamics, causes, and consequences, focusing on ethnic identity differences while leaving other conflict dynamics to the side risks losing sight of the real root causes that need to be addressed.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Bosnia Herzegovina, Conflict resolution, Ethnic conflict, Ethnic framing, War

Kaynakça

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