Identity-based Conflicts

Sources of Identity
• Identities are constructed on the basis of various traits and experiences. Many of those characteristics are open to different
interpretations. Race is a good example. Skin color is an important marker of identity in many societies, but in others it is of minimal
importance.
• Many people in the United States assign relatively great importance to skin color; furthermore, they tend to dichotomize color into
black and white, claiming that having any African ancestry, even over several generations, may make a person identify
with being black. But in other countries race is partly defined by traits that may be acquired later in life. For example, in Mexico,
"Indians" can become "Mestizos" by wearing Western clothing and speaking Spanish.
• Similarly, some analysts speak of ethnicity as a primordial phenomenon, relatively ancient and unchanging. Other analysts stress that
ethnicity is socially constructed, with people choosing a history and common ancestry and creating, as much as discovering,
differences from others.
• Ethnicity can be largely socially constructed, while some traits of ethnicity are not easily modified by social processes.
• For instance, some traits are fixed at birth, such as parental ethnicity and religion, place of birth, and skin color. Other traits may be
acquired or modified later, such as language spoken, religion practiced, clothing worn, or food eaten. Insofar as the traits chosen to
define membership in an ethnicity are determined at birth, ethnic status is ascribed; and insofar as they are modified or acquired in
later life, ethnic status is achieved.
• Many identities, then, are not based on ascribed traits but on shared values, beliefs, or concerns, which are varyingly open to
acquisition by choice. This includes shared religious adherence -- indeed, members of many religious communities proselytize to win
converts to their faith. This is also true for political ideologies, attachment to particular pieces of land, or practicing a particular way of
life.
• Identities vary in many other ways. They are self-designations and also attributions made about other persons. They can endure for
generations or change with shifting situations. They can exclude or include. And since everyone has multiple identities, their relative
importance and compatibility differs in various times and circumstances.
Identity and Conflict
• "All conflicts are identity conflicts..." -- John Paul Lederach
• The definition of the word identity varies according to who is using it and why they are
using it.
• In many fields, identity differences are seen to be a root cause of conflict. 
• Psychological, especially social psychological explanations of conflict draw upon social
identity theory as one of the primary explanations for conflict.
• In sociology, identity is related to self-awareness and self-consciousness which lead to
cultural norms and group identities.
• Within politics, Identity Politics is seen as a search to reconcile concepts of nation and
communal identities.
• Studies of religion attribute a large part of one's identity to one's beliefs.
• Anthropology, history, literature, medicine, philosophy and other disciplines each have
something to add to the discussion on identity and how it relates to conflict.
Human Needs Perspective
• Human needs theorists argue that many intractable conflicts are
caused by the lack of provision of fundamental human needs.
• These include basic needs for food, water, and shelter as well
as more complex needs for safety, security, self-esteem, and
personal fulfilment.
• These more complex needs center on the capacity to exercise
choice in all aspects of one's life and to have one's identity and
cultural values accepted as legitimate
• Humans need a number of essentials to survive.
• According to the renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow and the conflict
scholar John Burton, these essentials go beyond just food, water, and shelter.
• They include both physical and non-physical elements needed for human
growth and development, as well as all those things humans are innately
driven to attain.
• For Maslow, needs are hierarchical in nature.
• That is, each need has a specific ranking or order of obtainment. Maslow's
needs pyramid starts with the basic items of food, water, and shelter. These
are followed by the need for safety and security, then belonging or love, self-
esteem, and finally, personal fulfillment.
Needs theorists' list of human essentials include:
• Identity is one of the fundamental human needs that underlies many
intractable conflicts.
• Conflicts over identity arise when group members feel that their sense
of self is threatened or denied legitimacy and respect.
• Because identity is integral to one's self-esteem and how one interprets
the rest of the world, any threat to identity is likely to produce a strong
response.
• Typically this response is both aggressive and defensive and
can escalate quickly into an intractable conflict.
• Because threats to identity are not easily put aside, such conflicts tend
to persist.
Identity Conflicts
• Identity is the primary issue in most racial and ethnic conflicts.
• It is also a key issue in many gender and family conflicts, when men and women disagree
on the proper role or "place" of the other, or children disagree with their parents about who is
in control of their lives and how they present themselves to the outside world.
• These conflicts center on matters of security, fair treatment, and a sense of control over
one's life.
• Because identity-based concerns are tied to fundamental human needs, conflicts
surrounding identity often threaten parties' very existence. Such conflicts are typically more
intense than interest-based conflicts.
• This is because the issues in interest-based conflicts are typically more clearly defined and
have greater potential for compromise.
• Identity conflicts, on the other hand, are based on people's psychology, culture, basic
values, shared history, and beliefs. These issues tend to be more abstract and are
connected to people's basic needs for survival.
Nationalism and Identity Conflicts
• Some identity conflicts are grounded in nationalism.
• Nationalism as an ideology affirms the existence of peoples or
nations whose members share a common history and destiny.
• Nationalist sentiments often lead individuals to see their own
group or nation as superior to other groups.
• This can also lead group members to denigrate or dominate
other peoples and countries. Because any challenges to one's
nation are regarded as a threat to one's very existence,
nationalism can act as a source of intractable conflict.