Con icts

Jadiel Galicia
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What is a con ict?
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 De nitions

• Incompatibility of goals or desires

• At least 2 parts involved

• “Part” or actor: Could be

individuals, family, community,
country, organization
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 De nitions

• Sources: Ideas (political, ethnic,

religion)

• Starting points: Aggressive behavior,

treats, pre-conceptions, fear

• Positive function: Place topics in the

agenda, numbers (people) to stop it,
cooperation
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Ideological Con icts
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 De nition

• Ideology: Set of fundamental ideas

that consolidate the mindset of an
individual, collectivity or epoch

• Cultural, religious, political

movement

• There are further divisions within an

ideology (creating con icts)
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 De nition

• Intolerance, prejudgment,
repression, rivalry, injustice, war

• Con icts among religions,

political ideas, intelectual
con icts (propaganda, civil war,
“cold war”)

• In uence above other nations

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Scalation of con icts
• Ideologies are relevant within societies

• Ideologies can in uence human

activities

• Ideologies and rivalries + emotions = the

enemy as “un xable”

• “Witch-hunt”, prejudgement, hostilities =

violence
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 Facism
• Started in Italy (1922) = Democracy and economic
crisis

• Ultra right-wing regime

• Antidemocratic government = authoritarianism,

nationalist aggression, patriotism

• Support from elites (economic and business)

• Military and economic dictatorship

• Paternalist politics, violence justi cation, race

system

• Secret police, torture and political prisoners

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 Populism
• Moral superiority (ideal)

• There is a good force vs the Elite

• Support for the “common” people, the non-intelectual

• Violence against oppresure

• The elites (political, economical, cultural, media) as a

single entity = place their agenda

• Charismatic leaders

• Economics (government expenditure, demagogy,

opportunism)
Ideological Con ict
• Ideology as shared idea = helps specify
targets of hostility

• Help to legitimize aggression

• Coexistence is not possible

• The others as “less than” (dehumanize,

distance)

• Highly defensive

• No open communication
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 Religious Con icts
• Religion: Socio-cultural system of behavior,
practices, morals, visions of the World, texts,
prophesies or organizations

• Relationships of humans and “supranatural”,

legacy or spiritual elements

• No consensus on the de nition

• They could include: rites, preach, Gods,

festivities, meditation, pray, holy places

• More than 10,000 religions = 84% are either

Christians, Muslim, Hinduism or Budism
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 Sectarian Con ict
• Sectarism: Prejudgment, discrimination
or hate based on the “superiority” ideals
of one group towards other inferior

• Community based

• Based on religion, identity, ethnicity,

class, regions or political movements

• Conversion or forced displacement of

the “inferiors”

• The “inferior” as the responsable of

crisis, misery and problems
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Armed Con icts
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 Armed Con icts
• Confrontation between regular or irregular
armed groups with incompatible
objectives + organised use of violence

• Causes a minimum of 100 battle-related

deaths in a year

• Serious impact on the territory

(infrastructures or natural resources) and
human security (wounded or displaced
population, sexual violence, disruption of
basic services)
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Armed Con icts goals
• Aims to achieve objectives such
as:

• Demands for self-determination

and self-government

• Opposition to the political,

economic, social or ideological
system of a state or the internal
or international policy of the
government

• Control over the resources or the

territory.
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Territorial Disputes
Territorial disputes
• Tangible “goods” = territorial nature of the
state

• Territorial disputes (about where borders are

drawn) and con icts over control of entire
states within existing borders (discussed
next under “Control of Governments”)

• Disputed piece of land.

• Goal of regaining territory lost to another

state is called irredentism.

• International court of justice

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 Territorial Disputes: Secession
• E orts by a province or region to
secede from an existing state

• Draw international borders around a

new state.

• Several secession movements exist

around the world, but they succeed in
seceding only rarely.

• Wars of secession can be large and

deadly, and they can easily spill over
international borders
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 Terrorism
• Refers to political violence that targets
civilians deliberately and indiscriminately.

• Shadowy world of faceless enemies and

irregular tactics marked by extreme
brutality.

• Main aim: demoralize a civilian population

in order to use its discontent as leverage
on national governments or other parties to
a con ict.

• Primary e ect of terrorism is psychological.

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