Armed Conflict, Blood Feuds, and Social Peace

• In Event: Violent Social Control of Civilians by Armed Groups

Abstract

Blood revenge is closely associated with civil war on both theoretical and empirical levels. Notwithstanding valuable insights from a small but growing number of studies on the close link between blood feuds and civil war, existing literature focuses almost exclusively on how the custom of blood revenge contributes to and perpetuates civil conflicts. In this paper, building on the Kurdish conflict in Turkey, we examine the impact of the decades-long armed conflict on blood feuds in Kurdish regions. Drawing on novel data from Turkey, we first offer a comparative analysis of blood revenge across the country and then demonstrate that blood revenge is integral to the onset and perpetuation of armed conflict in Turkey's Kurdish regions. However, that relationship is not as directional as the existing studies portray. Wartime dynamics also significantly shape the custom of blood revenge and can help resolve blood feuds, contributing to social peace.

Authors

• Mehmet Gurses, University of Central Florida

• Ayse Betul Celik, Sabanci University