An Experimental Analysis of Conflict Type's Impact on Social Attitudes

• In Event: Rebel Group Behavior in Multi-party Civil Wars

Abstract

Coastal Western Africa is facing the growing threat of religious extremist violence. In this article, we examine how the threat from religious extremist groups exposes new rifts in social cohesion in Northern Ghana, a region facing increasing peril due to extremist group activity. Our theoretical claims hinge on the pervasive fear that extremist violence instills, leading to expectations of deteriorating social cohesion in the context of religious extremism, even across identity lines not implicated in religious extremism. Using an innovative survey experiment distributed across 20 districts within the five northern regions, we evaluate the effects of information about religious extremist activity versus the effects of more traditional chieftaincy violence. We measure outcomes using a battery of social cohesion indicators. The results suggest that, indeed, learning about religious extremist violence – as opposed to a pseudo-control category of chieftaincy violence – causes greater breakdowns in trust across numerous categories, including ethnic groups, religious groups, and foreigners/autochthones. We also find more intense concerns about safety and greater deterioration in horizontal legitimacy among those who receive information about religious extremist violence. This study forms the first part of a more extensive research agenda in the region to examine social trust and cohesion in the face of violent extremist mobilization.

Authors

• William John Favell, Washington State University

• Jacob S. Lewis, Washington State University

• John F. McCauley, University of Maryland, College Park