Identity in Conflict: Exploring Inter-group Relations under Terrorism in Nigeria

• In Event: Poster Session: Studies in Comparative Political Development

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of terrorism on intergroup relations and social cohesion. I conducted a vignette-based factorial survey experiment with 800 participants across three states in Nigeria, a nation marked by significant religious and ethnic diversity and threatened by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. Participants were presented with hypothetical news articles about various terrorist attacks, which were systematically adjusted to represent different combinations of victims’ religious and ethnic identities, perpetrators’ gender identities, and attack intensities. The findings show that attacks targeting Muslims reduce out-group trust in both Muslim and Christian groups, whereas attacks targeting Christians or both groups increase out-group trust from both groups. Moreover, both groups are more likely to blame politicians when attacks target their religious group. The results suggest that for groups typically scapegoated or associated with terrorism, facing threats involving other groups increases their out-group trust. In contrast, groups that are not usually targeted by terrorism only increase out-group trust when they themselves face terrorist threats. This study challenges the conventional research approach that treats citizens as a homogeneous group and assumes uniformity in the impact of terrorist attacks. It highlights the critical role of identity in shaping social division and cohesion following terrorist attacks, emphasizing that the social consequences of terrorism depend on the complex interplay among the identities of observers, victims, and perpetrators of terrorism.

Author

• Xiuling Zhang, University of Maryland