Why does ethnic conflict exist? The problem and danger of interethnic conflicts
Examples of such events were given to many nations at a very significant cost. The bloody world wars of the twentieth century will long be remembered in every corner of the globe. Modern society, it would seem, opposes any military actions and conflicts, at the heart of its development are liberal ideas, healthy competition and world globalization. However, in reality, things are somewhat different. The number of conflicts on national and religious grounds is only increasing every year, and an increasing number of participants are involved in the cycle of such battles, which leads to a gradual expansion of the problem.
Mismatch of national interests, territorial claims, negative perception sides of each other - all this forms interethnic conflicts.
Examples of such situations are covered in the political news with enviable consistency.
It is a kind of social conflict, which is based on many factors and contradictions, as a rule, ethno-social, political, national and state.
The causes of national conflicts, if we analyze them in more detail, are very similar in many ways:
- Fight for resources. Depletion and uneven distribution natural resources providing the most often leads to inciting disputes and strife.
- Population growth in conditions of closed territory, uneven level of quality of life, massive forced
- Terrorism as a phenomenon requiring tough measures and, as a result, aggravation
Religious differences
The interethnic ones of which will be given below relate primarily to the largest power of the twentieth century - Soviet Union. Many contradictions arose between the union republics, especially in the Caucasus region. A similar situation persists after the former constituent parts countries of the Soviets of sovereign status. Since the collapse of the USSR, more than one hundred and fifty different conflicts have been registered in Chechnya, Abkhazia, Transnistria.
The presence of the disadvantaged within the framework of a sovereign country directly forms the basis of the concept of "interethnic conflicts", examples of which are becoming more and more frequent. This is the Gagauz conflict in Moldova, the Abkhazian and Ossetian conflicts in Georgia. Usually, with such contradictions, the population inside the country is divided into indigenous and non-indigenous, which leads to an even sharper aggravation of the situation.
Examples of religious conflicts are no less common. The most striking of them is the fight against infidels in numerous Islamic countries and regions (Afghanistan, Chechnya, etc.). Similar conflicts are also characteristic of the African continent, the fierce struggle of the Muslim authorities and representatives of other faiths claimed more than two million lives, and wars in the holy land between Muslims and Jews last for decades.
The same sad list includes conflicts in Kosovo between Serbs and Albanians, the struggle for the independence of Tibet.
Almost all modern states multinational. All the capitals of the world are multinational, big cities and even villages. And that's precisely why, today more than ever, you need to be correct and attentive both in words and in actions. Otherwise, you can be involved in completely unexpected and unreasonable ups and downs, and sometimes even in a clearly formed ethnic conflict.
Interethnic conflict- this is a complication of relations between nations and peoples up to direct hostilities. As a rule, interethnic conflicts can occur at two levels of interethnic relations. So one of them is connected with interpersonal and family relations, while the other is realized through the interaction of federal constitutional and legal bodies and subjects of the Federation, political parties and movements.
CAUSES AND FACTORS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS
ethnic conflicts like social phenomenon there is a clash of interests of different levels and content, and is a manifestation of complex deep-seated processes in relations between individual ethnic communities, groups of people, proceeding under the influence of many socio-economic, political, historical, psychological, territorial, separatist, linguistic, cultural, religious and other factors.
Factors influencing interethnic conflicts:
1. National composition conflict region (higher probability in mixed regions);
2. Type of settlement (the probability is higher in a large city);
3. Age (extreme poles: "older-younger" give a higher probability of conflict);
4. Social status (higher likelihood of conflict in the presence of marginals);
5. Level of education (the roots of the conflict nestle in the mass of a low level of education, however, it should be remembered that its ideologists are always individual representatives of the intelligentsia);
6. Political views (conflicts are much higher among the radicals).
Whatever the reasons may be caused by interethnic conflicts, they lead to a massive violation of laws and the rights of citizens.
The objective reasons for the aggravation of interethnic tensions can be:
Firstly, the consequences of serious deformations of the national policy, the dissatisfaction accumulated over many decades, which spilled out in the conditions of openness and democratization;
Secondly, the result of a serious deterioration economic situation in the country, which also generates discontent and enmity among various segments of the population, and these negative moods are channeled, primarily in the sphere of interethnic relations;
Thirdly, a consequence of the ossified structure of the state system, the weakening of the foundations on which the free federation of the Soviet peoples was created.
Subjective factors are also important.
Interethnic conflicts due to the reason and nature of origin can be:
Socio-economic (unemployment, delays and non-payment of wages, social benefits that do not allow most citizens to meet the necessary needs, the monopoly of representatives of one of the ethnic groups in any service sector or industry National economy, etc.);
Cultural and linguistic (associated with the protection, revival and development of the native language, national culture and guaranteed rights of national minorities);
Ethno-demographic (relatively rapid change in the ratio of the population, i.e. an increase in the share of the newcomer, other ethnic population in connection with the migration of forced migrants, refugees);
Ethnoterritorial-status (non-coincidence of state or administrative borders with the boundaries of the settlement of peoples, the demand of small peoples to expand or acquire a new status);
Historical (relationships in the past - wars, former relations of the "domination - submission" policy, deportations and negative aspects related to them historical memory, etc.);
Inter-religious and inter-confessional (including differences in the level of the modern religious population);
Separatist (requirement to create their own independent statehood or reunification with a neighboring "mother" or related state from a cultural and historical point of view).
Cause any rash or knowingly provocative statements by politicians, national leaders, representatives of the clergy, the media, domestic incidents, cases can also become interethnic conflicts.
Conflicts over national values, the most important attitudes in the sphere of interethnic relations are among the most difficult to resolve, it is here that the problem of ensuring and protecting the civil, socio-cultural rights of individuals, representatives of certain ethnic groups can be most acute.
According to A.G. Zdravomyslova, source of conflict is the measure and form of distribution of power and positions available in the hierarchy of power and management structures.
FORMS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS
There are civilized and uncivilized forms ethnic conflicts:
a) local wars (civil, separatist);
b) mass riots accompanied by violence, gross and numerous violations of the rights and freedoms of the individual;
c) religious fundamentalism.
Depending on the motives (reasons), characteristics of the subjective composition, interethnic conflicts can be represented as follows:
1) national-territorial conflicts. In many cases, these conflicts contain attempts to solve problems " historical homeland» (original territories of residence or reunification of different ethnic communities);
2) conflicts related to the desire of national minorities to exercise the right to self-determination;
3) conflicts, the source of which is the desire of the deported peoples to restore their rights;
4) conflicts based on the clash of the ruling national elites in the economic and political spheres;
5) conflicts related to discrimination of any nation, ethnic group, violation of its rights or rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of its representatives;
6) conflicts caused by belonging (on a national basis) to different religious communities, movements, i.e., on confessional grounds;
7) conflicts based on differences and clashes of national values (legal, linguistic, cultural, etc.).
The following figures also testify to the importance of research and prevention of conflicts on an ethnic, interethnic basis: according to some unofficial sources, in the period from 1991 to 1999, the death toll in interethnic conflicts in the post-Soviet space amounted to more than one million people.
WAYS TO SOLUTION INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS
Interethnic conflicts are one of those types of conflicts for which it is impossible to find a standard approach or solution, since each of them has its own peculiarity, basis. World experience shows that such situations are best resolved only by peaceful means.
So the most famous of them are:
1. Deconsolidation (separation) of the forces involved in the conflict, which, as a rule, is achieved through a system of measures that allow cutting off (for example, by discrediting in the eyes of the public) the most radical elements or groups and supporting the forces prone to compromise, negotiations.
2. Interruption of the conflict - a way that allows you to expand the action of pragmatic approaches to its regulation, and as a result of which the emotional background of the conflict changes, the intensity of passions decreases.
3. The negotiation process is a method for which there are special rules. In order to succeed in it, the pragmatization of negotiations is necessary, which consists in dividing the global goal into a number of sequential tasks. Usually, the parties are ready to conclude agreements on vital needs, about which a truce is established: for the burial of the dead, the exchange of prisoners. Then they move on to the most relevant economic, social issues. Political issues, especially those of symbolic significance, are put aside and decided last. Negotiations should be conducted in such a way that each side seeks to find satisfactory moves not only for itself, but also for the partner. As conflictologists say, it is necessary to change the “win-lose” model to the “ win - win". Each step in the negotiation process should be documented.
4. Participation in negotiations of intermediaries or mediators. In particularly difficult situations, the legitimacy of agreements is confirmed by the participation of representatives of international organizations.
Conflict resolution is always a complex process bordering on art. It is much more important to prevent the development of events leading to conflicts. The sum of efforts in this direction is defined as conflict prevention. In the process of their regulation, ethnosociologists and political scientists act as experts to identify and test hypotheses about the causes of the conflict, to assess " driving forces”, the mass participation of groups in one or another scenario, to assess the consequences of decisions made
There are several theories explaining the causes of interethnic conflicts based on the study of experience gained in various regions of the world. Differing in scale, social significance, origin, "age", tension, inter-ethnic conflicts have one "final nature" that contributes to ethnic mobilization. Their deep roots are violation of the rights of this or that ethnic group, ethnic group, lack of justice and equality in interethnic relations.
The immediate causes of an ethnic conflict may be territorial, economic, political, social, psychological and other contradictions. It is not uncommon for a conflict to arise - the presence of several reasons. It should also be noted that the subjective factor plays a crucial role in the emergence of a conflict, greatly complicating its course and settlement. It is the subjective factor that makes the inter-ethnic conflict explosive and intense.
The inter-ethnic conflict, which is influenced by the religious factor, acquires a special color. An analysis of conflicts gives reason to believe that the role of the religious factor in ideological support is very large and quite often is a direct guide in the clashes of the conflicting parties.
The basis of interethnic conflicts are the problems and contradictions that arise in the process of relations between ethnic groups. In a multinational state, any issue, no matter what it concerns - economy, politics, culture - invariably acquires a national expression. The emergence of interethnic conflicts and their severity largely depend on the form of building a multinational state, its national policy.
One of the main causes of interethnic conflicts is the territorial problem, territorial disputes. The essence of the problem usually lies in the fact that as a result of numerous migrations of the population, conquests and other geopolitical processes, the territory of the ethnic group's settlement in the past has repeatedly changed, and the borders of the state have changed. As a result, there are territorial claims, and as arguments, a statement is put forward about the belonging of a particular territory to a certain ethnic group in the past. Moreover, the time from which the ethnicity of the disputed territory is counted is chosen by the parties arbitrarily, depending on the goals of the disputing parties. Due to their complexity and subjectivity, territorial disputes are the most complex and practically insoluble.
Ethnoterritorial issues are linked to political causes of conflicts. We are talking, first of all, about the problem of the creation by ethnic groups of independent territorial-state formations. Most of ethnic groups on the planet does not have its own independent national-state formations. With the development of the economy and culture of ethnic groups, the growth of their ethnic self-consciousness, movements arise among them, with the goal of creating an independent national state. Such a movement usually arises if an ethnos at some stage of its history already had statehood and subsequently lost it. Political causes of conflicts also arise when there is a restriction or deprivation of political and personal rights and freedoms of a part of a group (and even entire peoples) on the basis of national (ethnic) affiliation. The division of ethnic groups into “indigenous” and “non-indigenous”, “titular” and “non-titular” also gives rise to political and legal inequality, and, therefore, can be the cause of interethnic conflicts.
Diverse Economic Causes of Ethnic Conflicts. First of all, it is the struggle of ethnic groups for the possession of material resources and property, among which the most valuable are land and subsoil. The essence of the conflict boils down to the fact that each of the conflicting parties seeks to justify its "natural" right to use land and natural resources. An interethnic conflict may be the result of the deprivation of ethnic peripheral groups, uneven development, uneven modernization of the "core" and ethno-national "periphery" in a multinational multi-ethnic state. In these cases, economic inequality between different ethnic groups, perceived as a collective ethno-national infringement, becomes the reason for the formation and manifestation of ethnic solidarity.
Ethnic conflicts can arise due to social causes, social tension. More often this happens in a crisis state of society, when the prerequisites for socio-political confrontation and conflicts are formed, including those based on ethnicity. Similar conflicts are observed in multi-ethnic states when social heterogeneity develops in an extraterritorial aspect. And then the problems of social insecurity, unemployment, ethno-demography and others acquire a visibly pronounced ethnic character. In prestigious activities, competition arises between titular and non-titular ethnic groups. It also happens when an ethnic conflict can become an effective way of “draining” a social explosion into the mainstream of interethnic confrontation.
Another reason for ethnic conflicts can be ethno-cultural, including linguistic, problems.. When the ethno-cultural demands of a particular ethnic group are not met, conditions for learning and using the native language are not provided, or even linguistic chauvinism is clearly manifested, this leads to inter-ethnic tension and potential conflict. However, it should be noted that we are not talking about “purely” ethno-cultural problems; social interests are visible behind them. Thus, giving state status to the language of only the titular nation in a multi-ethnic state infringes on the importance of the languages of other ethnic groups and becomes a means to occupy key positions in society, i.e. provides representatives of the titular nation with certain privileges.
In the formation of interethnic tension big role socio-psychological factors play. Ethnic tension as a mass mental state is based on emotional contagion, mental suggestion and imitation. National grievances and injustices remain in historical memory for a particularly long time. Interethnic tension is also characterized by such a mental state as mass neuroticism. This state is characterized by increased emotional arousal, causing various negative experiences: anxiety, anxiety, irritability, confusion, despair. The “us/them” relations are polarized even more sharply: one's own ethnic group is evaluated more positively, while others' more negatively. Psychological tension can be created by ethnic problems - real and imaginary - based on rumors, false information, provocations.
Of course, ethnic conflicts are caused not only by the reasons noted above. Analyzing ethnic conflicts in the post-Soviet space, one can single out the causes of the most diverse nature. If we combine these reasons into several groups, we get the following picture:
socio-economic- inequality in the standard of living, unemployment, different quantitative representation in prestigious professions;
administrative and political- the hierarchy of peoples (union, autonomous republics, autonomous regions and districts), representation in government bodies, the entry of one form of national statehood into another;
cultural and linguistic- insufficient attention to national culture and language from the point of view of non-Russian peoples, the displacement of national languages by the Russian language from public life;
ethnodemographic and ethnomigratory- a rapid change in the ratio of the number of contacting ethnic groups due to migration and differences in the level of natural population growth;
ethnoterritorial- non-coincidence of state or administrative borders with the borders of the settlement of peoples, arbitrary redrawing of inter-republican borders, unjustified transfer of territories;
confessional- not only the multi-ethnicity of the national republics and regions, but also the multi-confessionalism of the population, overlapping and intertwining with each other;
historical- the influence of past relationships between peoples (not only peaceful, but also conflict, unequal, wars, etc.).
AT conflict situations the contradictions that exist between communities of people consolidated on an ethnic basis are exposed. However, not every conflict involves the entire ethnic group, it can be part of it, a group that feels the contradictions leading to conflict. Thus, most ethno-territorial disputes are on behalf of political elites, governments, movements. And far from always such disputes capture significant groups of some ethnic group.
Introduction. 3
Types of interethnic conflicts. four
Historical background. 5
Causes of interethnic conflicts. 7
Solution of interethnic conflicts. ten
Conclusion. 12
Literature. 13
Introduction
AT modern science conflict is understood as a clash of mismatched, sometimes opposing interests, actions of the views of individuals, political parties, public organizations, socio-political and socio-economic systems. Conflicts differ by subjects, by levels of conflict relations and by object.
The end of the 80s - the beginning of the 90s were marked by interethnic conflicts that broke out on the territory of the Soviet and post-Soviet space.
Interethnic conflict is one of the forms of relations between national communities, characterized by the state mutual claims, which has a tendency to increase, confrontation up to armed clashes, open wars.
Ethnopolitical conflicts that have found their expression in large and small wars on ethnic and territorial grounds in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Moldova, Chechnya, Georgia, North Ossetia, Ingushetia led to numerous casualties among the civilian population. And today, the events taking place in Russia testify to destructive trends that threaten new conflicts.
Types of ethnic conflicts
Importance has the establishment of a typology of interethnic conflicts. In this case, the following division of conflicts can be determined as the basis for classification:
· by spheres of manifestation (socio-economic, cultural-linguistic, territorial-status, separatist);
By goals (realistic, unrealistic);
By volume of use military force(peaceful, with minimal use of military force);
vertically (between the center and the republics, interregional and local authorities);
· horizontally (between groups of indigenous and non-indigenous nationalities, micro-conflicts at the personal level).
Historical background
The end of the 1980s - the beginning of the 1990s was marked by complex and contradictory events in their essence and significance. And the most grandiose event was the disappearance of the name of such a state as the USSR on the world map. Instead, a dozen and a half independent states appeared, including the Russian Federation. It so happened that in a short period of time the country moved from one historical period in another, changed state structure, institutions of power and its attributes. In Russia, the former political system has been destroyed, the proportions of forms of ownership are changing, and the system of social relations is changing. Serious obstruction to traffic Russian Federation forward along the path of economic reforms and overcoming the crisis are the aggravation of interethnic contradictions within the country and the problems of relations with the former Soviet republics. The country has not developed a concept of a national state structure, and until recently there was also no clear program of national policy.
Conflicts have become a reality due to the sharp aggravation of interethnic relations in former USSR from the second half of the 80s. Nationalist manifestations in a number of republics alerted the center, but no effective measures were taken to localize them. The first unrest on ethno-political grounds took place in the spring of 1986 in Yakutia, and in December of the same year - in Alma-Ata. This was followed by demonstrations of the Crimean Tatars in the cities of Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Bekabad, Yangiyul, Fergana, Namangan, etc.), in Moscow on Red Square. An escalation of ethnic conflicts began, leading to bloodshed (Sumgayit, Fergana, Osh). The zone of conflict actions has expanded. In 1989, several hotbeds of conflict emerged in Central Asia, Transcaucasia. Later, their fire covered Transnistria, Crimea, the Volga region, and the North Caucasus.
Only for the period from 1988 to 2001 on ethnic grounds in the former Soviet republics more than 150 conflicts took place, including about 20 that resulted in loss of life.
Causes of interethnic conflicts
The immediate cause of the emergence of interethnic conflicts is the divergence and clash of interests of the subjects of interethnic relations (nation-state formations, nations, nationalities, national groups). The conflict arises when the resolution of such contradictions is inconsistent and untimely. A powerful catalyst for the development of the conflict is the politicization of national interests, the intersection of the national and the state. Provoked by the interweaving of political interests in national conflict, it reaches the highest stage of exacerbation, turns into national antagonism.
Behind every ethnic, national conflict is the tragedy of human destinies, the drama of peoples and, no less dangerous, the inevitability of transferring old grievances, insults, injustices into the memory of coming generations, which, if they were not removed or did not receive a proper legal assessment, did not find an appropriate public censure and punishment, could subsequently push to solve even simple cases by unrighteous actions. There are many examples of this, including national history from its earliest times.
Interethnic conflicts have become commonplace in modern world. According to the Stockholm international institute According to the Oslo Peace Study, two-thirds of all violent conflicts in the mid-1990s were inter-ethnic. In our country, the collapse of the USSR was also accompanied by sharp inter-ethnic, inter-ethnic contradictions and conflicts.
Until the 80s of the last century, nothing was publicly said about interethnic conflicts in the USSR. It was believed that in our country national question finally resolved. And it must be admitted that there were no major open interethnic conflicts. At the household level, there were inter-ethnic antipathies and friction, and crimes were committed on this basis. However, the latter have never been separately accounted for and tracked.
Analyzing ethnic conflicts in the Russian Federation and neighboring countries, one should highlight historical reasons emergence and escalation of conflicts. These include the injustice of the administrative-political hierarchy of peoples (union, autonomous republics, autonomous regions, districts), arbitrary redrawing of borders national formations, deportation of peoples.
As a result of violence, it is necessary to consider the imbalance in the transformation of society, when social and economic inequality, competition in the labor market, land and housing develop into interethnic conflicts. Such is the nature of the conflict-riots of the late 1980s - early 1990s - Fergana, Dushanbe, Osh - and other similar events. Most often, the ethnic community "under attack" acted as a "scapegoat".
The transition to democratization, accompanied by a struggle in the society of old and new political elites, became a detonator, which in a multi-ethnic society led to the fact that the struggle "acquired an ethno-political coloring." Inept, inconsistent steps to transform the state into a real federation, an attempt to stop disintegration tendencies in the republics by force (Tbilisi events in 1989, Baku events in 1990, Vilnius events in 1991) led to the aggravation of ethnopolitical conflicts.
Some conflicts are a consequence of the collapse of the USSR, when in the seceded republics the former autonomies or those who wanted to receive it entered the struggle "for their share of the political and territorial inheritance" (Abkhazia, South Ossetia - in Georgia, Gagauzia and Transnistria - in Moldova, Karabakh - in Azerbaijan). ).
Interethnic conflicts do not arise unexpectedly, but mature over a long period of time. The reasons leading to them are manifold. Their combination in each case is special. At the same time, for the emergence of an ethnic conflict, as a rule, the presence of three factors is necessary.
· The first factor is related to the level of national self-consciousness, which can be adequate, underestimated or overestimated. The last two levels contribute to the emergence of ethnocentric aspirations.
· The second factor is the presence in society of a "critical" mass of social problems that put pressure on all aspects of national existence.
· The third factor is the presence of political forces capable of using the first two factors in the struggle for power.
Interethnic conflict
Interethnic conflict- conflict between representatives of ethnic communities, usually living in close proximity in any state.
Causes and stages of development
Although the majority of inter-ethnic conflicts are based on completely rational reasons, the very concepts of ethnicity, ethnic culture and ethnic identity, the division into “friends and foes” on a national basis, are the basis for their occurrence. This does not require direct contact between representatives of certain nationalities - an opinion about certain ethnic groups can be formed in absentia (through mass media and etc.).
The conflict passes into the “explicit phase” after the beginning of the establishment of ethno-social relations, when the comparison of “us” and “them” begins. social status, level of income, education, etc. Corruption arises (protection of representatives of one's own nationality, "fellowship" and nepotism). The conflict begins to take on an economic and political tinge - access to certain resources begins to be determined by nationality. With a combination of certain factors, it becomes possible to change this order only by force, which is what happens.
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