Assumptions of identity-based violence that presuppose linear causal patterns may be misguided. There is no simple formula that explains the movement of countries into and out of political violence. This paper from the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre synthesises the results of case studies of Bolivia, Peru, Tajikistan and Yemen and recommends the application of regional and country context when analysing countries prone to political violence. Development policymakers should resist uniform policy recommendations and construct anti-violence policies and programmes rooted in context-based analysis.
Nationality and other sub-sets of identity, including ethnicity, religion and class, clan and sub-national region are important identity markers people use to claims citizenship and empowerment. Identity politics are dynamic. They can contribute to violent or peaceful solutions. Not all forms of ethnic and religious politics are exclusionary, nor do they necessarily lead to violence.How identity politics combine within a particular context determines whether violence does or does not occur, and extremist groups that resort to violence are often small minorities within minorities and require micro-analysis of the conditions in which they operate.
All individuals bear multiple and shifting identities which give meaning to their lives and differentiate them from others.
- Identify politics can be used by both dominant and marginalised groups to articulate exclusion and discontent.
- Outcomes of identity politics vary; they can foment violence or lead to peaceful solutions.
- Charismatic leaders often play a crucial role manipulating identities and inciting violence. Masculine identities are often couched in terms that facilitate male use of violence.
- Violence is more likely to occur when its benefits versus the costs of violence are reduced. The balance of costs and benefits shifts over time and from one context to another.
- There are no simple patterns of linkage between identity politics and violence that can be applied to all cases.
Policy interventions to address the causes of identity-based violence should support contextual understanding of the sources and dynamics of identity-based violence, increase the wellbeing of the disadvantaged and address factors sustaining identity-based violence in each specific context. These approaches will work best if supported by wider measures to reduce poverty, inequality and various forms of exclusions in each regional and national context. The types of programmes that could be used to discourage identity-based violence include:
- Improved law and order, police and justice systems and better access to them by excluded groups;
- Working with media and advocacy oranisations to overcome prejudice and build public support for non-violent conflict resolution;
- Anti-corruption measures and policies to prevent the spread of organised crime;
- Support for human rights programmes targeting all social groups;
- Additional research addressing the issue of how conceptualisations of gender identities (both masculinities and femininities) contribute to violence and how domestic and community level violence are linked to armed conflict is needed. These issues are crucial to the ability of leaders to attract sufficient fighting forces to enable them to carry out armed conflicts.
- Inclusive recruitment of military, police, security and judicial institutions to ensure they are more representative of excluded groups; and
- Active discouraging of the tendency to manipulate identities to establish political control or demonise “disloyal” and marginalised groups.
