Social identity theory describes in and out groups. There are some interpretations of this theory as an explanation for conflict between political, racial and religious groups. I cannot seem to find research that supports the use of this theory that way. Does anyone know of any?
Hi Madelaine, interesting question. I think it is more than just about social identity when it comes to conflicts. In politics there are two main sources of conflict, tangible and intangible. there are three intangible sources of conflict namely due to ideology, religion and ethnic. These three also being used to enhance power of certain group and leaders.
The primary application of social identity theory is to intergroup relations (especially intergroup conflict). Here are some of the main articles:
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22social+identity%22+intergroup
Perhaps this is a good intro to the issue
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2004.00403.x/abstract
three important sourcesqscholars:
1. Daniel Bar-Tal deals with the psychological infrastructure in protracted conflicts
2. Eran Halperin who deals with psychological and social aspects of ethno-national conflicts
3. Edward Azar who elaborated on protracted conflicts
Hi Louis,
Thanks for responding - that's helpful. That we and them distinction seems to indicate an identification with one group but not another. The content of the reason can be a variety of beliefs or issues.
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