Contrary to the popular view that globalization of economic markets has led to ethnic conflicts, McGill political science professor Steven Saideman recently proposed that governmental economic intervention is the main catalyst.
Working with former masters student David Steinberg and colleagues from the University of Maryland, Saideman found that increased government intervention in the local economy has a strong correlation with increased violence and rebellion. A more open, liberalized approach to intervention decreases interethnic hostility.
"There has been debate over whether globalization and a liberalized economy would cause more conflict. Our results show that less government involvement leads to less violence and more involvement leads to more violence," Saideman said.
Saideman and Steinberg challenged the popular notion that globalization and free trade economic policies incite ethnic violence. Their studies show that interventionist policies such as industry regulations and foreign investment restrictions lead to ethnic conflict. Conversely, fewer restrictions on foreign investment can lead to ethnic peace.
According to Saideman, governments become more important to the economy as the rate of government intervention increases. What usually occurs after government intervention is a frantic race for groups to gain political power and the financial spoils that come with it. Groups who are harmed or feel threatened by government intervention then have incentive to rebel.
"The basic intuition is that government regulation often favors one group over another. Wealth is not distributed equally, which naturally spurs hostile feelings. If the state doesn't do much, there's much less reason to fight," Steinberg said.
While Saideman and Steinberg argue that state intervention is a central cause of ethnic conflict, there are nuances to the concept. Though the type of political regime is not a major factor, less-developed countries have a higher risk of ethnic conflict, and while government intervention affects all groups, minorities are usually affected the most.
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