E pluribus unum, ex uno plures: Competition, violence and fragmentation in ethnopolitical movements

Why are some ethnopolitical movements divided while others are relatively unified? A growing literature examines the consequences of internal divisions in ethnopolitical movements — and shows that it matters for a range of conflict outcomes — yet the mechanisms causing such divisions remain poorly u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of peace research 2016-01, Vol.53 (1), p.3-18
Main Authors: Seymour, Lee JM, Bakke, Kristin M, Cunningham, Kathleen Gallagher
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Civil war
Civil wars
Collective action
Competition
Conflict
Geographic regions
Hypothesis testing
Peace movements
Political activism
Political institutions
Political movements
Political violence
Politics
Punjab India
Repression
Repression (Political)
Self determination
Sikhism
Social movements
Transnationalism
Violence
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Summary:Why are some ethnopolitical movements divided while others are relatively unified? A growing literature examines the consequences of internal divisions in ethnopolitical movements — and shows that it matters for a range of conflict outcomes — yet the mechanisms causing such divisions remain poorly understood. Our argument emphasizes competitive dynamics between states and self-determination movements and between rival factions within these movements as key determinants of fragmentation. Drawing from literatures on social movements, contentious politics, and civil war, we situate our argument vis-à-vis three alternative and complementary sets of explanations based on theories emphasizing transnational dimensions, political institutions, and structural factors within ethnopolitical groups. Using an original dataset, we test hypotheses explaining movement fragmentation over time and use a case study of Punjab in India to identify specific causal mechanisms and missing variables. Our findings show some support for three of these theories, suggesting that ethnopolitical movements divide as a result of complex and interactive processes. But our findings also underscore that central to explaining fragmentation dynamics are factors capturing competitive dynamics, including repression, accommodation of movement demands, the turn to violence, and the dynamic and changing nature of ethnopolitical demands.
ISSN:0022-3433
1460-3578
DOI:10.1177/0022343315605571