Culture and Intergroup Relations

James H. Liu

Centre for Applied Cross Cultural Research

School of Psychology

Victoria University of Wellington

Overview

• Subjective Culture and Intergroup Conflict• Civilizational Conflict and Culture• Religious Fundamentalism as a Source for

Prejudicial Ideology• Suicide Terrorism and the Social

organization of violence (Al-Queda)• Nationalism and Racism as Sources for

Prejudicial Ideology

Subjective Culture• Cross cultural psychology has focused on

subjective (or psychological) rather than objective (institutional, organizational, infrastructural) aspects of culture

• Most psychological definitions of culture focus on it as an enduring system of symbolic meaning shared by people.

• It is considered to overlap with, but not be the same as society, which focuses more on institutionalized aspects of culture within a bounded territory under a political authority

Subjective Culture and Integroup Relations

• In practice, cross cultural studies treat culture as nationality, but when comparing two nations they usually select two that are quite different.

• The dimensions of cultural variation (e.g., IND-COL, PD) are too abstract to influence intergroup relations very much, although Triandis has suggested that collectivists may favour their in-group (however defined) more than individualists, and Yamagishi notes the low level of general trust in Japan (a collectivist society).

• One of the few things self construal does not affect much is intergroup relations and prejudice!

History and Identity• Liu and colleagues’ work on representations of

history and ethnic/national identity has found that the content of beliefs about historical symbols influences attitudes towards intergroup issues

• Following this line of work, it is the content of culture--specific symbols that influences intergroup relations (e.g., the Treaty and Maori-Pakeha in NZ) within a nation.

• Future research will examine representations of war across 25 cultures and their relationship with other cross cultural indicators like IND-COL, SWB, or propensity to engage in warfare.

Conflict between Civilizations• Politcal scientist Huntington (1997) argues that

the “clash of civilizations” is crucial to conflict and stability in post-Communism. Defining civilization as “culture writ large”, and claiming that both refer to the overall way of life of a people, he divides the world into Western, Orthodox, Islamic, Sinic, Hindic, African, Latin American, Buddhist, Japanese civilizations. He argues that future conflicts will be sparked by cultural factors rather than economics or ideology, noting that societies united by ideology have come apart (Soviet Union, Yugoslavia) whereas the Germanies, Koreas, and Chinas tend to reunite.

Multi-polar, multi-civilizational world• Huntington argues that the traditional political

science lenses of bi-polar ideology (Capitalism vs communism, rich north vs. poor south, Western v non-Western) obscures the complexity of international relations.

• The “realistic” model of state interests (realpolitik) obscures the fact that values, culture, and institutions pervasively influence how states define their interests.

• Cultures/civilizations may resist “modernization” or Westernization despite potential benefits. No universality because of language and religion.

Religious conflict between Islam and the West

• Huntington has been made to look like a prophet because of Sept 11 and consequent conflicts, but he admits that few scholars think there is such a thing as African or Latin American civilization.

• Religious conflict between Christianity and Islam seems to be a special case of civilizational conflict rather than a general rule. I can think of no Buddhist crusades or jihads, for example.

Historical Origins of Conflict• Christianity and Islam have been engaged in

warfare somewhere in the world throughout almost the entire history of the two religions

• Both claim universal salvation and divine origins– but Jesus is acknowledged as a prophet by Mohammed, as are other Old Testament prophets

• Arab expansion into Byzantium (Eastern Orthodox) & Persia from late 600s, leading to the Crusades and sack of Jerusalem in 1099.

• More barbaric early crimes committed by Christians– e.g., slaughter of Jerusalem, the ethnic cleansing of Spain in the 16th c. of Jews+Muslims

The Rise of Islam Historical Conflict continued

• Pope absolved Crusaders of sins to be commited in advance of their expeditions. Saladin crushed the Crusaders in 1187, and subsequent Crusades continued without much success into the 1300s

• Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople (and Greece) in 1453, and from the 14th c.-1912 dominated the Balkans. The Battle of Kosovo in 1389 was invoked by Slovodan Milosevic in 1999 as a reason for the ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims from Kosovo and the former Yugoslavia.

The Decline and Fall of the Turkish Empire;Industrialization and Enlightenment in West

• From the 19th century, the Ottoman Turkish empire was in decay, and Egypt and parts of the Middle East were colonized the West

• During WWI, the British and French drew up the secret Sykes-Pikot Agreement to partition the Middle East into a patchwork of small states they would jointly rule; division of oil revenues was delivered under the 1928 Red Line Agreement.

• Present day states in the Middle East are a creation of British and French interests in oil & power.

Historical Context of Suicide Terrorism

• The rise of Western civilization poses a threat to the identity and values of other major civilizations. Exacerbated by widespread feelings of injustice, and governance by unpopular authoritarian regimes backed by the West (e.g., Palestinians, Egyptians, Saudis, NOT Iran!).

• Seek an explanation for backward conditions that protects the self-esteem of the in-group (SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY).

• Religious ideology blaming OTHERS, both Satanic America and own corrupt rulers, calling for a return to RELIGIOUS PURITY.

Religious Fundamentalism• Religious fundamentalism has appeal

throughout the Islamic world. It can be understood as a reaction to modernism, and is found in the Western world (particularly the US) as well. Fundamentalists stress the absolutism and inerrancy of religious truth revealed in sacred scripture and are opposed by mighty evil that can only be defeated by following an authoritative set programme that leads to heavenly rewards.

Correlates of Religious Fundamentalism

• Religious fundamentalism is consistently positively correlated with prejudice in Christian countries.

• Altemeyer finds acceptance of home religion is positively correlated to Right Wing Authoritarianism in all faiths in N.America. High RWAs compartmentalize and think uncritically when it comes to their religious beliefs. Altemeyer claims that “Fundamentalism can be viewed as a religious manifestation of RWA”.

The Wahabbi Sect of Islam

• Mecca is the Holy Centre of Islam, with all Muslims charged to make a pilgrimmage to Saudia Arabia at least once in their lives.

• The ruling sect of Islam in Saudi Arabia is the highly fundamentalist Wahhabi, who believe in a simple and unitary God whose commandments are to be literally interpreted from the Koran and the original practices of Mohammed

A “Moderate” Fundamentalist Interpretation of Jihad – fatwa-online.com

• Shaykh al-Islaam (Ibn Taymiyyah) said:“Because this was a Jihad in Allaah¹s cause, which

caused a whole nation to truly believe, and he did not really lose anything, since although he died he would have to die anyway, sooner or later.”

To expose oneself to certain death in Holy War is okay.• “and whoever kills himself with an iron weapon,

then the iron weapon will remain in his hand, and he will continuously stab himself in his belly with it in the Fire of Hell eternally, forever and ever”. Reported by al-Bukhaaree, no. 5778 and Muslim, no. 109, in the Book of Eemaan.)

But suicide earns damnation

Fatwa on Suicide Bombing• Ruling: Suicide bomber goes to hell• Because this person has killed himself and

has not benefited Islam. So if he kills himself along with ten, or a hundred, or two hundred other people, then Islam will not benefit by that, since the people will not accept Islam, contrary to the story of the boy. Rather it will probably just make the enemy more determined, and this action will provoke malice and bitterness in his heart to such an extent that he may seek to wreak havoc upon the Muslims. (60-70% of terror bombers in Iraq=Saudi)

The Ideology of Al-Queda

• Ayman Al-Zawahiri is Al-Queda’s second in command, and principle theorist from his own words in Knights under the prophet’s banner

• "He [Sayyid Qutub] affirmed that the issue of unification in Islam is important and that the battle between Islam and its enemies is primarily an ideological one over the issue of unification. It is also a battle over to whom authority and power should belong-- to God's course and shari'ah, to man-made laws and material principles, or to those who claim to be intermediaries between the Creator and mankind.

Al-Zawahiri continued• “An analysis of the political situation in

Egypt would reveal that Egypt is struggling between two powers: An official power and a popular power that has its roots deeply established in the ground, which is the Islamic movement in general and the solid jihad nucleus in particular.

• The first power is supported by the United States, the west, Israel, and most of the Arab rulers. The second power depends on God alone then on its wide popularity and alliance with other jihad movements throughout the Islamic nation…”

Osama Bin-Laden

• “This is a matter of religion and creed; it is not what Bush and Blair maintain, that it is a war against terrorism,” he declared in a videotaped speech broadcast over al Jazeera television on November 3, 2001. “There is no way to forget the hostility between us and the infidels. It is ideological, so Muslims have to ally themselves with Muslims.”

Religious Ideology conclusion:Identity and History

• Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri make frequent references to Arab culture heroes like Saladin, a uniter of Arab peoples against the Crusaders, and to the oppression suffered by the common people at the hands of nationalists like Nasser & Sadat.

• Extremists and moderate Muslim fundamentalists are using the same set of historical events to mobilize different agendas– one presuming victory against all odds, the other more pragmatic, one mobilizing the Muslim nation, the other specific nationalities.

Ideology alone does not lead to violence: Social organization

• Osama Bin Laden is a “terrorist CEO” who has applied business administration and modern management techniques learned both at university and in the family’s construction business to the running of a transnational terrorist organization. There are 4 levels of operational style associated with Al-Queda: 1) Professional Cadre, 2) Trained Amateurs , 3) Local Walk-ins, 4) Like Minded Groups, each capable of operating independently.

Social organization of Palestinian Suicide Bombers

• In 2000 (second intifada) they were young males, but today, suicide bombers are middle-aged and young, married and unmarried, some of them have children and some are women. Perceptions of injustice fuel widespread support for terrorism.

• Invariably, a terrorist organization such as Hamas, the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), or the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has recruited the bomber, conducted reconnaissance, prepared the explosive device, and identified a target. Family receives $25,000US payment for deceased bomber.

Logistics of Palestinian Suicide Bombing• Quartermasters obtain the explosives and the other

materials (nuts, bolts, nails, and the like) that are combined to make a bomb for about $150.

• "minders" sequester the bomber in a safe house, isolated from family and friends

• A film crew makes a martyrdom video, to help ensure that the bomber can't back out and for propaganda and recruitment purposes

• Reconnaissance teams have scouted the target and help deliver the bomber close to the target

• Culture does not equal society. Specific social organization rather than general culture produces violence.

Racism and Colonization• Religion is more timeless than other aspects of

culture. Economic structures can lead to cultural conflict as well, most notably in the imperialism that emerged from European colonization of the rest of the world from the 16th-20th centuries.

• Racism was an essential part of the ideology required by Europeans to maintain their empires. Racism was preached in the academy (based on “sciences” as phrenology), and only got a bad name because of Hitler. Other races were considered inferior (less advanced) and incapable of governing themselves.

Empire, End of Empire, and Karl Marx

• The “white man’s burden” was to spread civilization. As one African writer wrote, “at the beginning of colonization, we had the land and they had the Bible, and at the end of it, they had the land and we had the Bible.”

• Said (1993) writes that in 1800 Western powers held about 35% of the earth’s land, in 1878 67%, and by 1914 85%. To project power over such distances and spaces with such a small population required a functional ideology of racism.

• Racism has declined with the age of empires. A case of beliefs flowing from the means of production that is the core tenet of Marxism.

Nationalism as Resistance to Imperialism

• Western superiority by the turn of the 20th century was so marked as to destroy the confidence if not the constitution of other civilizations.

• Traditional systems of sovereignty based on feudal or tribal structures have all but disappeared. What energized the non-Western world’s resistance to Western imperialism was nationalism, reinvigorating ideas of peoplehood through new leadership claiming more horizontal inclusiveness.

Nationalism as Prejudicial Ideology

• Nationalism is necessary for liberation from imperialism and other forms of oppression, but can also be the source of terrible misdeeds.

• Can involve claims to national purity & security, as when the Turks massacred the Armenians in 1915-16, or resistance to imperialism as claimed by Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait, be fusion with religion as with Slobodan Milosevic, or fused with racism as with Hitler.

• At very minimum, nationalism involves inequality, protecting state interests vs. outsiders

Correlates of Nationalism

• Nationalism as defined as a feeling of superiority over other nations can be operationalized as distinct from patriotism which involves a love of one’s own country

• Nationalism is positively correlated with social dominance orientation (SDO), right wing authoritarianism (RWA) and ethnocentrism.

The emergence of global consciousness

• The new era of unbridled free trade has led to unprecedented movement of people and ideas to create an interconnected and interpenetrating world. Global consciousness involves identification with humanity as a whole instead of particular groups, and may be an antidote for ideological prejudices.

• Preliminary data indicate that in the USA, national identity and global consciousness are negatively correlated, whereas in Japan there is no relationship, and in Taiwan and China they are positively correlated.

What will be in global consciousness?

• Probably at present it is largely economic, a consequence of needing to master the flows of money and people and ideas.

• But in the future, humanity may be able to construct a more inclusive narrative to create a sense of itself as a whole. This narrative will have to encompass both unity and diversity, commonality and difference.