Research project Fostering Resilience to Ethnic Polarization
The project aims to evaluate the potential of intergroup interventions in building resilience against ethnic polarization during contentious commemorations of war victimization.
While the efficacy of intergroup interventions in fostering positive intergroup attitudes and behaviors has been demonstrated in various contexts, whether they can empower people to resist active political mobilization of ethnic animosities in a real-world post-conflict setting has not yet been tested. The current project is set in the context of the contentious commemorations of the Srebrenica genocide in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Full project title: Fostering Resilience: Evaluating Intergroup Interventions in Preventing Ethnic Polarization in Post-Conflict Contexts
Project description
In research Module 1, combining experimental design with a longitudinal survey, we will investigate the effectiveness and durability of five types of intergroup interventions in building resilience against ethnic polarization in the commemoration period, identifying the most impactful approaches. Moreover, we will examine how the efficacy of intergroup interventions depends on various individual and contextual factors, such as the level of exposure to war and ethnic segregation in the local communities.
In research Module 2, combining a quasi-experimental design with a longitudinal survey and in collaboration with an NGO working on reconciliation in the Western Balkans, we will examine whether practitioners’ peacebuilding programs that integrate evidence-based intergroup interventions can foster resilience in the real world. Moreover, we will test whether there are potential spill-over effects of the interventions beyond direct participants to their social network members.
Project members
Project managers
Sandra Penic
Senior Researcher and Project Manager
Sabina Cehajic-Clancy
Professor
Members
Zaur Afandiyev
PhD Student
Erik Bojerud
Project Coordinator
Eran Halperin
Professor
Andreas Wimmer
Lieber Professor of Sociology and Political Philosophy