The inevitable clash? Inter-religious violence and local power-sharing in Nigeria
Vinson, Laura Thaut
2013-05
Loading...
View/Download File
Persistent link to this item
Statistics
View StatisticsJournal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Title
The inevitable clash? Inter-religious violence and local power-sharing in Nigeria
Authors
Published Date
2013-05
Publisher
Type
Thesis or Dissertation
Abstract
Since the end of the Cold War, intra-state or ethnic conflict has emerged as one of the most serious threats to the peace and stability of states in the international system. Inter-religious violence, in particular, and the politicization of new forms of resurgent religion are now a major challenge. Not all religiously pluralistic communities witness violence, however: what explains why inter-religious violence breaks out in some communities and not others? Under what conditions does religious identity - as opposed to other salient ethnic cleavages - become the fault line and mobilizing narrative of communal violence? Examining the variation in Muslim-Christian post-1980 violence in northern Nigeria, I suggest that a community's vulnerability to inter-religious violence is a function of pre-existing ethno-tribal power-sharing arrangements at the local level. While scholars and policy-makers are disappointed by the ability of formal, national-level power-sharing institutions to avert ethnic conflict and instability, they overlook the peacebuilding capacity of informal local government power-sharing. From nearly a year of case study research and original data collection in northern Nigeria, I find that religious change in Nigeria has introduced a powerful narrative of group identity and difference that, depending on informal local power-sharing arrangements, can be leveraged for violence or peace.
Description
University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. May 2013. Major: Political science. Advisors: David Samuels, Kathleen Collins. 1 computer file (PDF); viii, 412 pages, appendices A-G.
Related to
Replaces
License
Collections
Series/Report Number
Funding information
Isbn identifier
Doi identifier
Previously Published Citation
Suggested citation
Vinson, Laura Thaut. (2013). The inevitable clash? Inter-religious violence and local power-sharing in Nigeria. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/154889.
Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.