Theories of collective violence
Why people experience conflict? There are many different answers to this question such as unmeet needs, competitions, comparisons, resourses etc. Also there are many different theories that explains why people experience conflict and different strategies to solve it. One of these theory is social identity theory ,and this theory focuses on internal world of people by comparing themselves to others (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). According to social identity theory conflicts are coming from the comparisons because of need of higher self-esteem and as a result intergroup competition and comparison causes conflict (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). When people’s interests are conflict they faced with the need of belonging to a group to meet their social identity needs which ends with social categorization (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Making categorization, have positive and negative affects/values. The aim here to achieve a positive social identity image with the group that they belongs to and at the same time making comparisons with the other groups who are ‘not like us’(Tajfel & Turner, 1979). If the person achieve his/her goal which is positive social identity image their self esteem increases and because they evaluate their own group as superior that outgroups ,however if this was not possible then the person gets negative social identity that result with ‘managing identity’ (Tajfel & Turner, 1979).
People have different strategies to solve this problem, one of them is social mobility that means changing or leaving the group, changing the meaning or dimensions of the comparisons (staying in the same group) and going again to a competition with the outgroups (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Everyone is not using the same strategy in the group to manage conflict but according to what people chose their strategies? Firstly stability and legitimacy is important intergroup relations,and permanbility of group boundaries that means if your status is stabil in the group you are less likely to leave the group and more likely to make competition and comparison with outgroups (Tajfel & Turner, 1979).
The other theory of conflict is realistic group conflict theory that explains conflict by competition with outgroup for the limited resourses which creates an enemy image (antagonistic relationship) with outgroup and higher cohesion (hightened identification) with ingroup and these beliefs results with the intergroup conflict (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). The evaluation of the nature of the society affects the consequences of the competition if it is result with the conflicts. RGCT as the opposite to SIT focuses on the structural /environmental factors such as a win-lose competition. When the group have a common interest with ingroup they make cooperation with ourgtoup to achieve their goal with another word they compete for this resourses and they identify themselves with the group functions.