Conflict Escalation: The Sharpening of Sectarian Identity

Abstract

This chapter describes the ways in which conflicts escalate through increases in the intensity of conflict and severity of tactics used to wage it. Escalation is driven by and reinforces three enduring changes: in people’s psychological states, in the way groups function—both internally and vis-à-vis each other—and in the structure and function of the larger, heterogeneous community. This chapter integrates first-hand accounts by Iraqi residents with the rich empirical literature on conflict escalation dynamics to map the trajectory of violence of Baghdad’s neighborhoods. It lays the conceptual groundwork for understanding conflict resilience as a process of managing conflict escalation, thus limiting the formation of sectarian militants within bounded areas, and preventing violent sectarian attacks from militant groups outside those areas.

“You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.”

Albert Einstein