Abstract
Community competence is about organized action of people, communities, and institutions to prevent, manage, and learn from crisis. Chapter 8 explores the influence of psychological and behavioral components of community competence in Baghdad neighborhoods. Social cohesion, working trust, and place attachment were all decisive elements in the capacity of communities to self-organize in protective ways. Four strategies were predominant: self-defense groups, advocacy for violence prevention, countering extremist attitudes, and community mediation. Non-sectarian leaders also critically supported collective adaptation.
Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it.
Helen Keller
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
According to a literature review undertaken by Johns Hopkins University Women’s and Children’s Health Policy Center (WCHPC). Retrieved from http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/womens-and-childrens-health-policy-center/publications/resrcgd.PDF.
- 2.
Sampson et al. [12], Ibid.
- 3.
Ibid.
- 4.
- 5.
Although respondents from SMP areas did not report this strategy, it is probable that individuals from those areas attempted the same sorts of intervention, especially during early stages of escalation.
- 6.
Norris et al. [3], Ibid: 141.
- 7.
Interview, Karada, May 2010.
- 8.
Interview, Kuraiaat, June 2010.
- 9.
Much additional research is needed on this topic. Loyalty to tribal leadership can also be a source of positive adaptation, as when tribal leaders have decided to cooperate with each other for the sake of protecting people and communities.
- 10.
Lederach [25], Ibid: 14.
References
Carpenter, A.C. 2013. Contested authorities: Alternatives to state law and order in post-conflict Guatemala. Journal of Law and Conflict 12(5).
Walker, B.H., Gunderson, L.H., Kinzig, A.P., Folke, C., Carpenter, S.R., and Schultz, L. 2006. A handful of heuristics and some propositions for understanding resilience in social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society 11(1): 13. Retrieved from http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss1/art13/.
Norris, F.H., S.P. Stevens, B. Pfefferbaum, K.F. Wyce, and R. Pfefferbaum. 2008. Community resilience as a metaphor, theory, set of capacities and strategy for disaster readiness. American Journal of Community Psychology 41: 127–150.
Cottrell, L.S. 1976. The competent community. In Further explorations in social psychiatry, ed. B.J. Kaplan, R.N. Wilson, and A.H. Leighton, 195–209. New York: Basic Books.
Peyrot, M., and H.L. Smith. 1998. Community readiness for substance abuse prevention: Toward a model of collective action. Research in Community Sociology 8: 65–91.
Raudenbush, R.J., Stephen, W., and F.E. Sampson. 1997. Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277, 918–924. Cited in Norris, et al (2007), Ibid: 142.
Goodman, R.M., A. Wandersman, M. Chinman, P. Imm, and E. Morrissey. 1996. An ecological assessment of community based interventions for prevention and health promotion: Approaches to measuring community coalitions. American Journal of Community Psychology 24: 33–61.
Goodman, R., M. Speers, K. McLeroy, S. Fawcett, M. Kegler, E. Parker, et al. 1998. Identifying and defining the dimensions of community capacity to provide a basis for measurement. Health Education & Behavior 25: 258–278.
Raudenbush, R.J., Stephen, W., and F.E. Sampson. 1997. Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science 277(5328): 918–924.
Meichenbaum, D. 2007. Important facts about resilience: A consideration of research findings about resilience and implications for assessment and treatment. The Melissa Foundation.
Brown, B., D. Perkins, and G. Brown. 2002. Place attachment in a revitalizing neighborhood: Individual and block levels of analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology 23(2003): 259–271.
Sampson, R.J., S.W. Raudenbush, and F. Earls. 1997. Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science. 277: 918–924
Cohen, S. 2004. Social relationships and health. American Psychologist 59: 680.
Ross, M.H. 2007. Cultural contestation in ethnic conflict, 32. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Funk, N. and A, Said. 2004. Islam and the West: Narratives of conflict and conflict transformation. International Journal of Peace Studies 9(1).
Geoppinger, J., and A.J. Baglioni. 1985. Community competence: A positive approach to needs assessment. American Journal of Community Psychology 13: 507–523.
Jütersonke, O. and M, Kartas. 2012. Resilience: Conceptual reflections (Platform Brief 6): 4.
Ury, B. 2003. The third side: Why we fight and how we can stop. London: Penguin Books.
Carpenter, A. 2012. Havens in a firestorm: Perspectives from Baghdad on resilience to sectarian violence. Civil Wars 14(2): 182–204.
Allawi, A. 2008. The occupation of Iraq: Winning the war, losing the peace: 236.
al-Qaisi, M. 2011. Tribal leaders pledge to protect Baghdad airport against terrorist attacks. Retrieved from, http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/main/2011/04/04/feature-02.
Bacharach, M. and G. Diego. 2003. Trust in signs. In Trust in society, ed. Cook, K, 148–184. New York: The Russell Sage Foundation.
Perkins, D.D.and Long, D.A. 2002. Neighborhood sense of community and social capital: A multi-level analysis. In Psychological sense of community: Research, applications, and implications. The Plenum series in social/clinical psychology ,ed. Fisher, A.T., Sonn, C.and B.J. Bishop, 291–318. New York, NY, USA: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Sandole, D. 2002. Virulent ethnocentrism: A major challenge for transformational resolution and peacebuilding in the post-cold war era. The Global Review of Ethnopolitics 1(4): 10.
Lederach, J.P. 1997. Building peace: Sustainable reconciliation in divided societies. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.
Holling, C.S. and Walker, B. 2003. Resilience defined. Entry prepared for the internet encyclopedia of ecological economics. Retrieved from http://www.ecoeco.org/publica/encyc_entries/Resilience.pdf.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Carpenter, A.C. (2014). Community Competence. In: Community Resilience to Sectarian Violence in Baghdad. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8812-5_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8812-5_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-8811-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-8812-5
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)