Introduction
At its simplest, culture refers to socially inherited and learned ways of living shared by persons as members of social groups. “Groups” differ greatly in scale – from a family or clan to a nation-state – and overlap and intersect. Thus, for any one person, culture is never singular or monolithic. Persons “carry” multiple cultures, which overlap, intersect, and sometimes exist in tension with each other. Elements of culture, “cultural markers” such as customs, language, religion, race, ethnicity, or social class, are important sources of social identity, anchoring personal identity (psychological coherence and security), and demarcating boundaries of group membership (Tajfel and Turner 1986).
Culture is connected to conflict, and conflict resolution, in four main ways. To some extent these call forth different approaches to analysis and different strategies for conflict resolution. Firstly, “socially inherited and learned ways of living” are not universal or identical...
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Further Reading
Brigg, M., & Bleiker, R. (Eds.). (2011). Mediating across difference. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Chew, P. (Ed.). (2001). The conflict and culture reader. New York: New York University Press.
Eller, J. D. (2000). From culture to ethnicity to conflict. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Stearns, P. (2014). Peace in world history. New York/London: Routledge.
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Avruch, K. (2020). Culture and Conflict Resolution. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11795-5_67-1
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