Psychology of Conflict and Development

Any policy analyst or policymaker dedicated to conflict-sensitive development would have to consider the psychology of reactions to development policies. This chapter examines how psychological mechanisms can help to explain levels of inter-group conflict, and how to apply these insights in designing conflict-sensitive development strategies. The mechanisms are complementary rather than competing, as no single theory can speak to all of the contextual nuances or the wide range of development policies. We explore the psychological elements—predispositions, perceptions, expectations, group identities, and other beliefs and attitudes—that mediate between development strategies and inter-group conflict. Unlike most analyses of the psychological constructs associated with violent conflict, we look specifically at the cognitive and motivational factors that are influenced by consequences of economic development initiatives: magnitudes and changes of contestable assets, income inequalities, coincidence of economic roles and economic variations with ethnic or religious differences, and so on. Even if the expected economic consequences of development initiatives do not materialize, the individual and group perceptions of the motives and possible consequences of adverse impacts such as expropriation, exclusion, or other unfair treatments have important psychological impacts on the predispositions to peace or conflict. By linking development strategies to their socioeconomic outcomes as well as to the perceptions of their motivations and potential effects, we can map them onto the specific conflict-relevant behaviors mediated by psychological mechanisms.