Worldwide Issues #2 - Darfur

Although I am aware that the current conflict in Darfur is intensely complex and a product of hundreds of years of history, I am confident that some aspects of what is going on there can be better understood with the use of social psychology.  I would like to argue that the conflict and group tensions are exacerbated by competition for resources.  It is now a fact in social psychology that when an individual feels threatened, the individual is more likely to rely on prejudices to interpret the world.  What this means for Darfur, and really any place where resources are scarce or there is any threat to human security, is that people who maybe did not like each other or who were skeptical about another group of people are going to have exaggerated feelings which often result in outright discrimination and prejudice.  Clearly this is a huge issue because the conflict already exists, and this reality becomes a vicious cycle preventing any easy solution. 

Furthermore, the realistic group conflict theory can be applied here.  This theory says that under certain circumstances, hostility is caused by direct competition for limited resources.  It argues that during times of economic difficulty, prejudices should increase.  In this case prejudice is defined as an unjustifiable negative feeling or emotional response toward a group and its individual members.  The theory says that conflict should be highest among groups that have the most to lose from the other groups’ advancement.  Such is the case in Darfur; the power of the two groups is inversely proportional.  When one gains power, because it was oppressed by the other group, they retaliate by taking power away from the other group.  In this way, the groups have everything to lose from the advancement of the other and thus, have an extremely high incidence of conflict.

All of this is important and helpful when the international community is intervening and attempting to solve some of the deep-rooted problems in Darfur.  It is important to understand, psychologically, how prejudices become so strong, and why they are there in the first place.  The realistic group conflict theory is helpful in beginning to unravel Darfur’s complex history.  Without understanding where the realities of today come from, we have no hope of solving them.

"Wave of violence threatens Darfur camps"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7125209.stm