Explaining Ethnic Peace

各民族之间的分裂经常被视为一种危险的力量，它鼓励暴力，威胁民主的稳定。此外，这种冲突被认为是不可避免的，当种族特性被深深持有和强烈感受到时。这项研究试图解释为什么一些种族问题突出的国家会经历暴力，而另一些国家则不会。该指数首先通过绘制两国的人口模式、政治和经济竞争模式以及暴力和非暴力地点在空间和时间上的匹配来检验差异。这个项目使用两个加勒比海国家（圭亚那和特立尼达和多巴哥）作为感兴趣的案例。这两个国家在历史、经济和政治背景上都相似，包括由两个主要民族组成。虽然了解对美国近邻国家民主稳定的潜在威胁当然很重要，但这个项目的最终目标是对鼓励和防止种族暴力的因素提供更普遍的见解，这些因素可以应用于世界上许多其他国家。一些民族政治竞争激烈的国家是如何避免了许多其他多民族政治国家所遭受的暴力的？PI提出了一种理论，该理论认为种族暴力是由社会和政治关系，特别是庇护主义交流和公民社会活动的性质所决定的。这一理论产生了新的影响，通过原始的定量数据收集和分析，对匹配方法的探索，以及随后在圭亚那和特立尼达和多巴哥的实地调查进行定性研究。采用各种匹配方法比较圭亚那和特立尼达的地方将有机会获得关于这两个国家的重要实质性资料，并有助于正在进行的关于各种匹配技术的相对优点的方法辩论。该项目的最终目标是对鼓励和防止种族暴力的因素提供更普遍的见解，这些因素可以应用于世界上许多其他国家。

General SummaryDivision among ethnic groups is often seen as a dangerous force that encourages violence and threatens the stability of democracy. Furthermore, such conflict is perceived to be unavoidable when ethnic identities are deeply held and strongly felt. This study seeks to explain why some countries in which ethnicity is salient experience violence while others do not. The PI examines the difference by first mapping demographic patterns, and patterns of political and economic competition in two countries and match by space and time violent and non-violent locations. This project uses two Caribbean nations (Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago) as the cases of interest. These two countries are similar in their historical, economic, and political backgrounds, including being comprised of two major ethnic groups. While it is certainly important to understand potential threats to the democratic stability of countries in close proximity to the United States, the ultimate goal of this project is to provide more general insights into factors that encourage and prevent ethnic violence that can be applied to many other countries around the world. Technical SummaryHow have some countries with intense, ethnic political competition managed to escape the violence that plagues many other multi-ethnic polities? The PI develops a theory that advances the idea that ethnic violence is shaped by social and political relationships, specifically the nature of clientelistic exchanges and civil society activity. This theory generates novel implications, which are investigated through original quantitative data collection and analysis, an exploration of matching methodologies, and subsequent qualitative research through fieldwork in both Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago. The employment of various matching methods to compare localities in Guyana and Trinidad will offer opportunities to gain important substantive information about the two countries, as well as contribute to ongoing methodological debates regarding the relative merits of various matching techniques. The ultimate goal of this project is to provide more general insights into factors that encourage and prevent ethnic violence that can be applied to many other countries around the world.