Pastoral Conflicts and (Dis)Trust: Evidence from Nigeria Using An Instrumental Variable Approach

Violent Conflict and Hostility Towards Ethno-religious Outgroups in Nigeria (Version 2)

“…This study contributes to the broader literature on intergroup relations in the shadow of violent conflict (e.g., Schutte et al 2023Schutte et al , 2022Tuki 2023;Whitt et al 2021;Calvo et al 2020;Ferwerda et al 2017). The subsequent sections are organized as follows: Section 2 reviews the literature on the nexus between conflict and social cohesion.…”

“…Rohner et al (2013) had a similar finding in Uganda where they found that conflict exposure reduced generalized social trust. In a study conducted in Nigeria, Tuki (2023) showed that exposure to conflicts involving nomadic Fulani pastoralists led to distrust of both 6 members of the Fulani ethnic group and Muslims. This was because the Fulani pastoralists were…”

“…Present-day Nigeria remains polarized along ethnic and religious lines (Tuki 2023;Agbiboa 2013). Nigerians define their identity "by affiliation to religious and ethnic groups rather than the Nigerian state."…”

“…these conflicts(Parsons 2023; Christian Association of Nigeria 2018). Relying on large-N survey data collected from Kaduna, the state with the third highest incidence of farmer-pastoralist conflicts in Nigeria,Tuki (2023) found that Christians and Muslims view the conflict differently: 52 percent of Christians agree that farmer-pastoralist conflicts are caused by religion; only 17 percent of Muslims hold this view. Data from ACLED…”

Violent Conflict and Hostility Towards Ethno-Religious Out-groups in Nigeria

“…In this study, I contend that exposure to violent conflict leads to hostility towards ethnic and religious outgroups. A plausible mechanism through which this occurs is that violent conflict erodes trust and makes ethnic and religious fault lines salient (Tuki, 2023;Kijewski and Freitag, 2018;Rohner et al, 2013;De Juan and Pierskalla, 2016), which in turn makes people less accommodating of ethnic and religious outgroup members. Conversely, some studies have shown that exposure to violent conflict could have a positive effect on outgroup trust and prosocial behavior (Greiner and Filsinger, 2022;Blattman, 2009;Bellows and Miguel, 2009).…”