Social Capital Approach for Explaining Ethnic Conflicts Within a Liberal Society

Abstract

This paper examines the reasons why many ethnic movements surge in liberal societies-even though these societies are supposed to enable the coexistence of different types of people-and whether it is possible to resolve ethnic conflicts within these societies. Social capital, such as mutual trust, diffusion of information, and social support is used in this discussion, as successful coexistence in a liberal society is only possible when social capital is adequately provided to all people. Since social capital is generated from social networks, minorities want networks that may increase the likelihood that they will attain an adequate level of social capital. They attempt to build such networks by making their cultural symbols recognized by others. Confrontations that result from this kind of movement often cause ethnic conflicts. The key to resolution, then, is whether a broad network can be built, to which all different people are satisfactorily connected. As a result, this paper shows that even though such a resolution is theoretically possible, in reality there are three serious obstacles: (1) people tend to be driven by strong emotions; (2) people cannot accurately estimate the extent of suffering and/or the level of required support; and (3) minorities' primary networks are too solidified to be connected suitably to the wider network. These findings will contribute to the further argument of what conditions should be met in order to take feasible measures to resolve ethnic conflicts within a liberal society.