The discipline of difference: Ethnolinguistic heterogeneity and corporal punishment

Abstract

The minority threat hypothesis contends that growth in the size of a given minority population along with the ensuing competition for social and political resources will threaten existing social power arrangements. Regarding punishment specifically, the hypothesis states that dominant groups will support coercive measures to keep minority populations sufficiently oppressed. Using the minority threat hypothesis as our theoretical foundation, we posit that the more heterogeneous a population, the more social control will be necessary to maintain societal equilibrium for those in power. In effect a more personal, physical, and visceral response to criminal behavior will be deemed necessary in countries with high levels of fractionalization. This more focused form of social discipline will manifest as corporal punishment. Comparing modalities of punishment against varying population characteristics, we find that countries with higher levels of ethnic, linguistic, and religious fractionalization are more likely to employ corporal punishment against criminal offenders.

On the general relationship between victimization and offending: Examining cultural contingencies

“…Sellin (1938, p. 73) contends that culture conflict is an inevitable part of social life and a "natural outgrowth of processes of social differentiation, which produce an infinity of social groupings, each with its own definitions of life situations, its own interpretations of social relationships, its own ignorance or misunderstanding of the social values of other groups." Culture conflict influences crime because members of powerful elite groups create, control, and enforce the laws (Pate & Gould, 2012). This view, supported by scholars such as Liska (1987), contends that laws are constructed by societal elites as a means to promote and protect their interests.…”

Penality, Power, and Polity

“…In a further explication of corporal punishment practices, Pate and Gould (2009) examine the minority threat hypothesis and its possible relationship to the use of corporal punishment by the international community. Results reveal that countries with higher levels of ethnolinguistic fractionalization are more likely to employ corporal punishment.…”