Search

This paper argues that non-elite popular sentiment?often referred to as ?hearts and minds??is central to understanding ethno-religious nationalist movements in India and Kashmir. The emphasis is on ?critical events? in the history of the two movements which illustrate the centrality of mass, popular, non-elite agency. It argues also that standard constructivist understandings, especially those emphasizing ?discourse? as cause of politicization and mass mobilization do not satisfactorily explain the resonance, effectiveness and demand for ethno-religious and nationalist rhetoric. Finally, a qualified hypothesis is put forward that non-elite agency in ethno-religious nationalist movements in South Asia is consistent with theory developed in the field of social psychology, especially ingrouping theory, and that that work can constructively inform the political science of nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests existing explanations for ethnic violence in the Indian context at the micro-level. In particular, it explores the dynamics of violence across neighborhoods in a small set of Indian cities. Three tentative conclusions emerge from the paper, which combines survey data with computational modeling. First, cities in India are not inherently peaceful or violent, and the incidence of ethnic violence varies?often systematically?across neighborhoods within cities. Second, the likelihood of violence increases as we move from high- to low-income neighborhoods, with violence most frequently being restricted to the latter. Thus, as median neighborhood income increases, violence is likely to decrease, with the caveat that individual income is likely to be a poorer predictor of violence than aggregate neighborhood level income. Third, the probability of violence at the neighborhood level is likely to vary with the degree of residential segregation. As such, Hindu's living in Muslim dominated neighborhoods are likely to be the more intolerant and these neighborhoods to be the more tense and prone to interethnic violence. Thus, when a neighborhood does not reflect the ethnic balance of the city, it is more likely to be violence-prone. In keeping with this logic, Hindu dominated areas with Muslim pockets will not face a similar likelihood of ethnic violence. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the psychological impact of terror-related violence on Kashmir?s social environment. Historically, both state and non-state actors have resorted to the same approaches in terrorizing civilian populations, while using different weapons and techniques. For both, the goals of terror are political. However, the challenges of social and economic order cannot be adequately undertaken unless we clearly understand the psychology of political violence. These concepts in many ways guide domestic and foreign policy, but have clear distinctions. On the one hand, a distinction can be made between violence undertaken because persons have a right to defend their home, and actions undertaken supposedly to ?alter the behaviors and attitudes of multiple audiences,? whether they are ?conspiratorial? or not. Kashmir?s experience could prove important in analyzing the psychological impact of political violence. Together with its atmosphere of fear, the Kashmiri militants have created an atmosphere of widespread discontent. In this regard, ?the secrecy of planning and the visibility of results? may be illustrative of a more general phenomenon in which individual and population vulnerability to violence is linked to terror. At least this has been the position of researchers who have been active in the field, and the particular case of Kashmir. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]