polarization, a key mechanism theorized as increasing the chances of violent conflict, remains less understood. We argue that …Does secessionism lead to social polarization? Despite much research on independence movements, their relationship to …. However, polarization does not necessarily lead to violence. We explore the case of Catalonia, a region that experienced a …

main measures of ethnic heterogeneity are employed in the econometric literature on ethnic diversity and conflict: the Gini … heterogeneity or fractionalization index and the discrete polarization index. However, still no broad consensus is reached on which … distributional aspect of ethnic diversity is associated with the outbreak of conflict. In this paper we argue that the relative …

able to better identify the effect of ethnolinguistic polarization on the civil conflict in the country. We find that, for … each of our polarization indices, there is a positive effect on the conflict. The historical underpinnings of our indices …Polarization measures, that are used in examining the empirical relationship between ethnic divisions and violent …

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, we develop the measurement theory of polarization for the case in which … polarization indices that can be used to compare polarization across time or entities. Distribution-free statistical inference … results are also derived in order to ensure that the orderings of polarization across entities are not simply due to sampling …

In this paper we study a behavioral model of conflict that provides a basis for choosing certain indices of dispersion … as indicators for conflict. We show that the (equilibrium) level of conflict can be expressed as an (approximate) linear … function of the Gini coefficient, the Herfindahl-Hirschman fractionalization index, and a specific measure of polarization due …

distribution of culturally diverse groups affects the outcome. To understand why ethnic diversity affects conflict and economic …

accompanied by polarization and violent conflict. We illustrate this point by describing the processes of land privatization in … communities, including the possibility of polarization. We find that the support of egalitarian norms is notably strong when new …, polarization is strongest when the group with the most lucrative opportunities comprises half the population. …