Answer

Dynamics of Inter-Group Conflict: Resolving Conflicts between a Refugee and Local

Part 1: Developing an Understanding

As an authority in cross-cultural psychology, I can employ various strategies to integrate the two diverse and conflicting communities so that I build an increased appreciation and understanding between the groups. First, I can mobilize and sensitize the communities about the need to appreciate human diversity, especially in terms of ethnicity, gender, religious practices, family, and gender role in the community. To do this, I will start by understanding the basic elements of the communities’ cultures, needs, and resources, leveraging these, generating support, disseminating information, and encouraging cooperation of the communities across private and public sectors (Markus & Kitayama, 2010). From the case, the refugees and women are discriminated against. Through effective sensitization and awareness creation, I will ensure that all public spaces within the town are free from inter-cultural discrimination and hostility. Asmerom (2017) reasons that discrimination discourages people from participating in various roles and from using public facilities.

The first group I will focus on during the mobilization is the communities’ leaders. Through the leaders, I will educate the community about the need for social inclusion in all activities within the community by making the leaders and the communities through the leaders understand that everyone is unique in a way and has a role to play in the running of a community notwithstanding their religious beliefs, ethnic extractions, and or gender. Similarly, I will ensure that there is little or no room for biases. Understanding that each and every person has a role to play, I will sensitize the members of the community to avoid the “Like-me” notion, gender and ethnicity stereotyping and application of double standards to ensure that what is regarded commendably assertive in an ethnic community, religious practice, and gender is acceptable to others as well. By these approaches, I will be able to ensure that women and men, refugees and local community members, and all religious beliefs are brought on board.

Apart from sensitization and mobilization, I could also ensure that there is ongoing and extensive community participation. Laurence et al. (2019) explain that community-based activities and planning is among the techniques for addressing issues of discrimination and underrepresentation of subcultural groups. On the one hand, community-based planning and activities seeks to tackle the monolithic and usually top-down technique to politics and planning by way of bringing traditionally excluded voices into the process of making decisions (Schönherr, 2017). On the other hand, Naseer and Fazal (2019) reason that participatory planning is essential since it is a mechanism that functions to empower communities to make development and planning decisions for themselves as opposed to deferring professional planners. Therefore, I can ensure that there are community-based activities and planning that bring all members of the community (the refugees and the local community) to a participatory role, allowing them to appreciate and understand the role of each communities in the holistic development of the town.

Based upon my knowledge of psychology and culture, there are various solutions/suggestions that can assist the community as a whole. Godiwalla (2019) opines that a competitive environment inspires competition among groups and a cooperative one breeds cooperation. According to Agbo (2020), the three cardinal conditions that promote problem-solving behaviors for the benefit of a whole a community: (i) the awakening/stimulation of the desire to resolve conflicts; (ii) the availability of flexible and diverse ideas; and (iii) conditions that allow for reformulation of the issues that breed conflicts. Going by these conditions, the two communities should ensure the engage in group thinking both as individual communities and collectively through their leaders to turn to problem solving from contentious behaviors.

To effectively achieve the three conditions above, there is a need for an established communication between the two communities from competitive conflicts to cooperative problem-solving behaviors. While dynamics of the groups may make it challenging to establish a communication, negotiations can be done individually among community members and collectively across the groups. The eventual effect of such measures will be a built trust between the communities, elicit positive interests, and define problems and possible solutions.

Part 2: Socio-Emotional, Cognitive, and Behavioral Aspects

From part 1 above, the suggestions/solutions to the intergroup conflict between the refugee and local communities are (i) the awakening/stimulation of the desire to resolve conflicts; (ii) the availability of flexible and diverse ideas; and (iii) conditions that allow for reformulation of the issues that breed conflicts through communication between the communities. These suggestions can impact the cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavior aspects of the scenario. According to Caber et al. (2019), when groups are in conflict, the presence of a group changes or intensifies the manner in which conflict between people is construed and conflict of usually result in patterns of splinter and expulsion. By awakening the desire to resolve the conflict, the communities will be able to identify problems that can result in future conflicts early enough and address them. By identifying possible eruption of conflicts early enough, the emergence of conflicts can be averted through better conflict resolution techniques. With reduced incidences of conflicts, members of the two communities will live a relatively peaceful life, thus enjoying a favorable socio-emotional atmosphere. Similarly, the aggressive and violent behaviors will be minimized, and people’s cognitive powers will be shifted to the town’s development instead of preparing for wars/conflicts (McKibben, 2017).

The availability of flexible and diverse ideas will ensure that there are healthy relationships between the two conflicting communities, commitment of the communities to the greater goal of the town’s development, and the members of the communities will have high morale in everything they do since they will be feeling a sense of belonging to a unified community. Ceasar (2020) reasons that a conflict that is avoided, addressed ineffectively, or denied, can injure relationships since human beings can construe incorrect assumptions regarding the perceptions, values, and intentions of others, except surfaced and examined, which can emasculate crucial working relationships. The converse can be realized when the conflict between the conflicting communities in the scenario, allowing the members of the communities to enjoy a peaceful environment and cause a change in behavior on how they relate with the other community members, other gender, other ethnicity, and other religious groups. Consequently, there will be increased or improved productivity towards the development of the town. With the peaceful environment, members of the two communities will apply most of their energy and time to the recognition of members of other communities as equal human beings and engage largely on activities that will spur the town to greater development. Additionally, there are greater chances that members of the communities will realize greater personal insight and growth. Ceasar (2020) explains that conflictual circumstances assist us in learning about our and other people’s strengths and weaknesses. However, through communication, the communities will get open to each other, allowing for better and important insights both about the communities and how the town can be developed. Thus, the socio-emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of the members of the two communities will positively be impacted.

Lastly, conditions that allow for reformulation of the issues that cause conflicts between the communities will also affect the communities’ socio-emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects. Through reformulation of issues that cause conflict between the two communities, both communities will overlook their individual discrepancies in a bid to unite. Consequently, the communities will become extra effective and efficient at whatever they do and members can become extra loyal and closely follow the collective norms without interfering with the individual communities’ values and beliefs.  Through the reformulation of the issues, the members of the communities will be relieved from the psychological and physical issues often associated with violent conflicts, like diminished coping mechanisms and deep trauma. With reduced mental and psychological concerns, members of the two communities will exhibit behavioral, cognitive, and socio-emotional aspects.

Part 3: Gender, Cultural Values and Dimensions, and Group Dynamics

It is undeniable that gender, cultural dimensions and values, and group dynamics role play in the scenario. Inequality role plays as a possible cause of conflict in the scenario, causing the two communities to renegotiate the roles of women and men in the society. The participation of women in the educational, political, and other community group arenas in the scenario is limited and their citizenry rights are substantially curtailed. With the limitation of women’s role in political arena in the scenario, their representation in the community’s representation substantially varies, while their male counterparts dominate in various spheres of community development. While a community regards women as integral members of their society, the other does not, questioning their role in the educational and political arenas.

According to Caber et al. (2019), discrimination and resource conflicts, forms of cultural values and dimensions, result in negative implications for women since they face double segregation because of the deeply entrenched patriarchy in societies. Conflicts between customary and formal laws in the scenario leave the women in the conflicting communities with restricted options to safeguard various opportunities in the town under discussion. Women are perceived to bear the obligation of food production, and the denial of access rights has the effect on the communities and by extension on children. Depending on how the communities address the gender role issues between and among them, conflicts can ensue, especially when the communities have different viewpoints regarding the role of women on the society and this can be a recipe for conflict between and within the communities. 

Apart from gender, cultural dimensions and values also role plays in the scenario. According to a study that was conducted to determine why communities engage and mobilize themselves for violence, works associated with security dilemma, according to the principles of international theory, was found to be a major cultural dimension. Godiwalla (2019) contends that ethnic groups behave and exist as sovereign states within the international system and are swayed by their closeness to other communities just like countries are influenced by the on goings in their neighboring countries. Owing to the fact that security is the fundamental concern for the communities, each community tries to better their security by strengthening their positions. From the case, it is clear that the actions that were taken by either of the communities triggered the reaction of the other, whose members innately perceive as offensive, notwithstanding their motives (Agbo, 2020). A paradox, therefore, ensues, as what one community does to better its own security causes responses that eventually make the other community less secure, causing the conflict between the communities. 

Solving the problem between the local and refugee communities can be approached in two main ways: from within and between the groups. Working from within the communities would ensure a quicker attainment of resolutions since the communities will easily be reachable for purposes of interview, education, and making decisions. Additionally, working from within the communities will save time by minimizing the time required to strike an agreement about an issue. Nonetheless, there are high chances of interference from the two conflicting communities, with each community defending their approaches towards ensuring security of their members.

Similarly, implications may arise from when working between the communities. A lot of time may be required to reach a consensus between the communities since one will have to seek for the opinions and stand points of a community, then the other community, and then seek for a middle ground. Moreover, solving the conflict from between the communities may be cost intensive since separate meetings will have to be organized for the communities. Either way, both approaches will help solve the stalemate between the two communities, despite the amount of time that will be required.

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