Collective violence and group solidarity: Evidence from a feuding society

Sociological explanations of group conflict usually presuppose that the var ious factors that breed hostility between collectivities also generate inte rnal solidarity. Outside of the protest literature, studies of conflict the refore pay little attention to the collective-action problem facing groups in contention, and therefore overestimate the likelihood of group conflict: intergroup struggle is implicitly regarded as a sufficient condition for g roup participation in violent conflict. Examination of nineteenth-century c ourt documents from Corsica, a society known for its tradition of collectiv ist feuding, shows that violent incidents typically did not involve groups. The group character of violence-in the form of collaborative use of lethal force and inclusion of disputants' kin-was conditional on collective conte ntion having occurred before violence began. This and other empirical patte rns support the view that collective violence occurs,then group action fail s to convince an adversary to back down. The failure to prevent escalation calls the group's solidarity into question, compelling members to demonstra te that they are able to overcome their collective-action problem.