IS COLLECTIVE VIOLENCE CORRELATED WITH SOCIAL PLURALISM

In order to determine the contribution of social pluralism (ethnic, re ligious, and racial differences) to violence, diverse multivariate cro ss-national analyses were done. These involved 109 variables on confli ct and violence; pluralism; and social political, economic, demographi c, and cultural differences for all states, 1932 to 1982. The results show that pluralism is a multidimensional empirical concept; that rega rdless of which dimension is focused upon, it has a lesser relationshi p to violence than do other national characteristics, such as politica l freedom. And what relationship is found between pluralism and violen ce, holding other variables constant, is largely accounted for by the number of ethnic and religious groups in a state. Drawing on this and other studies, the conclusion is that where political power is central ized around a trans-plural group, such as a military junta or monarch, or trans-plural ideology, such as communism or fascism, then violence is highly likely, regardless of what plural units may or may not exis t. And where power is centralized, nondemocratic, and highly dependent upon one's social group membership, such as ethnicity or religion, th en collective violence is also highly likely.