E-Letter responses to:

reports: May Lim, Richard Metzler, and Yaneer Bar-Yam Global Pattern Formation and Ethnic/Cultural Violence Science 2007; 317: 1540-1544 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

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Published E-Letter responses:

Response to S. T. Hussain and W. Shearer's E-Letters

Yaneer Bar-Yam   (12 March 2008)

Determine Indicators for Conflict Avoidance

Walter Shearer   (12 March 2008)

Solutions for Ethnic/Cultural Violence

Syed Taffazull Hussain   (12 March 2008)

Response to S. T. Hussain and W. Shearer's E-Letters 12 March 2008
Yaneer Bar-Yam New England Complex Systems Institute, 24 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Respond to this E-Letter: Re: Response to S. T. Hussain and W. Shearer's E-Letters	Hussain suggests that the effects of separating ethnic groups might be worse than the violence that results from existing conditions of partial mixing. Conflict, mass refugees and social disruption around the world demonstrate the risks inherent in current conditions, and the de facto partitioning in the wake of violence. Consistent with our study, policy-imposed alternatives include either more complete mixing or separation. Singapore (1) restricts personal choice by compelling mixed ethnicities in public housing. Meanwhile, historical partitions and population displacements have occurred in Cyprus (1974), Indian Subcontinent (1947), Ireland (1921), Palestine (1947) and the Former Yugoslavia (1991). Consistent with our study indicating that partitions can decrease violence, analyses suggest that violence following partitions occurred primarily in those areas that were not well partitioned, rather than the ones that were (2). Acknowledging that the use of partitions can lead to other problems, we suggested ways to mitigate impacts on the population, such as incentives and subnational autonomy that would make a process of partition less problematic. Based on our research, we believe that increasing contact between groups to promote homogeneity, as Hussein suggests, would be difficult to achieve in areas where populations are already separated at the level we find characteristic of violence. If, however, contact were promoted when populations are mixed in smaller groups, we agree that the potential homogenizing influence of enhanced social interactions (3) could conceivably prevent the separation and violence. Shearer makes two interesting suggestions for additional case studies. Switzerland is known as a country of great stability, without major internal conflict despite multiple languages and religions. The stability that Switzerland enjoys may be due to economic and social factors that distinguish it from conflict-prone countries. However, the causal role of geographical boundaries such as the Alps (which separate the Italian speaking areas from the other language areas) as well as political boundaries may indeed be worthy of investigation. An investigation of Spain, which lacks such boundaries and has a history of internal conflicts, could serve as a useful contrast. Yaneer Bar-Yam New England Complex Systems Institute, 24 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. References 1. Ethnic Integration Policy, Housing and Development Board, Singapore Government, www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10201p.nsf/WPDis/Buying%20A%20Resale%20FlatEthnic%20Group%20Eligibility. 2. C. Kaufmann, Int. Secur. 23, 120 (1998). 3. D. Chinellato, M. de Aguiar, I. Epstein, D. Braha, Y. Bar Yam, arXiv:0705.4607v2.
Determine Indicators for Conflict Avoidance 12 March 2008
Walter Shearer Hartsdale, NY, USA Respond to this E-Letter: Re: Determine Indicators for Conflict Avoidance	The article "Global pattern formation and ethnic/cultural violence" (Reports, M. Lim et al., 14 September 2007, p. 1540) is striking in its reported ability to identify areas of potential conflict on the basis of the spatial patterns of distribution of members of ethnic/cultural groups. In the fields of conflict prevention and sustainable peace-building, the need for a universal "quick-and-dirty" indicator of potential conflict areas is great. Whether or not the authors have found it, their work should surely stimulate rethinking this issue and the development of such an indicator. Their conclusions contribute to validating ideas—considered controversial—for which I sought support in the United Nations Secretariat before my recent mandatory retirement from its Department of Economic and Social Affairs. However, I would like to see the approach be tested more widely to identify limits to its applicability. The analysis in the authors' example of India is limited to religion, which is only one of several ethnic/cultural dimensions that distinguish inhabitants who speak between 300 and 400 different languages. Would the picture be different if the other factors were used in the analysis? Thus, it would be instructive to see the results for Switzerland and Spain. Moreover, the authors might want to test the approach's predictive power using the immigration situation currently unfolding in the United States. Walter Shearer Hartsdale, NY, USA.
Solutions for Ethnic/Cultural Violence 12 March 2008
Syed Taffazull Hussain Department of Biochemistry, Government Medical College Srinagar, Srinagar, Kashmir 190010, India Respond to this E-Letter: Re: Solutions for Ethnic/Cultural Violence	I read with great interest the article "Global pattern formation and ethnic/cultural violence" (Reports, M. Lim et al., 14 September 2007, p. 1540), which as a resident of Srinagar Kashmir was of greater than usual interest for me. Superficially, the results presented in the paper support the argument for segregations of different ethnic groups into homelands as demanded by some ethnic organizations (like "Panun Kashmir" in Kashmir) as well as ghettoizing, but solutions for complex societies can never be simplistic. Clustered diverse cultural groups may be the tinder for conflict but cutting off the head to cure the headache can not be the accepted treatment for headaches. Perhaps the same purpose can be achieved by increasing interactions and by so doing decrease ethnic/cultural differences between groups so that a more homogeneous society is produced. After all, cultural differences, unlike thermodynamic properties, are not rigidly fixed but can be smoothed out—provided the controlling powers do not find their ends better served by fishing in troubled waters. Syed Taffazull Hussain Department of Biochemistry, Government Medical College Srinagar, Srinagar Kashmir, Kashmir 190010, India.