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Grievances and Opportunities: Religious Violence across Political Regimes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2014

David Muchlinski
David Muchlinski*
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska, Omaha
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: David Muchlinski, Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska, Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Studies of religious violence have established that when states restrict religious freedom, the probability of religious violence increases. Conventional wisdom holds that religious violence is primarily a result of religious grievances. When religious groups are denied religious freedom, they seek to revise the status quo in their favor though the use of violence. This study challenges this narrative. It finds, rather than being caused only by grievances, religious violence is also fueled by moments of opportunity. Utilizing cross-national data for the years 2008 and 2001–2005, it is found that religious violence occurs most frequently in anocratic regimes marked by weak and decaying state institutions. Hence, the current narrative is incomplete. Studies analyzing religious violence need to consider how various regimes provide or stifle the opportunity for religious actors to engage in violence as well as how those regimes fuel religious violence through restricting religious freedom and increasing religious grievances.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 7 , Issue 4 , December 2014 , pp. 684 - 705
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2014 

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