title: Global pattern formation and ethnic/cultural violence.
abstract: We identify a process of global pattern formation that causes regions to differentiate by culture. Violence arises at boundaries between regions that are not sufficiently well defined. We model cultural differentiation as a separation of groups whose members prefer similar neighbors, with a characteristic group size at which violence occurs. Application of this model to the area of the former Yugoslavia and to India accurately predicts the locations of reported conflict. This model also points to imposed mixing or boundary clarification as mechanisms for promoting peace.
authors.affiliation: New England Complex Systems Institute, 24 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Metzler
authors.forename: Yaneer
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bar-Yam
mesh_terms: D017522:Bosnia and Herzegovina; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D017523:Croatia; D003469:Culture; D003710:Demography; D005006:Ethnicity; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D011157:Population Dynamics; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015022:Yugoslavia