Ethnic Violence Doesn't Just Divide Us; It Diminishes Cooperation Among All

New research investigates the effects of ethnic riots on prosocial cooperation in Kyrgyzstan.

📍 BACKGROUND: The 2010 Osh riot involved violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, with outside perpetrators killing over 400 Uzbeks. This study challenges conventional wisdom about ethnic conflict's impact.

🔍 EXPERIMENTAL SURVEY & CAUSAL IDENTIFICATION:

• Measured prosocial behavior via unobtrusive experiments in a representative survey
• Exploited variation based on neighborhood distance to armored military vehicles (orchestrating riot)

📊 FINDINGS:

• Victim neighborhoods showed significantly reduced prosocial behaviors compared to safe areas.
• This reduction was observed both within the victimized ethnic group and across groups.

🤔 MECHANISMS & IMPLICATIONS:

• Qualitative interviews identified two key mechanisms: Uzbeks felt abandoned by coethnics, and variation in victimization created suspicion.