CLASH: Climate (change) and cultural evolution of intergroup conflict

Intergroup Contact and Intergroup Conflict

Intergroup contact theory is enjoying a renaissance; positive contact does reduce intergroup prejudice, but intergroup contact has generally been studied in relatively benign settings. With a number of countries either still experiencing or having just emerged from periods of pervasive intergroup animosity, contact theory is, nowadays, being put to its most stringent test as contact theorists t...

Cultural Leaders and the Clash of Civilizations

This article builds a micro founded model of cultural conflict. In this model intrinsically motivated cultural leaders supply and interpret culture. Leaders have an incentive to amplify disagreement about cultural values. This leads to a clash of perspectives between cultures. The population benefits from the supply of culture but suffers if leaders amplify disagreement. The article discusses c...

Climate Change Could Change Rates of Evolution

When delegates for the United Nations climate change summit met in Mexico in December 2010, they heard the latest reports of rising temperatures, rising tides, shrinking sea ice, and crashing populations of endangered species. With thousands of the planet’s animals and plants facing extinction, predicting how species may— or may not—adapt to rapid changes in their environment is a top priority ...

Structural Embeddedness and Intergroup Conflict

Social structure affects the likelihood of group conflicts, although it has been disregarded by previous explanations. This study extends the intergroup public goods game model and integrates the influence of structural embeddedness and social incentives in the analysis of harmful group conflict. The integrated model explains why intergroup conflicts are often promoted by segregation and descri...

claudio Latorre , Janet Wilmshurst and Lucien von Gunten CLIMATE CHANGE AND CULTURAL EVOLUTION