Center for Security Studies

Mediation Perspectives: The Contested Power of Religious Narratives in Conflict

Mediation Perspectives: The Contested Power of Religious Narratives in Conflict

Author(s): Alexander Thurston
Series: CSS Mediation Perspectives
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zürich
Publication Year: 2021

To what extent do religious narratives shape conflict behavior? Many scholars agree that narratives are important: People get angry when they perceive injustice, they reach out for stories to help explain why that injustice exists, and then some of those stories propose or rationalize violence as a solution to the injustice. For this reason, peacebuilders should seek to understand religious narratives as possible framings of a given context of conflict, argues Alexander Thurston in this CSS Mediation Perspectives Blog.
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