Cultural Anthropology Studies Of Conflict

This article reviews selected cultural anthropological approaches to the study of conflict. Anthropologists view conflict as a general state of affairs in a relationship or as some basic incompatibility in the very structure of the relationship, which leads to specific disputes and sometimes to violence. Anthropological work treats conflict within the context of general ethnographic accounts as well as in situational settings such as war. The contribution of anthropology in understanding conflict is broad, reflecting the multidisciplinary of the field of conflict studies. Anthropological approaches to conflict include systems of meaning, ritual and symbolism, language and communication, ethnicity and identity, gender, environmental stress, and sense of place.