Summary of Research - Based on Fulbright Application

My research will address the question of how and why particular ethnic groups feel threatened by other groups to the point where they feel violence is justified. Many local communities within the Niger Delta that have traditionally maintained their livelihood from the environment (fishing and farming) feel compromised because the federal and local governments have granted rights to both land and oil to foreign-owned companies. The tension between the Ijaw, Itsekiri, and Urhobo, who are indigenous to the Warri Region, is fueled by the perception that one group’s economic, cultural, and social gains are achieved at the expense of the others.
In the last ten years both the Warri and the greater Niger Delta Region of Nigeria have experienced well-documented inter-ethnic violence and hostilities. Although the region has made strides towards positive peace (e.g. addressing the structural issues of the conflict), conflict continues to impede the region’s economic and social development. The unrest in the Niger Delta has fostered an environment of deep distrust among the local communities, an unrest exacerbated by both the discovery of oil in the 1950’s and by economic deprivation.

The influx of economic development (and in some cases economic deprivation)

that the oil industry has brought to the local Warri population and to the greater delta region has contributed to an “aggressive manifest conflict process (AMCP): a situation in which at least two parties, or their representatives, attempt to pursue their perceptions of mutually incompatible goals by physically damaging or destroying one another’s property and high-value symbols (e.g., religious shrines, national monuments); and/or psychologically or physically injuring, destroying, or otherwise forcibly eliminating one another.” (Sandole, 1998, p. 1).

Economic deprivation and high levels of unemployment in the region continue to impact instability and conflict. Youth groups, via political arms of the various political organizations such as the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC) led by Oboko Bello, the Itsekiri National Youth Council, led by Matthew Itsekure, and the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), an Ijaw- dominated organization, have been disproportionately associated with much of the violence and instability affecting the Niger Delta. Regardless of what group is committing the majority of violent and hostile acts within the Niger Delta, the perception is that young men are carrying out the majority of armed attacks and kidnappings.

Limiting one’s analysis of the causes of instability in the delta region to economic deprivation alone is an over-simplification of the root causes of group violence; additionally, such a narrow explanation dismisses the Ijaw, Itsekiri, and Urhobo’s claimed pursuit of self-determination. The lack of revenue-generating activities, opportunities for education, perceived neglect from the federal government and international community, and grievances amongst ethnic groups all contribute to a hostile environment in the delta region, as well as increase violence along ethnic lines.

As inter-ethnic violence (at the group level) in the delta region continues, it is absolutely essential to understand how identity is altered to cause this violence. Specifically, my research will illustrate how the Ijaw, Itsekiri, and Urhobo groups alter the saliency of identity to engage in acts of violence based on their “collective axiology,” “a system of values that defines which actions are important for group members, which actions are prohibited, and which actions are necessary for specific situations.”(Korostelina, 2006, p. 5). In other words, by investigating how belligerent groups form and change their collective axiology, I will analyze how group identity is altered in a manner that causes, exacerbates, or directly contributes to ethnic violence as it relates to the Niger Delta.

In December of 2006, I will have successfully completed the field research component of my thesis, Saliency of Identity and Violence in the Niger Delta. After receiving my Master’s Degree in May 2007 from George Mason’s Institute for Conflict and Resolution (ICAR), it is my intention to apply to both ICAR’s Ph.D. program and to American University’s Ph.D. program within the School of International Service. If awarded the Fulbright Scholarship, I plan to apply my thesis to my dissertation, which I will expand to include a comparative analysis of identity and conflict in the Niger Delta to two other case studies, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire.

If awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, I plan to return to Port Harcourt in early September of 2007 and stay until June of 2008. My research will include five phases. The first phase (1 month) will be spent finalizing interview questions and process with assistance from Academic Associates in Peace Works (AAPW) and the Centre for Ethnic and Conflict Studies (CENTECS) of University of Port Harcourt. The second phase (4 months) will be dedicated to data collection via a series of extensive interviews with various political and community leaders within the Niger Delta. The third phase (1 month) will be used for data analysis based on the content analysis of the various interviews. The data collection and analysis will include both qualitative and quantitative research based on transcripts generated by the interviews and by questionnaires administered to volunteer participants. The fourth phase (1 month) will include a reflection of the work to date and evaluation of my research questions and hypothesis with input from AAPW and CENTECS. The fifth and final phase (1 month) will be spent writing the research findings and reviewing the references. I have allotted two unscheduled months to allow flexibility in my timeline for unexpected interruptions and time to volunteer in a local community project. Before departing Nigeria I plan on presenting my findings to Dr. Judy Asuni, Executive Director of AAPW, and to Dr. Mark Anikpo, Director of CENTECS, both of whom will receive a formal final report of my research (field research for my thesis has been approved by my faculty advisors and approval from the university’s Human Subjects Review Board is pending). My intention is to expand and develop the interviews conducted for my research project, which will complement the work of AAPW and CENTECS with their efforts toward violence reduction and conflict transformation in the Niger Delta. It will also offer a model that future researchers and policy makers might use when analyzing the complex relationship between identity and conflict.

Works Cited

Korostelina, D. R. a. K. (2006). Chapter 1 Introduction: identity, morality, and threat (unpublished)

Sandole, D. J. D. (1998). A Comprehensive mapping of conflict and conflict resolution: a three pillar approach. Peace and conflict studies, 5(2), 1-30.