Intergroup Conflict 2020

The pervasiveness, persistence, and petrifying scope of intergroup conflict have fueled substantial scholarly interest in intergroup conflict across the social and biological sciences. Here we outline five questions that we hope students of intergroup conflict will undertake to research in years to come: (a) When and why do people engage in, and publicly display, blatant forms of intergroup hostility? (b) How do different moral motives shape individual behavior in intergroup conflict? (c) How do intragroup processes influence intergroup processes and vice versa? (d) How does the changing nature of “groups” influence intergroup conflict and its resolution? And (e) how will global challenges shape intergroup relations in the 21st century? Although it is unimaginable that the problem of intergroup conflict will be eradicated, we hope that addressing these questions will help us understand how to manage intergroup conflicts and their harmful consequences better.