Halperin (2008). Group-based hatred in intractable conflict in Israel. - Article summary

Hatred, anger and fear are central in intractable conflicts. Members of a society involved in an intractable conflict share and repeatedly experience these emotions. These emotions also play an important role in shaping the societal context and in guiding group members’ behaviour in response to conflict events.

Group-based hatred helps to interpret events (i.e. appraisal) and direct behaviour in a way that contributes to the continuation of the conflict.

Emotions consist of recognition of the existence of the stimulus (1), an appraisal of the potential effect (2), feelings we have in regard to the stimulus (3) and readiness to take action toward it (4). Emotion refers to an individual’s affective response that develops in reaction to a cognitive appraisal of an environmental stimulus or change and subsequently creates a motivation to take action until there is a return to the balanced relationship between the individual and her environment.

Group-based hatred is experienced by individuals in the name of their group and as a corollary of their membership in the group. It is directed toward generalized social groups Hatred is a very powerful negative emotion that motivates and may lead to negative behaviours with severe consequences.

Fear is more dominant in the stage that leads to hatred while anger plays a more central role in the stage of the experience of hatred itself. Common actions as a response to hatred are complete detachment to the object of hatred (1), delight at the expense or failure of the hated other (2) and political action taken against the other (3).

Hatred refers to a powerful, extreme and persistent emotion that rejects the group toward which it is directed in a generalized and totalistic fashion. Group-based hatred is provoked in consequence to recurrent offenses committed against the individual or one’s group. The offenses are perceived as intentional (1), unjust (2) and threatening (3). Group-based hatred includes cognitive elements that make a clear ideological, moral and cultural differentiation between the in-group and the out-group while delegitimizing the out-group.

Fear is ruled by the appraisal of low coping potential with future harm. Anger is ruled by the appraisal of out-group actions as non-legitimate or unjust. Hatred is ruled by the appraisal of the harm as intentional and the appraisal of the out-group members having a stable, evil character.

A perception of high capability to cope with future harm is not an essential precondition to the development of anger in an intractable conflict. In the first stage of the development of group-based hatred, individuals perceive that members of the out-group have caused significant offense to them or members of their group. Anger is developed as individuals from the group conclude that they do not deserve this treatment. Fear is sometimes developed if the future ability to cope with this type of offense is seen as weak. These appraisals, accompanied by the appraisal of intention to harm by the out-group and the appraisal of actions from the out-group stemming from an evil character, lead to group-based hatred. Hatred enables the individual to cope with feelings of fear and moderates them while anger can be fuelled and intensified by appraisals associated with hatred.

The tendency to act in a certain way is an inherent component of each emotion. Anger is often associated with approach-related tendencies while fear is associated with avoidance-related tendencies. Fear is related to the willingness to be protected or to create a safer environment. Anger is aimed at gaining a better outcome or improving the behaviour of the object.

Group-based hatred reflects despair about any attempt to improve the behaviour of evil out-group members. The main emotional goals could include removing the hated group members from the hater’s social spectrum while maximizing the harm.

Group-based hatred is related to do evil, remove and eliminate the out-group while the action-tendencies are not so absolute.

Psychological essentialism refers to a belief in the stability of categories over time and a belief that all members of a category share a common underlying essence. Group-based hatred might contribute to the preservation of the groups’ subjective, biased and one-dimensional collective memory about the history of the conflict.