St Catharine's Political Economy Seminar Series - Sebastian Ille

Wed 30 October 2019

St Catharine's College

Talk Overview
The tendency of humans to cooperate for reasons other than self-interest has long intrigued social scientists, leading to a substantial literature in recent years. However, its complement - sectarianism - has not received much attention in the economics literature despite its significant economic impact, its growing importance in recent years and its socio-economic fundamentals. Based on an evolutionary approach, the talk illustrates under which conditions sectarianism and sectarian conflict constitute an evolving property of a social system. The underlying model shows in which manner actions, preferences, economic institutions and sectarian identities co-evolve and suggests an extended constructivist perspective while contesting classical primordial or instrumentalist perspectives. Contrary to common perception, I argue that sectarianism and sectarian conflict are not necessarily driven by a conflict over religious ideologies, but by socio-economic and political grievances. Additionally, the history of interaction and external exertion of influence are key to explaining the tendency for bigotry and hostility.

Cost: FOC