Can Evolutionary Theory Explain Nationalist Violence? Czecho Slovak and Bosnian Illustrations

Abstract. This study tests whether evolutionary theory can explain the outbreak of ethnic conflict. Microlevel hypotheses of cultural evolutionary theory are developed and applied to the peaceful breakup of Czechoslovakia and the violent collapse of Bosnia-Hercegovina. The more traditional social science approaches of Donald Horowitz and David Laitin are presented as a comparative base to assess the relative explanatory power of evolutionary theory. It is found that in conjunction with Horowitz's and Laitin's work, evolutionary theory can make sense of some patterns of ethnic conflict. However, its central weakness is linking proximate triggering mechanisms of nationalist violence to biological foundations. Without a convincing connection between microlevel propositions and survival and reproductive imperatives, evolutionary theory fails to offer a unique and credible explanation of nationalist violence.