The sword or the plowshare: Conflict and third-party groups' reaction to violent versus nonviolent resistance

Around the world, movements for justice or social change struggle with the question of whether to use nonviolent or violent protest strategies. While research suggests that nonviolent strategies may be more successful than violent ones, people's preferences and support for different strategies may depend on their specific role in the conflict. We tested this in Study 1 in the context of the Kurdish question in Turkey (N = 320), and we found that Turks and Americans supported nonviolent movements more than violent movements, while Kurds were equally supportive of both. Study 2 (N = 192) replicated Study 1 and investigated whether the preference for nonviolent strategies among the third-party group was dependent on the perceivers' specific preferred outcomes in the conflict. We found that, in the context of the Kurdish question in Syria, third-party Americans still supported nonviolent movements more than violent movements regardless of their preferred outcomes, although the more that they preferred that Kurds would win the conflict, the more supportive they were of both nonviolent and violent protest movements. These studies suggest that the preference for nonviolent strategies may depend on people's role in the conflict, with important implications for addressing conflict needs and conflict resolution

Identity dynamics among left-leaning, politically active kurds in Germany: the role of perceived injustice, collective efficacy, and online/offline participation

The current study highlights the multiplicity of Kurdish diasporic identity construction in relation to distant conflict, the Afrin conflict in particular. It first distinguishes between different reference points for identity construction: national Kurdish identity, ethnic Kurdish identity, and politicized Kurdish identity. Second, it explains diasporic identity construction by means of collective action variables: perceived injustice, perceived efficacy, and past online/offline participation. By means of a quantitative survey of members of the Kurdish diaspora in Germany (N = 94) and subsequent regression analyses, the findings show that past online/offline political participation represents a vital factor in the construction of a politicized Kurdish identity, while perceived injustice and perceived collective efficacy represent key predictors of identifying with a Kurdish national identity. Identifying with an ethnic Kurdish identity is not meaningfully explained by the chosen collective action predictors in this study. The study aims to connect diaspora communication and social psychology literatures by using the above-mentioned identity and collective action variables

Relationship between retinal sensitivity and disease activity in patients with psoriasis vulgaris

OBJECTIVES: Psoriasis is a hyperproliferative chronic inflammatory skin disease of unknown etiology and ocular structures and visual pathways can also be affected during the course of this disease. Subclinical optic neuritis has previously been observed in psoriatic patients in visual evoked potential studies. This trial was designed to evaluate retinal sensitivity in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. METHODS: A total of 40 eyes of 40 patients with chronic plaque-type psoriasis and 40 eyes of 40 age- and sex-matched control subjects were included in this study. The diagnosis of psoriasis was confirmed by skin biopsy. The severity was determined using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and the duration of the disease was recorded. After a full ophthalmological examination, including tests for color vision and pupil reactions, the visual field of each subject was assessed using both standard achromatic perimetry and short wavelength automated perimetry. RESULTS: The mean Psoriasis Area and Severity Index was 22.05±6.40′. There were no significant differences in the visual field parameters of subjects versus controls using either method. There were correlations between disease severity and the mean deviations in standard achromatic perimetry and short wavelength automated perimetry and between disease severity and the corrected pattern standard deviation and pattern standard deviation of short wavelength automated perimetry (r = -0.363, r = -0.399, r = 0.515 and r = 0.369, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Retinal sensitivity appears to be affected by the severity of psoriasis vulgaris

Ingroup, outgroup, or ally? An inquiry on the identity content of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) supporters on social media

Since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, the People’s Protection Units (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel‎, the YPG) has been one of the most notable groups in Syria. The group has become increasingly known especially after playing a significant role in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and, later on, declaring autonomy in northern Syria in 2014. While various political, economic, and social dimensions of the Rojava struggle and of the YPG have been examined within a wide array of fields, the group and its identity have not been adequately examined through a social-psychological lens thus far. In this study, we seek to fill this gap by examining how YPG supporters represent, understand, and express the identity and behaviour of their own group and their adversaries on social media, particularly on Twitter. In light of social identity theory, we explore YPG supporters’ (1) ingroup representations (both ingroup members and allies), (2) ingroup social norms, (3) outgroup representations, and (4) outgroup social norms. Thus, we not only present the first empirical study in this regard, but also discuss the meanings of identity content and social norms in relation to the processes of mobilization and solidarity among YPG supporters

Resistance to collective victimization and oppression

Social psychological research on resistance has mostly been limited to collective action: collective, overt, organized, material resistance. However, people targeted by collective violence and oppression engage in many other resistance strategies, including individual, covert, everyday, and psychological resistance. This review differentiates dimensions of resistance to collective victimization, arguing that social psychology should consider the full range of resistance strategies. Moreover, non-violent resistance and violent resistance are not always mutually exclusive, essentialized principles. Instead, they result from dynamic and strategic choices people make when considering the violent contexts they are resisting. A review of the scarce research on collective resistance in violent, repressive contexts illustrates the need to theorize how the specific nature of these contexts shapes collective resistance

‘You don\u27t compare horrors, you just don\u27t do that’: Examining assumptions and extending the scope of comparative victim beliefs

Social psychological research on collective victimhood has often focused on comparisons between the ingroup\u27s and outgroups\u27 collective victimization (i.e. comparative victim beliefs such as competitive victimhood or inclusive victim beliefs). This qualitative study examines how people in different contexts of collective victimization and its aftermath make sense of items commonly used to assess comparative victim beliefs, and how they extend or challenge these constructs and their underlying assumptions. We used thematic analysis to analyse eight focus group discussions among four minority groups in the United States with historical or more recent experiences of collective victimization (Armenian Americans, Burundian refugees, Jewish Americans and Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees). Findings extend commonly assessed comparative victim beliefs and reveal participants\u27 critical perspectives on these constructs. The findings also highlight the dialectical structure of collective victim beliefs: Participants not only endorsed but also rejected comparative victim beliefs, and relatedly described both ingroup power and outgroup power in the context of their group\u27s victimization. These findings extend existing social psychological literature on comparative victim beliefs and intergroup relations

Application of mössbauer spectroscopy in the study of surface phenomena

Recently there has been a considerable growth of interest in the elementary processes occurring on the surface of a solid or associated with the effect of the surface on the properties of atoms and molecules within the bulk of the solid. Mössbauer spectroscopy yields unique information about the electronic structure and the nature of the motion of atoms and therefore the use of this method is extremely effective in fundamental investigations of surface phenomena. This review deals with the theoretical concepts of Mössbauer spectroscopy and the experimental data on its application in the physical chemistry of surface phenomena. A systematic account is given of new experimental results, which are compared with data obtained by other procedures. © IOP Publishing Ltd