Cultural Leaders and the Clash of Civilizations

Abstract

This article builds a micro founded model of the clash of cultures. The clash is de…ned as the parent's fear of a trait change by their child in an overlapping generations model with intergenerational transmission of cultural traits. The extent of the clash is manipulated by cultural leaders who bene…t from the cultural education e¤ort by parents. We identify three channels through which the leaders can a¤ect the clash of cultures: (i) by providing bene…cial cultural values, (ii) by claims of cultural superiority and (iii) by cultural alienation, i.e. by inducing cultural dislike towards their own group. We show that all three channels can be in the leader's interest but channels (ii) and (iii) reduce the utility of the leader's goup members. This hints to a strong con ‡ict of interest within groups -between the population at large and the benefactors of radicalization. We further show how the use of alienation relates to the economic opportunities available to a group.Both authors acknowledge the support of Barcelona GSE Research and the government of Catalonia. Hauk thanks the economics department of the London School of Economics for its hospitality and acknowledges …nancial support from CICYT project number ECO2009-12695 and of the programa de movilidad de profesorado project PR2009-0375.

Social capital, conflict and welfare

“…There was a suggestion that even if the threat was not serious, it was a Platonic 'noble lie'to present it as such, if this could indeed promote civic values and national moral purpose. 13 For instance, Hauk and Mueller (2015) show that cultural leaders may have an incentive to supply cultural di¤erences in a 'clash of civilizations'scenario.…”

The role of cultural leaders in the transmission of preferences

“…There are very few papers analyzing the role of leaders in a cultural-transmission model. Two notable exceptions are Hauk and Mueller (2015) and Prummer and Siedlarek (2015). In a different framework than ours, Prummer and Siedlarek (2015) explain the persistent differences in the cultural traits of immigrant groups with the presence of community leaders while Hauk and Mueller (2015) discuss the role of cultural leaders in the clash of cultures.…”

When Do Religious Leaders Support Faith-Based Violence? Evidence from a Survey Poll in South Sudan

“…Toft (2007) emphasizes the role of political leaders in them; according to her, close relations between political and religious leaders favor violence. Hauk and Mueller (2015) and Canetti et al (2010), meanwhile, point to the significance of existing economic or other forms of marginalization. Existing group inequalities are an opportunity religious leaders can capitalize on to increase their support base.…”

“…Alongside many case study–oriented works, the more systematic literature on religious leaders has stressed the role of competition between leaders that result in outbidding processes that in turn generate extremism (De Juan 2009; Toft 2007). Other scholars have focused on group differences and social deprivations on which religious or other types of leader can capitalize on (Canetti et al 2010; Hauk and Mueller 2015; Trejo 2009). Sociological and psychological survey–based research on why people generally countenance violence points to demographic variables such as age, gender, and education, or to the individual’s personal experiences with violence (e.g., Black et al 2010).…”