You Can Prevent the Next War
Wars that Never Happen are prevented by the "micro-spectacular acts" of normal people
In West Africa a conflict was brewing between two tribes, one Muslim the other Christian. In a region filled with civil wars in the 1990’s Ghana had avoided open conflict but disputes and “significant identity differences” created a palpable tension.
The Konkombas in Ghana, a historically Christian nomadic tribe did not have a leader and had often disputed with the Dagomba, mostly Muslims, over territory. The Konkomba often faced expulsion and hostility from the Dagombas, who had a powerful chief, horses and land. Their relationship was distant and hostile, with little or no intermarriage…
In the Middle East cleavages between people groups have formed over thousands of years becoming ingrained in the histories, geographies, buildings and bodies of people. Levantine history has cultivated a habitus of conflict on a macro scale1.
For example, when refugees fled from Syria to neighboring Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq some Christians, even clergy, struggled with the deeply ingrained animosity. As former military occupiers in Lebanon, Syrians represented a tragic and violent history to Christians and were generally seen as a threat to the stability of society, values, and economics (Fabra-Mata, Sæverås and Carter, 2015). Some Christians built taller fences around their institutions or added security cameras, shunning refugees begging in the streets and were angry at the strain on municipal resources. Evangelicals complained about the “smelly Syrians” coming to their churches looking for help and Christian parents did not want their children mixing with Syrian kids2.
Humans gravitate towards people like them in times of uncertainty. While shared-identity provides a sense of belonging and solidarity it can also “strengthen a dangerous move towards hostile, irreconcilable identities” (Huber, 2013). Amin Maalouf warns against the intolerance that results from an appropriation of a singular affiliation that dwarfs all the other parts of one’s complexity. For example, one might be male, of Norwegian immigrant descent, a cyclist, father, Cubs fan, evangelical Christian who was raised Catholic, from the North and political conservative, but which of these rises to primacy? Maalouf says: “Those who cannot accept their own diversity may be among the most virulent of those prepared to kill for the sake of identity, attacking those who embody that part of themselves which they would like to see forgotten.”
It is easy to see how these tensions, whether in West Africa or the Middle East can grow into open hostility and regional war… but they are also opportunities for micro-peace that serves as a prophetic to the broader community. While history is often narrated through the lens of macro-level conflict—states, wars, and geopolitical strife—a closer look at the micro-level reveals a different story.
States, multi-national treaty organizations (like NATO) and economic markets, while important, are ultimately constituted by the interactions of individuals with complex identities. Micro-interactions and relationships are the foundation of larger social phenomena like conflict. “The micro-sociological argument is that humans tend to fall into each other’s rhythms and respond reciprocally to each other’s actions.”
Understanding these micro-dynamics changes the focus from actors ‘out there’ and reveals how conflict is in the hands of each individual. Large conflicts can be transformed by small things.
Check out this story John Paul Lederach3 writes of West Africa:
Local clashes between the two groups were becoming increasingly violent and frequent. Intermediaries involved in mitigating the violence between the tribes described an encounter when people from both sides had gathered to dialogue.
The exchange became very difficult when the high chief of the Dagombas started by insulting the Konkombas. Addressing himself only to the intermediaries, he began by saying that he, as the chief high chief, had no one to negotiate with. He would not lower himself to talk with these young boys that had just come from the fields.
At the moment, many who were present thought this insult would unleash a war. Surprisingly, the much younger spokesperson for the Konkomba started with a very different tone and response.
You are right, my father, and I call you father because I do not wish to disrespect you, he went on. If we have no chief, and yet we have suffered greatly, what is left for us to do? If no one will speak with us, do we have no other pathway than violence to be heard?
Attendees reported the subsequent silence lasted forever.
The tone of voice from the young man, the respect in his posture and the care he took with his words rang with such authenticity. When he spoke, the chief's attitude and language shifted.
Though I insulted your people, you still called me Father. It is you who speaks wisdom. We have not understood your denigration. I beg you, my son, to forgive me.
People say it was a turning point. Maybe it was the moment the start of a civil war was avoided.
The reasons for a war that never happens are many but one clear element… may well be that a thousand unnoticed micro-spectacular acts of dignity and humility can shift toxicity enough that the knife edge of violence is avoided.
Isabel Bramsen (2023) emphasizes how facial expressions, body language, and subtle social cues can play a vital role in peacebuilding even at the highest levels. Mainstream peace and conflict analysis often overlooks the agency of everyday people, especially the marginalized (Berents, 2015). Micro-dynamics—the everyday interactions that form the fabric of social life—are crucial to understanding and transforming conflict (Brett et al., 2024).
In Lebanon, Syrian refugees encountered compassion from Christian communities wrestling with their faith and values. They moved toward empathy and welcome. One Syrian Muslim explained how she saw “love in their eyes” as Christians were delivering blankets and medical care.
In West Africa it was posture, tone and respectful, honest words.
Inter-group contact theory has demonstrates that “intergroup interaction is an essential part of any remedy for reducing prejudice and conflict between groups (Pettigrew et al., 2011, p. 273).” Interpersonal, intimate gestures (like a kind word, surprising kindness, a warm blanket) foster pro-social attitudes and a sense of shared values and social norms (Hayward et al., 2017). These positive contact experiences cascaded from one extremist to another in the Levant through personal networks of various groups because one Christian decided, in one place and at one key time, to give a bag of food and a kind word instead of a hostile stare or cold shoulder.
While peace may seem elusive on the global stage, it often begins with everyday acts of courage, compassion, and connection that break down rigid boundaries and extend the circle of humanity (Volf, 1996; Beck, 2011). That kind word and its cascading effects might be the thing that prevents the next war.
What micro-spectacular act can you do today to extend the circle of humanity and prevent the next war?
Some of this article is taken from a forthcoming chapter by myself and Rik Peels entitled: “Alternative Religious Communities: Belonging and Authority in Deradicalization Processes and Micro-Peace in the Levant” forthcoming in a Routledge volume Religious Authority in Conflicts: Analysis and Hypotheses, edited by Carla Bagnoli and Vincenzo Pacillo.
Kashouh, H. (2018) Following Jesus in Turbulent Times: Disciple-Making in the Arab World. Carlisle, UK: Langham Global Library. p 18
Lederach, J.P. (2024) The Pocket Guide for Facing Down a Civil War: Surprising ideas from everyday people who shifted the cycles of violence. Monee, IL: Independently published. p. 55-59