Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Through the Prism of Horizontal Inequalities: Theoretical Overview

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46991/BYSU:F/2022.13.1.005

Keywords:

sociopsychological infrastructure, sociology of conflict, Karabakh movement, civil war, social movements, horizontal inequality, intractable conflict, collective grievance, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Abstract

This paper is a theoretical overview that designs and proposes a novel analytical framework within sociology of conflict for studying the origins of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at group level. This article discusses the theories on horizontal inequalities and sociopsychological infrastructure in intractable conflicts, focusing on the question of the emergence of the Karabakh movement. Building on the synthesis of macro and micro theoretical approaches, the paper reflects upon possible ways of exploring the roots of the conflict by bridging social structure with social agency, and morphological knowledge with individual experience. Thereby, stemming from the central arguments of the examined theories, I construct an epistemological scheme, thus essentially capturing the main findings of this theoretical-methodological overview. The analytical framework brought forward in this paper may potentially serve as a foundation for operational design of a meso-level analysis of the causes of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Author Biography

Hayk Smbatyan, Yerevan State University

Ph.D. candidate, Chair of Theory and History of Sociology, Faculty of Sociology, Yerevan State University of Armenia, Master of Social Sciences, “Peace and Conflict Studies” program, Uppsala University, Sweden

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Published

2022-07-14

How to Cite

Smbatyan, H. (2022). Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Through the Prism of Horizontal Inequalities: Theoretical Overview. Journal of Sociology: Bulletin of Yerevan University, 13(1 (35), 05–23. https://doi.org/10.46991/BYSU:F/2022.13.1.005

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Section

Political Sociology