Displacement as Strategy: Cultural Denigration and the Escalation of Violence
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This thesis examines how structural violence escalates into more direct forms of harm, particularly through forced displacement. I introduce the concept of cultural denigration, defined as structural violence that degrades the identity, culture, and status of a socially constructed out-group. I argue that cultural denigration can act as a precursor to escalation and that forced displacement is one key manifestation of this process. I hypothesize that cultural denigration increases the likelihood of displacement when perpetrators have a sufficiently long time horizon and when capacity constraints make displacement more viable than immediate mass violence. Using comparative case studies of Tamils in Sri Lanka and Uyghurs in China, I show that prolonged repression preceded large-scale displacement in both cases. The findings suggest that displacement is a strategic form of escalation linking structural and physical violence, and highlight the importance of identifying sociocultural warning signs in efforts to predict and prevent mass atrocities.
Source: UNC Libraries
DOI: 10.17615/nprc-wk24
Author: Wolfe, Leslie
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7203900957
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