The Existence of Social Boundaries as a Factor of Violent Conflict in a Pluralistic Society

Violent conflict is an issue because, apart from its increasing intensity, its underlying factors are also diverse and complex. The development of increasingly massive conflicts also leads to disunity, significantly hindering integrity. Previous studies on this issue tend to see conflict from a normative perspective. Substantive perspectives, such as conflict due to the transformation of social spaces, are only found in some existing studies. To fill in this gap, the current study focuses on the question, “What effect does the narrowing of physical, social, and ideological spaces have on latent and manifested conflicts in a plural society?” In order to address this question, qualitative research was carried out by analyzing data spread on the internet and online news regarding strengthening physical and social boundaries. The research results show that the narrowing of physical space, exclusivism, and the proliferation of thin ideology are determining factors that influence the occurrence of conflict. In other words, violent conflict does not necessarily occur as a result of problems of power relations, differences and distinctions in society, and individual deviations, as seen in previous studies. The present study contributes to providing a new perspective regarding conflict issues from the fundamental point of social boundaries. © 2024 Common Ground Research Networks. All rights reserved.