Ethnic geography and civil conflict
The project aims to study the relation between ethnic geography (i.e., the spatial distribution of ethnic groups on a country's territory) and the risk of civil conflict. One core objective of the project is the development of a theoretical model that identifies the features of ethnic geography which are relevant for civil conflict. The predictions of this model should lead to the definition of a novel measure of ethnic geography based on spatial and ethnolinguistic distances which is expected to be empirically linked to the occurrence of civil conflict. By enhancing our understanding of the relation between the spatial distribution of ethnic groups and the risk of outbreaks of violence between them, the project aims at providing broad policy guidance for the management of civil conflicts depending on the specific features of a country's ethnic geography.