Echoes of Violent Conflict: The Effect of International Conflict on Hate Crimes

• In Event: The Psychology of Violence

Abstract

Can violent conflict trigger animosity and hate crimes beyond its vicinity? We address question this by examining if the Israel-Palestine conflict causes hate crime towards Jews and Muslims in the U.S. Using daily data between 2000-2016, we find that conflict fatalities and U.S. mass media coverage of the conflict trigger hate crimes in the following days. Specifically, anti-Jewish hate crimes increase after Israeli attacks. The effect is driven by days with large attacks or intensive media coverage of violence. Anti-Islamic hate crime increases after Palestinian attacks, but the effect of conflict news reporting is weaker. By showing that victimization can transcend the locality of the conflict, we contribute to the literature on the spillovers of violent conflict, triggers of hate crime, and the effects of media on violent behavior.

Author

• Love Christensen, Aarhus University