Violent Conflict and Parochial Trust : Lab-in-the-Field and Survey Evidence

A long-standing view is that violent conflicts generally reduce trust. A contrasting view emphasizes discriminatory effects: conflicts are thought to result in parochial trust, enhancing in-group trust and eroding out-group trust. We attempt to disentangle this apparent contradiction by relating the different effects of conflict on trust to different kinds of conflict exposure. For subjects with indirect exposure, we find reduced trust toward all. Indirectly exposed subjects heard about others’ negative experiences, but may not have been in need of getting support by others. Unable to distinguish friend from foe, they reduce trust toward everyone. Discriminatory effects are found for directly exposed subjects, who trust in-group members more than out-group members. They may have suffered from violence by out-group members, but also may have experienced within-group solidarity, ranging from emotional support to the offering of shelter. This parochialism increases with the intensity of conflict. The study informs policies on resolving conflicts