Conflict Dynamics
Overview
Intercommunal and self-determination conflicts often resemble the proverbial powder keg, where seemingly minor events can trigger protests and riots. My research investigates these non-linear dynamics within the context of ethnic and religious conflicts. Specifically, I focus on the conceptualization, operationalization, and data generation of triggering events and escalation periods (‘cascades’). To explain these rapid escalations, I focus on the role of collective emotions as the necessary ‘fuel’ that allows triggering events to ignite escalation periods. This work addresses three gaps in the field: the predominant focus on time-invariant structural factors, the overreliance on top-down rationalist and framing models, and the insufficient integration of collective emotions in the study of cultural identity conflicts.
Projects
Events
Workshop on “Understanding Cultural Conflict and Conflict Dynamics: The Role of Collective Emotions”. More.
Related Publications
Schulte, Felix, and Dogukan C. Karakus 2025. “How Exposure to Wartime Violence Shapes Conflict Resolution Preferences" Conflict Management and Peace Science. doi: 10.1177/07388942251334956. MORE
Schulte, Felix, and Marzia Raza. 2025. “Ein Kausalmodell zur Erklärung von nicht- linearen Eskalationsdynamiken ethnischer Konflikte: Selbstorganisation, kollektive Emotionen und Triggerereignisse” Konfliktdynamik. 14(1): 39–47. doi: 10.5771/2193-0147-2025-1-39. MORE
Schulte, Felix, and Christoph Trinn. 2025. “The Magnitude of Triggering Events and the Nonlinear Dynamics of Ethnic and Religious Upheavals” Conflict Resolution Quarterly. doi: 10.1002/crq.21478. MORE
Schulte, Felix, and Christoph Trinn. 2024. “Collective Emotions, Triggering Events, and Self-Organization: The Forest-Fire Model of Cultural Identity Conflict Escalation.” Aggression and Violent Behavior 78. doi: 10.1016/j.avb.2024.101954. MORE
Maerz, Seraphine F., Felix Schulte, and Christoph Trinn. 2024. “Autocratization and Political Conflict.” In The Routledge Handbook of Autocratization, Routledge. 10.4324/9781003306900-35. MORE
Schulte, Felix, and Christoph V. Steinert. 2023. “Repression and Backlash Protests: Why Leader Arrests Backfire.” International Interactions 49(1): 1–30. doi: 10.1080/03050629.2023.2149513. MORE
Schulte, Felix. 2023. “On the Dynamics of Secessionist Conflict.” In Cittadinanza e Separatismi: Esperienze e Prospettive in Europa, ed. Giammaria Milani. Milano: Wolters Kluwer, 1–23. MORE
Data
Ongoing Work
Schulte, Felix., Karakuş, Doğukan C., and Ibrahim Gökburun. 2025. "Nationalist Focal Events and Anti-Minority Violence – How Soldier Funerals Spark Ethnic Riots in Turkey". https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/c37p4. MORE
