Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Through the Prism of Horizontal Inequalities: Theoretical Overview

Abstract

This paper is a theoretical overview that designs and proposes a novel analytical framework within sociology of conflict for studying the origins of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at group level. This article discusses the theories on horizontal inequalities and sociopsychological infrastructure in intractable conflicts, focusing on the question of the emergence of the Karabakh movement. Building on the synthesis of macro and micro theoretical approaches, the paper reflects upon possible ways of exploring the roots of the conflict by bridging social structure with social agency, and morphological knowledge with individual experience. Thereby, stemming from the central arguments of the examined theories, I construct an epistemological scheme, thus essentially capturing the main findings of this theoretical-methodological overview. The analytical framework brought forward in this paper may potentially serve as a foundation for operational design of a meso-level analysis of the causes of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Keywords

• sociopsychological infrastructure
• sociology of conflict
• Karabakh movement
• civil war
• social movements
• horizontal inequality