PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

Following Elias' Established-Outsider-Figuration that power is an integral part of every human relationship, intergroup conflicts should be explained by actual and/or claimed power balances, regardless of reference categories. Against this theoretical background, a scale for the empirical measuring of the assertion of an established status is developed and proposed as an alternative predictor to established explanatory approaches. Analyses based on German surveys in 2014, 2016 and 2018 show there is a reliable and valid measuring instrument and a predictive power for a whole series of rejections of weaker groups. This argues for a stronger adaptation of Elias' concept in quantitative empirical research of intergroup conflicts and the idea of considering religion, culture or gender less as a cause but rather as a legitimation of these conflicts.