sectarian and ethnic tensions. Renascent nationalism has exhibited itself as both a
political instrument and an aspirational force. Old and new contested territorial
claims are coming between nations. Differences in cultural and ideological percep-
tions are at the heart of many of these situations, and cooperative mutual interaction
to dispel those differences is the key to peaceful resolution.
Religion remains a potent source of divisiveness around the world. A Pew
Research Center study revealed that 77 percent of the world’s population“was living
in countries with a high or very high overall level of restrictions on religion in
2013.”^30 These restrictions include government-imposed regulations and acts of social
harassment due to religious affiliation. Of the 198 nations in the study, 30 percent
had government restrictions against minority religions, and in 61 percent of the coun-
tries, religious groups experienced some form of social harassment.^31 After two dec-
ades of conflict between Muslims in the north and Christians/Animists in the south,
Sudan was divided into two separate states in 2011, but tensions persist. Professed
Muslims belonging to the Boko Haram terrorist group seek to impose Islamic law
(Sharia) throughout Nigeria. Although it takes many forms, the Sunni–Shia divide
is the underlying cause of conflict in the Middle East, with entire nations taking dif-
ferent sides (e.g., Sunni Saudi Arabia vs. Shia Iran). India’s enduring Hindu–
Christian and Hindu–Muslim animosities give no indication of diminishing, and
occasional low-level violent eruptions are not uncommon. Since 2009, Hindus and
Buddhist in Sir Lanka have engaged in an uneasy peace following a debilitating civil
war lasting more than twenty-five years. The Chinese government has officially
banned the Falun Gong religious group. Beginning in 2012, Buddhist mobs have
engaged in violent attacks on Muslim-minority Rohingya communities in Myanmar.
Nor is the West immune to sectarian conflict, as demonstrated by recent attacks in
Denmark, France, and the United Kingdom, part of an alarming rise in anti-
Semitism across Europe.^32
Although not as frequently mentioned in the news as religiously based conflicts,
ethnic violence is also an expanding challenge for the international community.
The following examples are but a short list of ongoing ethnic struggles. Soon after
gaining independence, peace in South Sudan was shattered by conflict between mem-
bers of the Nuer and Dinka tribes contesting control of land and resources. Since the
removal of Muammar Qaddafi as Libya’s leader, the country has devolved into a civil
war with various tribal, religious, militia, and governmental groups vying for power.
Yemen has long been riven by intertribal conflicts, the most recent occurring in
early 2015, when rebels from the Houthi tribe overthrew the sitting government.
Ethnic strife continues its long history in Myanmar, where Kachin, Shans, Chins,
Karens, Mons, and numerous other minority ethnic groups contest the central govern-
ment for control of their homelands, access to resources, and preservation of their cul-
ture. In Russia, ethnic tensions have long been a national concern, and the northern
Caucasus region is a site of continuing ethnic violence.
Nationalism, another divisive ideology, has historically been used as a populist call
to rally support against such multicultural issues as immigration, foreign products, or
involvement in international organizations or pacts. Globalization, with its focus less
on individual nations and more on internationalization, has opened the door for
emerging, divisive nationalist movements in several areas of the world over the past
decade. In Europe, economic recession, unemployment, immigration issues, and sec-
tarianism have promoted nationalist political movements in the United Kingdom,14 CHAPTER 1•Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society
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