evidence from Colombia
5.9 Discussion and Conclusion
To assess the role of community support in the peace-building process, we ran a lab-in-the-field experiment in Colombia to investigate whether Colombian students have prejudices and discriminate against reintegrating ex-guerrillas and, if so, in which dimension. Our results show that demobilized recipients are, in general, not treated differently than persons with comparable socio-economic characteristics in the campaign and, if anything, they are even slightly preferred. This finding is consistent with the idea that the affiliation to rebel groups and experiences in combat show no lasting effects, and that attitudes concerning the peace-building process change quickly. Moreover, we find no evidence for subtle negative mental associations with demobilized persons in the SC-IAT test. However, the analysis of the statements in the final survey clearly shows that the participants in our experiment are less willing to meet and become friends with demobilized persons compared to the control group.
Hence, our results are in line with (Tellez, 2019), who shows that in conflict-affected regions in Colombia, persons are willing to support the peace process and grant concessions to demobilized individuals but fear for their security when it comes to personal encounters.
Chapter 5. Discrimination and inter-group contact in Colombia
Two points have to be mentioned here: First of all, we measure discrimination in relation to persons with lower socio-economic backgrounds, as we think that this group is comparable to the demobilized population. Nevertheless, participants with lower socio-economic backgrounds might be perceived as having negative characteristics (i.e., lack of experience, low human capital, etc.). Thus, we cannot rule out that discrimination overall is not present in the donation decisions. However, the percentage of persons that donated and the amounts donated are in line with the findings of previous literature on charitable giving. Second, supporting a person to start her/his own business is an indirect behavior. No personal contact is necessary in the decision-making process, in contrast to most real-life job interview situations.
Here our results are not clear-cut. Since we see that the participants are somewhat less comfortable meeting demobilized persons, discrimination in such a situation may be likely with respect to our results. The setting, nevertheless, is informative and relevant for several reasons. With the crowdfunding campaign, we can give evidence on two critical dimensions of reintegration, namely the reintegration into the labor market and civilian life. Since Colombia has a high share of self-employed persons, especially among those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, seeking access to credit for opening a business is a relevant situation. Moreover, indirect support can become crucial, as was the case in the peace referendum. Finally, concerning the participants in the survey, we argue that university students are an essential group, as these constitute potential future employers and customers. Future work should explore the extent of discrimination among different population groups.
Two methodological concerns arise at this point: the external validity of our results and experimental demand effects. As for the former, we know that by choosing college students, we might be setting a lower bound for our effects, and replicating the study to a non-educational sample is desirable. Nonetheless, relative to regular lab participants, ours are bringing different levels of exposure to conflict to the lab, which is a critical characteristic connecting our setting to a less controlled one. We also notice that the donation behavior in our experiment does not depart much from other lab and field dictator games, for which we believe that the incentives we provided seemed to be enough to elicit the traditional norms for charitable giving. Finally, we know that our experimental subjects could feel compelled to donate, since donating is all they can do in the experiment. If that is the case, the experimental demand effect will be present in all our conditions, and will not affect the net treatment effects.
We implemented a short-term mediated contact in our experiment to evaluate its effect on community support for reintegration. Participants in the contact treatment watched a 5-minute video, in which two recipients present themselves and their business ideas. The evaluation of contact shows that inter-group contact succeeds in increasing donations to non-demobilized and demobilized recipients. Contact increases donations to demobilized beneficiaries, but only when relevant skills are highlighted. We see that the effect mainly stems from the change in taste-based
discrimination happening through a reduction in fear.
Post-conflict settings are contexts, where groups are relatively sharply segregated, tensions between the groups are relatively high as well as the emotional costs of personal encounters. Eller et al. (2012) show that in such contexts where personal contact between groups is low, indirect forms of contact affect inter-group attitudes.
The critical advantage of indirect contact is its scope. Via public media, a broad audience can be reached in a short time and with low costs. Additionally, it is easier to promote positive contact and reduce the negative perceptions than in personal contact situations that are less controllable. It can be regarded as a first step in sensitizing the groups with respect to personal contact.
To answer the question, if inter-group contact is a suitable tool for peace-building, a closer look at when inter-group contact works, and for whom, is needed. Our sub-group analysis highlights that contact with demobilized individuals is likely to work better for some population groups than for others. However, we do not find a negative change of attitudes or behavior for potentially more prejudiced participants that are potentially more inclined towards negative aspects in the contact.
Heavily victimized persons and more right-oriented participants change neither donations nor attitudes after indirect contact. In conclusion, inter-group contact, and in particular mediated inter-group contact, may be an adequate instrument for post-conflict settings. It can efficiently sensitize society for ex-combatants and increase support for the reintegration process. It is easily implementable, cost-effective, and less risky in terms of potential adverse effects. However, further research is necessary to get a clearer picture of when and for whom mediated contact works.