Paper short abstract:

I will present early data from two projects on the context and potential of conflict between groups.(One of) the in-depth example(s) will be drawn from a region in Estonia, where some locals reject dominant nativism.Two projects combined help untangling the potential of conflict in achieving change.

Paper long abstract:

Conflict arises in various forms, ranging from overt political or personal arguments, to indirect challenges that certain issues trigger. I will look at the context of conflictual issues which would aggravate the interpersonal or intergroup differences in opinion and approach, and the results of this.

The data combines a number of different cases from two projects, one of which spans several European countries, the other concentrates on South Eastern Estonia's Seto region. The European data is drawn from qualitative studies of youth groups in conflict with the society; the Estonian data considers the context of social dispossession in the rural regions that has risen from fragmentation and stratification of the post-Soviet years. The national attempts to solve local economic, societal and political issues have supported ethnic diversity and "nativist" groups, creating dominant cultural elites in some regions. This has, however, coincided with newly emerging class issues, and has led to opposing sentiments amongst those not committed to the nativist cause. The discourses and practices that collide in relation to this are particularly informative when considered in the light of the essence of the European case studies concentrating on youth, a group frequently perceived, managed but also studied as a conflictual entity. The studies will be combined to see whether such conflictuous presence in the society might have potential and promise for a meaningful and fruitful shift in the society, benefitting all, or whether, and if so, why, it might simply lead to reinforced challenges for the weaker group(s).