ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on various theoretical approaches and views on the relation between ethnicity, religion and violent conflict and to the need to go beyond simplistic arguments. It provides complete understandings of complex conflicts so that conflict resolution and peacebuilding can contribute to sustainable peace. The chapter expresses that reality is more complex and calls for a more rigorous and serious analysis. The acknowledgement of a re-emergence of religious and ethnic traditions worldwide and the argument put forward that the political resurgence of religious communities is often by way of violent clashes in and between nations has marked the beginning of an interesting and rich debate in the field of International Relations and Political Science. In order to understand the impact of ethnicity and ethnic sense of belonging of individuals and groups, there seems to be some consensus in turning to the somehow perennial debate about the nature of ethnic identity which confronts and compares primordialist, instrumentalist and constructivist perspectives.
