How does interethnic marriage influence the occurrence of ethnic violence in sub-Saharan Africa? Previous studies on the relationship between intergroup contact and conflict onset have produced mixed findings. Some scholars have argued that this might be due to the way interethnic contact is measured. Building on insights of social psychology, this study examines the influence of interethnic marriage as the ultimate form of positive intergroup contact. In doing so, we combine information of the Demographic and Health Surveys with event data on ethnic conflict. Our analysis shows that areas with higher levels of exogamy significantly experience less ethnic conflict.

种族间通婚如何影响撒哈拉以南非洲种族暴力的发生？先前关于群体间接触和冲突发生之间关系的研究产生了混合的结果。一些学者认为，这可能与测量种族间接触的方式有关。本研究以社会心理学的见解为基础，考察了作为积极群体间接触的最终形式的种族间婚姻的影响。为此，我们将人口与健康调查的信息与种族冲突的事件数据相结合。我们的分析表明，异族通婚程度较高的地区经历的种族冲突明显较少。