Dynamics of two-group conflicts: A statistical physics model

Authors

H T. Diep
Miron KaufmanFollow
Sanda Kaufman, Cleveland State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2017

Publication Title

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications

Abstract

We propose a “social physics” model for two-group conflict. We consider two disputing groups. Each individual i in each of the two groups has a preference s_i regarding the way in which the conflict should be resolved. The individual preferences span a range between +M (prone to protracted conflict) and −M (prone to settle the conflict). The noise in this system is quantified by a “social temperature”. Individuals interact within their group and with individuals of the other group. A pair of individuals (i,j) within a group contributes -s_i∗s_j to the energy. The inter-group energy of individual i is taken to be proportional to the product between s_i and the mean value of the preferences from the other group’s members. We consider an equivalent-neighbor Renyi–Erdos network where everyone interacts with everyone. We present some examples of conflicts that may be described with this model.

Repository Citation

Diep, H T.; Kaufman, Miron; and Kaufman, Sanda, "Dynamics of two-group conflicts: A statistical physics model" (2017). All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications. 0 1 2 3 1481.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/urban_facpub/1481

DOI

10.1016/j.physa.2016.10.072

Volume

469