Emotions have been studied largely within an interpersonal context but are now increasingly investigated wthin large scale social problems. This paper reviews key concepts in affective science as applicable to violent ethnic conflict. Beginning with the customary question “what are emotions?”, a cognitive-motivational perspective points to the appraisals and action tendencies inherent in anger and fear, the twin emotions corresponding to fight or flight during violent encounters. Also relevant to violent ethnic conflict are resentment, contempt, sadness, shame, guilt, pride/honor, and remorse. Whether these emotions are (i) situational (state) or dispositional (trait), (ii) felt vs expressed, they have further implications for conflict. Anger, as one example of emotion, can be characterized with reference to five parameters; it can also be represented along six major dimensions of expression, as witnessed interpersonally and intercommunally. A new theoretical position is taken in which violent ethnic conflict is no longer positioned within the primordalist-constructivist dichotomy, but instead is viewed as a function of predisposing factors, precipitating factors, exacerbating factors, perpetuating factors, consequences, and enabling factors. Each of these factors may carry its own cache of emotions that interact with one another over the course of violent ethnic conflict.

情绪主要在人际背景下进行研究，但现在越来越多地在大规模社会问题中进行研究。本文回顾了情感科学中适用于暴力种族冲突的关键概念。从常见问题“什么是情绪？”开始，认知动机视角指出愤怒和恐惧固有的评价和行动倾向，这两种情绪对应于暴力遭遇中的战斗或逃跑。与暴力种族冲突相关的还有怨恨、蔑视、悲伤、羞耻、内疚、骄傲/荣誉和悔恨。无论这些情绪是（i）情境（状态）还是性格（特质），（ii）感受还是表达，它们都会对冲突产生进一步的影响。愤怒作为情绪的一个例子，可以参考五个参数来表征；它也可以通过六个主要的表达维度来体现，如人际和社区间所见证的那样。采取了一种新的理论立场，即暴力种族冲突不再被置于原始主义与建构主义二分法之内，而是被视为诱发因素的函数，诱发因素、加剧因素、持续因素、后果和促成因素。这些因素中的每一个都可能携带着自己的情绪缓存，这些情绪在暴力种族冲突过程中相互作用。