The legacy of country-level experience of armed conflict on emancipative value preferences: A global cross-national study

This study examines the legacies of large-scale armed conflict on emancipative value preferences from 1946 to 2012. The multilevel analysis indicates that people living in countries with past armed conflict are more likely to endorse less emancipative value preferences. The higher the intensity and the longer the duration of the armed conflict episodes experienced in a country, the greater the impact on values. Our evidence further suggests that the mechanism through which armed conflict shapes values is by diminishing/destructing the material, intellectual, and connective resources available to a society. These findings show that armed conflict legacies are bleaker than previous studies on individual exposure to violence have suggested. Large-scale violence diminishes people’s ability and motivation to pursue a life free from domination, potentially eroding the basis of generalized tolerance and cooperation.