Diasporas potentially contribute to conflict; preventing their participation in conflict is the subject of this chapter. Chapter 4 analyzed how digital diasporas create cybercommunities and emphasized bonding social capital. Such communities can counter the marginalization conducive to violence. Here, we return to Somalinet and AfghanistanOnline to investigate how digital diasporas use cyberspace to potentially prevent conflict through opportunities to: express feelings of marginalization, explore cross-categorical identities and develop bridging social capital, negotiate hybrid identity inclusive of liberal values and shared norms of behavior, and frame issues to explicitly avert conflict/violence. I introduce the descriptions of each organization's approach to conflict prevention with additional information about the history and nature of the homeland conflict. First, I examine identity and conflict prevention generally.

RESTRUCTURING IDENTITY AND THE POTENTIAL FOR CONFLICT PREVENTION

Conflict prevention aims not necessarily to eliminate the sources of latent conflict, but to reduce the likelihood that conflict will become manifest through violent action. This occurs not only at the beginning of a conflict, but throughout various stages of conflict, resulting in three types of prevention (Leatherman et al. 1999): conflict prevention, that is, preventing the initiation of violent conflict; escalation prevention, that is, preventing the vertical and horizontal escalation of hostilities involving additional actors and more destructive means of violence; and postconflict prevention, that is, preventing the reemergence of disputes by reintegrating and rebuilding the society. Diasporans may participate in peace or conflict at any of these stages – beginning, escalation, and reemergence.