Diversity as a Social Challenge: Linking Ethnic and Religious Heterogeneity to Social Unrest and Crimes Across 187 Countries

This study explores how ethnic and religious diversity impacts social unrest and homicide rates across 187 countries, categorized into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups. Although diversity is a complex social fact, it has context-dependent and sophisticated connections with social stability. Robust panel data analysis, utilizing OLS, fixed/random effects, and GMM techniques, was employed to assess the effects of diversity alongside factors such as civil activism, intergroup cohesion, income inequality, and institutional quality. The findings reveal a significant positive correlation between higher diversity and increased social unrest and homicides, but this relationship is not deterministic. Crucially, the intensity of this nexus varies significantly according to the level of national income, with the high values of this association observed in low-income countries. The analysis reveals that strong institutions and cohesive societies can mitigate these adverse effects, while higher inequality exacerbates them. This research emphasizes the importance of context-specific policies to harness diversity for societal benefit. While diversity presents challenges, it also offers opportunities for enhancing social stability when supported by effective governance and social cohesion. JEL Classification: H1, H7, K4, K42, D70.