Punishment in Intergroup and Intragroup Relations

Punishment is a fundamental tool for social regulation, directly influencing compliance with group norms, maintaining group cohesion, and shaping boundaries within and between groups. Recently, complex societal issues such as escalating polarization, migration-related tensions, international sanctions, and debates over disciplinary measures in institutional settings have spotlighted the urgent need for an integrative understanding of these processes. Existing frameworks, including the Social Identity Approach, Intergroup Contact theory, Realistic Conflict theory, as well as research on justice, legitimacy, norm enforcement, and third-party punishment, highlight the central roles of identity, threat perception, and perceived fairness. However, cross-cultural research, especially from the Global South, remains scarce, limiting our understanding of how diverse contexts mediate these dynamics.This Research Topic seeks to consolidate and advance high-quality, cross-cultural research on the antecedents and consequences of punishment in both intergroup and intragroup relations. The main objectives are to clarify under what conditions punishment is judged to be legitimate or fair, promotes or hampers ingroup cohesion, escalates or de-escalates conflict, and facilitates reconciliation or restorative outcomes. We especially encourage work that directly tests mechanisms and boundary conditions involving identity processes, intergroup contact, group norms, power asymmetries, moral emotions, dehumanization, and perceptions of boundary permeability. Applied implications for education, institutional practices, and public policy are of key interest, and studies that rigorously examine these mechanisms through experimental, longitudinal, or diverse methodological perspectives are strongly encouraged.The range of this Research Topic covers punishment at peer, educational, institutional, and state policy levels, with an emphasis on integrating evidence from multiple contexts and methodological approaches. Key themes include:* Collective punishment and its effects on ingroup and outgroup dynamics* Interplay between punishment, legitimacy, and justice perceptions* Social identities and punishment, including target and third-party responses* Power, status, moral emotions, and their roles in norm enforcement* Restorative justice approaches and reconciliation mechanisms* Boundary permeability and escalation vs. de-escalation of conflict* Cultural variation in punishment practices, especially from the Global SouthWe welcome Original Research, Systematic Reviews, Meta-analyses, and qualitative, mixed-method, and big data studies—ideally multi-country, experimental, or longitudinal designs. Pre-registered work, open materials, and participation from Global South scholars are especially encouraged. Topic editors: Victoria Esses, Sami Çoksan Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78372/punishment-in-intergroup-and-intragroup-relations