Explain Image Theory As A Contributing Factor In Intertribal Relations

4.2.1.4 Image Theory as a Contributing Factor in Intertribal Relations
Not only is it important to consider how the various tribes view themselves, it is equally important to consider how these tribes view others: that is, how do they understand the distinctions that separate them (and those like them) from those not like them. Ethnonyms not only lead people to feel that they belong together but also to sense that they are “different” in some way(s) from “other types of human group[s] and social bond[s]” (Smith, 1999:127). “Image Theory” may help to ascertain critical elements of this difference in perception.
In 1959, Boulding (120-121) introduced the idea of image as “the total cognitive, affective, and evaluative structure of the behavioural
Mon (2010:25) adds that, “When compared to beliefs and attitudes, an image is considered to be more difficult to change. Once it is formed, image is hard to change.” He goes further to note, “If it changes, most of the time, it changes only in intensity.” (For a contemporary example of this in US-Turkish political relations, cf. Özkeçeci-Taner, 2012.) Finally, as Lehman summarizes (2007:115), “it is a common ethnographic fact that each ethnic ‘group’ sees itself always in contrast with neighbouring groups.” As will be demonstrated through qualitative and quantitative research in chapter 6, the Christians among the Chin, Kachin, and Karen tribes are scarcely less influenced by their respective tribe’s traditional images of out-groups than are the non-Christians in those tribes. To the extent that there are differences between the perceptions of the Christians and the non-Christians, these are most often merely differences of degree (or “intensity”). Chapter 7 will address ways in which theological education in missions can be instrumental in modifying these traditional images, as it is clear that the way in which the tribes view out-groups remains a
For instance, in the weeks leading up to the November 2015 elections, President Thein Sein orchestrated the ouster of, Schwe Mann, his chief rival within the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), in an apparent effort to minimize his political risks, as Mann had recently aligned himself with the popular leader of the opposition, Aung San Suu Kyi (Radio Free Asia, 13 August 2015). This tension within the ruling party seemed, at the time, to belie Sein’s repeated gestures toward honest political discourse, fair elections, and a vigorous pursuit of acceptance by the international community. The hope (and, in fact, the promise) was that the military junta was gradually stepping aside in favour of a government elected by, and representative of, the people. After Sein’s crafty dismissal of his