tribalization
- noun
- /ˌtraɪbəlɪˈzeɪʃən/
- The tribalization of society can lead to stronger bonds within groups, but may also create divisions between them.
Examples
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In the face of rapid social and cultural change, a protest movement of "tribalization" occurs that reasserts the values of local communities and their cultures.
Academic text (2006) -
I mean, it has lapsed into just vilification of the other side, tribalization of opinions.
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In America, there are still places where tribalization is useful for survival, especially as a reaction to other people's tribal conduct.
Blog text (21) -
BC's opposition to the homelands called attention to apartheid's divide and rule policy of "tribalization" and its need for continual cheap labor.
Academic text (1990) -
More importantly for BC was the struggle against tribalization by the system: "The ultimate truth," wrote Biko, "is that participation in the bantustan set-up is dangerously misleading the Black population."
Academic text (1990) -
On the contrary, within each of the religious families, the constant creation of various types of popular association (especially by the Pentecostals) creates an ever denser network of centers of resistance to the most evident form of tribalization: mafia or gang rule (on this point see also Martin 1998, 118).
Academic text (1999) -
In most parts of America, tribalization is used for financial advantage rather than for killing, but in a country like ours (compared to Nazi Germany, say, or slavery-based America), you don't lose your money and opportunity and feel grateful for just being alive. So, even though survival is a relatively rare concern, people understandably fume over physical abuse, lack of safety, derogation, and lost money or opportunity.
Blog text (21) -
Although it would be imprudent to predict with certainty the near-term outcome of the simultaneous globalization and tribalization that presently confront each other, the globalizing tendencies do seem to have the upper hand.
Academic text (1994) -
In many regions, tribalization helps preserve cultural identities and fosters a sense of community among indigenous peoples.
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As urban areas expand, some communities are experiencing a tribalization that emphasizes local customs and traditions.
Synonyms
The division of a larger group or area into smaller hostile parts
Treating people or groups as different because of race, often causing unfair treatment
A process of making a place or group focused on ethnic identity
Antonyms
- Specialized
When tribe members lose their traditional customs and social life and adopt another society's ways
How Tribal
Surface Forms
Morphology
tribalization = tribalize (transparent) = tribe + al + ize + ation
The noun is transparently formed from the verb 'tribalize' with the standard noun-forming suffix '-ation'.
Etymology
The word tribalization comes from tribe ('a group of people with a shared identity') and the ending -ization ('the process of making' or 'becoming'). So tribalization is the process of people forming small, separate groups or taking on tribal ways.