Social dominance theory implies that
dynamic ideological and political struggles
occur even in fairly stable societies, and it
also points out that normative institutional
discrimination and cultural ideologies play
as important a role in group oppression as
force does. Social dominance theory does
echo elite theories stating that, without a
culturally normative and institutionalized
control of power, social instability can
devolve into extremely violent civil warfare,
as the recent examples of the Somalian and
Yugoslavian civil wars show. However, social
dominance theory also points out that stable
oppression is systematically violent against
subordinates. By implication, relatively nonviolent
peace may also involve a struggle to
balance the power. On the whole, social
dominance theory argues that the least
oppressive kind of peace that societies can
realize would result from reducing social
inequality and from recognizing the rights
of all groups to be empowered to obtain
what they need.