Download IntlSec.4.1.EthnicPol

WHY DO ETHNIC GROUPS
FIGHT?
•What is an ethnic group?:
•(1) Shared cultural markers?
•(2) Strong psychological attachment of
belonging to the group
•(3) Shared sense of common history and
ancestry
•Some other key terms: diasporas,
nationalism, self-determination,
secession, ethno-religious; irredentialism
PRIMORDIALISTS: THE “HARD”
PERSPECTIVE OF ETHNICITY?
Ethnic identities:
•Are based on a strong sense of commonality
(assumed biological kinship)
•Ascriptive identities; firmly-bounded, and
persist over time
•A fundamental cause of ethnocentrism,
outward hostility (hate), and a desire to
dominate
•Spawn collective behaviors based on passion
(vs. calculation) & self-sacrifice for group
•Not easily subjugated to calming pressures by
elites
INSTRUMENTALISTS: THE “SOFT”
PERSPECTIVE OF ETHNICITY
Ethnic identities:
•Are social constructions: Formed by individuals
who share overlapping strategic and material
interests
•Are highly malleable—both in rigidity and
influence—according to contextual pressures
•Generally overlap more meaningful cleavages:
Class, material differences, and issues
•Reflect the needs of individual members rather
than serving some transcendent purpose
•Are easily manipulated by elites
WHY DO WE HAVE SO MUCH ETHNIC
CONFLICT?
•Ethnic conflict is unusually subject to manipulation by
leaders
•Biological impulses, aggression, & territoriality at the
group level
•Ethnicity & stereotyping are vessels for ancient hatreds
•Ethnic identity leads to misperceptions by leaders
•Ethnic conflict is a product of modernization?
•Are tribal instincts becoming more important than ever
because we don’t need the state like we used to?
•Does globalization make everyone want the same
material things, so that groups that used to want
different things now fight?
•Makes visible divisions that would otherwise go
unnoticed
WILL WE HAVE MORE ETHNIC
VIOLENCE?
Huntington’s thesis:
•Nationalism, ideological, and material-based conflict
is being replaced by civilizational conflict. Why?:
•We’ve gotten better at dealing with the other kind of
conflict.
•Globalization: (1) Our band of brothers is larger; (2)
Our contact with the “other” is more frequent
•The modern media and “kin” countries
•Weaker states
•The decline of the west
•Is it the west vs. the rest?
•Isn’t most conflict today about separation rather
than joining one’s civilization?