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Multi-Ethnic States. A Focus on the Interaction Between Ethnic Groups, Nations and States. Primary Ethnic Groups consider themselves/are considered indigenous inhabitants of a territory (ie. English in England, Maori in NZ, Zulus in KwaZulu-Natal, Malays in Malaysia).
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Multi-Ethnic States A Focus on the Interaction Between Ethnic Groups, Nations and States
Primary Ethnic Groups consider themselves/are considered indigenous inhabitants of a territory (ie. English in England, Maori in NZ, Zulus in KwaZulu-Natal, Malays in Malaysia) Secondary Ethnic Groups consider themselves/are considered to be indigenous to another territory (British-Pakistanis, Irish-Americans, Chinese in Indonesia) Primary & Secondary Ethnic Groups
Nation • An integrated community of shared territory, history and civic culture
Ethnic, National, or State? • A group can be ethnic but not national (ie. Pre-modern ethnic groups, Jews in England) • A group can be BOTH ethnic and national (ie. Welsh in Wales) • A group can be ethnic, national, and possess its own state (ie. Japanese)
Multi-Ethnic States • States which contain more than one ethnic group (ie. Russian Federation)
Multi-Ethnic States • In 1972, a survey of 132 states found: • 9% ethnically homogeneous, 91% were multi-ethnic states • 19% contain one majority ethnic group accounting for 90% or more of the population (I.e. Japan, Portugal) • 19% contain an ethnic group accounting for 75-89% of the population (I.e. Germany, New Zealand) • 24% have an ethnic majority of 50-74% (I.e. France) • 30% of states contain a majority group that makes up less than half of the population (I.e. Canada, USA)
The Formation of Multi-Ethnic States • Multi-ethnic states often formed along trade routes or frontier zones: I.e. Lebanon, Caucasus, Kashmir, Switzerland • Rough Terrain • Finally, imperialism and colonialism tend to generate multi-ethnic states
Why Are Some African States More Diverse? • Colonial Boundaries only part of the story • Somalia, Botswana v. Tanzania, Nigeria, Liberia • Ecosystem diversity • Slave Trade • Bantu migrations (??) • Age of precolonial state
Modernisation • Integration of groups through capitalism and the state • Liberalism: The ideas of freedom, dignity and equality for individuals and groups like ethnies or nations
Modernisation and Ethnic/National Consciousness • Modernisation creates and ‘deepens’ state systems • Modernisation stimulates ethnic awareness • Modernisation converts primary ethnic groups into ethnic nations
Ethnic conflict within states can take the form of violent nationalist struggle
Multi-Ethnic Democracy Ethnic Conflict Can be Contained by Multi-Partisan Goodwill
Multi-Ethnic Nations · How multi-ethnic nations develop: No primary group in a field because either a) all arrive at once (Mauritius) or b) Ethnic core weakens and redefines national identity inclusively (USA) · Difficulty of multiethnic nations to maintain diversity and unity · What proportion of the world's nations are multi-ethnic? Few are seriously so. · Some nations more multi-ethnic than others, due to level of immigration, power of core to assimilate, simultaneity of arrival
Multiple Identities in Multi-Ethnic States Multi-ethnic nations and states give rise to mixtures of ethnic, national and state identities • These identities may compete with each other (Croat v. Yugoslav) • The salience, or power, of each layer of identity can vary (I might put my ethnic, national or state allegiance first) • Identity can vary by context (In Nigeria, In Africa, Outside Africa)
Modernisation and Ethnic Separatism? Why • Modernists claim that modernity creates identity, through integration or administrative institutionalism • Perennialists claim that ethnic conflict has a much longer history and that modernity merely energises pre-existing identities