Ethnic Conflict and Multiculturalism - Annotated Bibliography Example

Topic 2: Primordialism, Ethnic Conflict and the work of Walker Connor Connor W. “Beyond Reason:  The Nature of the Ethnonational Bond” in Connor (ed.) Ethnonationalism, Princeton University Press, 1994. The reading titled “Beyond Reason: The Nature of the Ethnonational Bond”, written by Walker Connor, will provide the contextual background for this think-piece exercise. The central argument of the author is that ethno-national bond is much stronger than patriotic bond. The basis for the formation of ethno-national bonds are never fully based on fact and evidence, but rather on some vague but convincing feeling of kinship within a group of people. In other words, the concept of ethno-nationality appeals to the notion of common genetic inheritance alongside other tangible aspects such as language, culture, religion, etc. The author presents a wide range of examples to support the aforementioned thesis. By perusing relevant scholarship, the author does make a persuasive case for the superiority of ethno-national bonds over patriotic bonds. The notion of common ethnicity has played a significant role throughout the history of human civilization, whereas patriotism as is presently understood is a relatively new phenomenon – only with the emergence of modern democratic institutions and the establishment of nation-states did patriotism gain currency in political discourse. While the reading is not didactic, the author does suggest some key lessons. For example, W. Connor gives examples from the era of fascism during the 1930s to support his claim that ethno-national feeling is stronger in nature than patriotism. If one were to classify all such examples given by the author, it becomes evident that the concept of ethno-nationalism has more often than not been abused by astute political leaders to gain power. If one were to evaluate ethno-nationality’s role in human history, it would appear that it has generally been a destructive force. While admitting that patriotism is no more benign than ethno-nationalism, I came away with the impression that these vague conceptions are anachronistic to the realities of contemporary world polity. Topic 3: The Instrumentalist approach to ethnic and national identities Ronen (D), The Quest for Self-Determination, Yale U.P. 1979. Ch.3, Back to Basics" D. Ronen’s scholarly work The Quest for Self-Determination further explicates the nature of ethnic and national identities. In order to illustrate the complexities involved in ethnic and national identities, Ronen constructs a new conceptual framework which he calls “aggregations”. According to this theory, political discourses relating to human communities refer to the latter from one of two perspectives. The first is called “functional aggregates”, where defining aspects of identity such as language, religion, custom, skin color, etc “merely” serve the function of distinguishing one group from another. Generally, this way of denoting one’s identity is used as a matter of convenience and without any political slant. In ‘conscious aggregations’, on the other hand, the focus turns to away from the merely descriptive aspects of identity and plays up the differentiation quality among human communities. A good thumb rule for making a distinction between the two categories is the question “Who are you?”. If the answer is “I am I”, then what is manifest is the functional aggregate identity. Whereas, if the answer is “I am English” or “I am Jewish” then the individual is emphasizing his conscious aggregate identity. Although Ronen’s theory appears sound at first, it is less convincing when carefully scrutinized. For example, some of the assumptions upon which the theory is based are impossible to disprove. An essential element of modern scientific inquiry is the possibility of falsification, as famously asserted by twentieth century philosopher Karl Popper. Ronen’s theory of defining human communities, by virtue of being beyond the realm of scientific evaluation, can only be regarded as a hypothesis. This is a problem that confronts the entire discipline of sociology and psychology and the criticism directed at Ronen’s work is applicable more broadly as well. In its entirety, this reading has illuminated new conceptual frameworks for studying ethnic conflicts and multiculturalism. Topic 4: Constructivist Approaches Anderson (B)., "Imagined Communities" in Hutchinson and Smith, Nationalism. Benedict Anderson’s essay titled Imagined Communities offers a historically informed analysis of nationalism. He asserts that the rise of nationalism was facilitated by the simultaneous decline of key cultural conceptions of great antiquity, which had erstwhile had a profound effect on humankind. The first of these changes had to do with the role of language in the evolution of human civilization. For much of history, written language was interlinked with power and privilege. The religious elite especially had employed the medium of written language to control the thoughts and actions of the masses. This was true across various religions. Second was the dismantling of the belief that the ruling elite earned their right by divine decree. The liberalization of language use had encouraged rational discourse among the common people and the movement toward democratic governance owes its advance to this. The third development which made it conducive for nationalism to flourish is the conceptual separation of humans and their physical world. For much of pre-modern history, the view held by scholars and intellectuals were essentially anthropocentric, meaning that they interpreted natural phenomenon from the stand point of its significance to human existence. But this approach to studying the world around them changed not only the course of scientific progress, but had also ushered in changes of political organization - one such advance being ‘nationalism’. The political developments in Europe over the last two millennia are consistent with Anderson’s thesis. For example, it cannot be mere coincidence that as literacy levels in Western Europe started rising; new, alternative political ideas were gaining recognition. The advances in literacy and print technology had had a profound effect on society. Not only did the vernacular language propagate and encourage exchange of ideas and views, but more importantly, they helped consolidate the common identity of a community of people. In other words, the conventions of language usage that helped spread literacy had also reinforced unique aspects of culture, religion, customs and sensibilities of a group of people, thereby setting the foundations for the emergence of nationalism. Topic 5: The Civic-Ethnic Distinction Spencer (P) and Wollman (H), “Good and Bad Nationalisms” in Nations and Nationalism (2005) Edinburgh University Press) The focus of this reading, written by Phillip Spencer and Howard Woolman, is the distinction between healthy and unhealthy varieties of nationalism that have developed over the course of the last few centuries. The very concept of ‘nation’ is a modern one, having found meaningful expression within the last two hundred years of world history. The founding principle of modern nationalism, the authors argue, has been its offer of equal political rights for all constituent groups and communities, irrespective of their social class, gender, economic background, etc. An empirical study of global political history over the recent past would suggest that nationalist movements broadly fall under two categories – civic and ethnic. The civic variety is perceived by commentators and scholars as a more progressive arrangement, whereas ethnic nationalism is seen to possess potential for misuse. The authors further point out that there is no straightforward method for classifying nationalist movements into these varieties, as more often than not in every society one witnesses the coexistence of several varieties. Added to this, there is also an element of subjective judgment involved in this process, which makes the task of labelling nationalist movements into strict categories. Within the duality presented by civic and ethnic nationalisms, we find other dualities in the form of individualistic versus collectivistic, constitutional versus authoritarian, woman-emancipated versus patriarchal, etc. In effect, all these complexities make the task of analyzing and studying nationalism and separating the healthy varieties from the rest nearly impossible. But, the reading does offer some key insights into societies of the past and provides the context for further deliberations about forms of nationalism. Topic 6: The rise and decline of the Nation-State Dunn J, “Crisis of the Nation-State” in Dunn J. (ed.), Contemporary Crisis of the Nation-State?, Blackwell, Oxford, 1995. The core focus of this article by John Dunn is on evaluating the success of nation-states. The author tries to assess the competence and adaptability offered by this framework of governance. The reader of the article will realize that the question mark placed at the end of the title is intended to be rhetorical, implying that the author believes that a crisis is confronting the notion of Nation-State. At the outset, Dunn makes the point that Nation-State is a political concept that gained acceptance not so much because it understood and anticipated the future of social organization but because it was a convenient term. Firstly, the concept of a Nation, which links a community on grounds of language, culture and ethnicity, is subjective and unscientific. Secondly, the primary purpose of a State is that of giving legality and legitimacy to a geo-political entity and hence is an artificial construct that is amenable to change. In other words, while contemporary global polity seems to overstate the importance of the Nation-State, it is not the only efficient and rational arrangement of conducting international politics. To illustrate the aforementioned assessment, the author cites the example of free-market capitalism, which has transformed the equations of power and sovereignty in the neo-liberal world economic order. The Nation-State may not have curbed instances of warfare, reduced levels of poverty and starvation, or helped foster an economically more equitable world. But, as Dunn rightly points out, it is absurd to think that the remedy lies in past, in the form of reviving monarchy and authoritarianism. Admittedly, the Nation-State has its share of limitations and there is much scope for improvement. Indeed, there is a crisis of the Nation-State, but the answer does not lie in reactionary models. To the contrary, it lies in enhancing the existing system. Topic 7: Why We Hate You: The Passions of National Identity and Ethnic Violence: Suny R.G., “Why We Hate You: The Passions of National Identity and Ethnic Violence”, Berkeley Program in Soviet and Post Soviet Studies. Paper, 2004, : 22-32 This article by Ronald Suny attempts to sort through theories of ethnic conflict. It peruses the case of Soviet Union, before and after its collapse, to identify underlying motives of ethnic conflict. The author disagrees with the view forwarded by certain academics that Primordialism, which springs from an innate, natural identity, is at the root of most ethnic conflicts. But, since the notion of Primordialism is itself loosely and vaguely defined, this argument does not hold merit. Secondly, Suny points out the deficiencies in a Constructivist approach to studying ethnic conflicts, as this approach does not provide a satisfactory explanation for conflicts in the past. Moving away from these simplistic assessments of ethic conflict, Suny suggests that a combination of both emotion and reason are at work in any given instance of conflict. The emotions that instigate conflict include fear, resentment, hate and anger. But it is debatable whether there is sufficient justification for these emotions and whether they are backed by historical fact. In his critique of conventional approaches to studying ethnic violence, Suny points out that “Reversing an older image of ethnic violence as bubbling up from the masses, elite approaches have located initiative at the top but they fail to explain why ethnic appeals have such powerful resonance below”. Bringing a new perspective to the study of ethnic conflict, Suny writes that “warfare itself helps harden hostile group identities, making it rational to fear the other group and see its members as dangerous threats”. The author makes the observation that mass violence does not require the involvement of numerous people. In a few instance of genocide, it is the small but powerful minority that had wreaked havoc on entire communities. Topic 8: Topic 8: The Cultural Division of Labour and Internal Colonialism Connor W, "Eco- or Ethno- Nationalism?, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 7,3, 1984 pp.342-359 Walker Connor’s article titled ‘Eco- or Ethno- nationalism?’ addresses an oft discussed issue, namely the impulse underlying ethnic conflict. Connor asserts that attributes such as race, language, religion, etc, which comprise an individual’s ethnic identity are at the heart of an ethnic conflict only so far as there is evidence of tangible discrepancy in these attributes among the groups involved. The author further points out that far too often measures of economic disparity between the conflicting groups is not paid attention to. A closer scrutiny would lead to the conclusion that economic stature of the two groups is a significant factor. The reason why economic factors behind ethnic conflict are not obvious at the outset is due to the fact that comparative studies of ethnic conflicts show a near-universal relationship between ethno-national conflict and economic causation. Further, “analysts have been beguiled by the fact that observable economic discrepancies are near universal concomitants of ethnic strife. A comparison of the per capita income figures and occupational status of groups involved in such an issue will quite consistently show that a substantial variation exists between the groups.” The author peruses statistics from ethnic conflicts in regions such as Quebec province in Canada, Belgium and erstwhile Czechoslovakia to present a nuanced understanding of the economic underpinnings of conflict. Connor’s study of conflicts in these regions leads him to the conclusion that the role of economic disparity between groups is usually an indirect influence, acting as a catalyst that exacerbates the simmering unrest. In the most devastating ethnic conflict in Rwanda, data seem to reinforce underlying class disparities between the warring Tutsi and Hutu communities. Whereas in the millennia long rivalry between the English and the Scots, there is an opposite correlation, meaning that the aristocracies of the two former kingdoms were more vehement in their mutual dislike when compared to the emotions of the large majority of their subjects. Hence, while admitting the prevalence of economic disparity in many cases of ethnic conflict, Walker Connor qualifies this apparent ‘causal’ relationship by presenting examples that contradict this view, as well as presenting examples where the economic aspect is coincidental to the ethno-national conflict. Topic 9: Boundaries, Federalism and Secessionism Buchanan A, “Theories of Secession” Philosophy and Public Affairs 26,1, 1997 pp.31-61 The reading titled ‘Theories of Secession’ written by Allen Buchanan deals with a topic that is rarely paid attention to, namely that of secession. Irrespective of the chaos and turmoil episodes of secession bring with them, it is better to have in place a framework for analyzing it, as opposed to neglecting it by taking moral high ground. Buchanan has attempted the former, through answering important questions as “Under what conditions does a group have a moral right to secede, independently of any questions of institutional morality, and in particular apart from any consideration of international legal institutions and their relationship to moral principles? And under what conditions a group should be recognized as having a right to secede as a matter of international institutional morality, including a morally defensible system of international law.” The first of these questions is the more substantive one – being likely to find application in all types of social organization. The second question, on the other hand appears to be temporally linked to modern polity, with attendant legal technicalities in the form of internationally accepted rights and responsibilities. Buchanan believes that the answer to the first question could provide significant insights to improving prevailing international law with respect to secession. The relevance of answers to these questions cannot be overstated, as cross-border conflicts across the world tend to lead to gross human-rights violations. Global polity is firstly in dire need of a broad analytic framework to deal with the phenomenon of secession. Equally urgent is the drafting and acceptance of unambiguous and just international laws that would set guidelines for cases of secession. Allen Buchanan tackles these questions competently, thereby providing the foundation for more concrete actions from the international community. Topic 10: State strategies - ethnocracy: Yiftachel, O. (2006). The Ethnocratic Regime: The Politics of Seizing Contested Territory. Ethnocracy: The Politics of Land and Identity in Israel / Palestine. O. Yiftachel. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press. The reading titled ‘The Ethnocratic Regime: The Politics of Seizing Contested Territory’, written by O. Yiftachel, continues on the theme of secession and focuses on its political aspects. There are three core arguments forwarded by the author. These include arguments supporting “the existence of an ethnocratic regime as a distinct identifiable type and the existence of a set of mechanisms that shape the ethnocratic regime and explain both persistent patterns of ethnic dominance and regime instability”. Another salient feature of the reading is the view that the structural features of an ethnocratic institution can be subject to rational enquiry and classified into discernable types. While the reading largely theoretical and focuses on abstract analysis, it also briefly tests the validity of the theory to cases of ethnocratic regimes in countries such as Sri Lanka, Australia and Estonia. This scholarly work by Yiftachel is as relevant to the present times as it was in the centuries past. For example, cases of chronic ethnic conflict, such as the one between Israel and Palestine, emphasize the need for new theoretical frameworks for carrying out diplomacy. The seemingly perpetual conflict between the distinct ethnic groups of Sinhalese and Tamils in North Eastern Sri Lanka is another case in point. The first stage in finding solution to these perennial inter-ethnic problems is in drawing up a robust theoretical understanding. Other practical and case-specific considerations would fall in place once the politics of ethnocratic regimes are comprehended. As author Yiftachel mentions in his book, it is disappointing to know that this important area of international politics has not attracted the attention it deserves. Topic 11: Multiculturalism and the work of Will Kymlicka Kymlicka W., Liberalism, Community and Culture, Clarendon, Oxford, 1989, Ch.9, “Equality for Minority Cultures". The reading ‘Equality for Minority Cultures’ deals with the set of issues that are common to societies where there are a few dominant cultural groups and numerous minority groups. In the case of Canada and the United States, the Native American population (also called the aborigines) comprise one such group. Kymlicka analyzes the contentious issue of ‘special’ rights and privileges provided to aboriginal people by law. Kymlicka argues that such ‘affirmative action’ is a breach of principles of equality, which is such an integral part of the Constitution of these democratic nations. The author criticizes the basis of such entitlements, which are founded upon an “abstract egalitarian plateau” that provides inadequate justice to minority communities. Citing the views of prominent legal thinkers such as John Rawls and Dworkin, the author states that such special entitlements would not be effective as long as “the effect of market and political decisions made by the majority may well be that aboriginal groups are outbid or outvoted on matters crucial to their survival as a cultural community”. Real emancipation of historically disadvantaged minority communities will only come about when “instead of subsidizing or privileging their choices, the special measures demanded by aboriginal people serve to correct an advantage that non-aboriginal people have before anyone makes their choices”. In effect, Kymlicka’s contends that simply making legal provisions and compensations for past injustices does not do justice to the present times, as it undermines membership in the larger social community. Again, as in some of the other readings, the author approaches a complex problem in a constructive way. The issue being discussed is not just confined to Canada and United States, for every modern nation-state is a conglomerate of multiple cultural strains. This makes the reading all the more relevant to contemporary world politics and the problems confounding it. Read More