Understanding Ethnic Conflict: The International Dimension

by Taras, Ray; Ganguly, Rajat

• ISBN13: 9780321085948
• ISBN10: 0321085949
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Longman

Summary

The completely updated new edition of this groundbreaking text provides students with a clear analytical framework for understanding ethnic conflicts and how they affect international relations. This text surveys theories of nationalism and ethnic conflict and tests their applicability to a number of contemporary cases: the more confident nationalism of Putin's Russia, the intensification of ethnic war in Sri Lanka, and the struggle to change the face of nationalism in the former Yugoslavia, to name just a few. After a look at the sources of nationalist conflict in a country, each case study then asks how the international system reacted. Taken as a whole, the book examines how successful the international system has been in managing the many ethnic conflicts that erupted after the Cold War. The conclusion of the new edition focuses on the dilemma facing U.S. foreign policy makers as the Bush administration begins: whether and where to intervene to combat ultra-nationalism and promote liberal internationalism.

Author Biography

Ray Taras is professor of political science at Tulane University in New Orleans Rajat Ganguly is Lecturer in the School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia, in Norwich, England

Table of Contents

Preface: Nationalism at the Beginning of a New Millennium	xiii
Acknowledgments	xvii
PART I ETHNIC CONFLICT AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Ethnic Conflict on the World Stage	1	(41)
Ethnic Conflict after the Cold War	1	(3)
The Formation and Persistence of Ethnic Identity	4	(2)
Definitions	6	(3)
The Political Mobilization of Ethnic Groups	9	(1)
Indirect Theories of Ethnic Political Mobilization	10	(6)
Negative Theories of Integration	10	(2)
Negative Theories of Cohesion	12	(3)
Indirect Theories of Disintegration	15	(1)
Direct Theories of Ethnic Political Mobilization	16	(3)
The Primordialist Approach	16	(1)
The Internal Colonialism Approach	17	(1)
The Communalist Approach	18	(1)
Ethnic Political Mobilization: Aims and Objectives	19	(6)
Spiraling to Violent Ethnic Conflict	25	(6)
Ethnic Conflict as a Result of Ancient Hatred	25	(2)
Ethnic Conflict as a Fallout of International Conflict	27	(1)
Ethnic Conflict as a Consequence of the Security Dilemma and of Collective Fears of the Future	28	(2)
Ethnic Conflict as a Result of Elite Manipulation of Mass Sentiment	30	(1)
Ethnic Conflict and International Relations	31	(11)
Ethnic Conflict and Intenational Norms	42	(28)
Introduction	42	(1)
International Norms Affecting Ethnonationalism and Secession	43	(10)
The Doctrine of State Sovereignty	43	(6)
Self-Determination and Ethnosecessionist Movements	49	(4)
The General Case for Secession: Obsolescence of the State	53	(5)
Moral Grounds That Justify Secession	58	(6)
The Emerging Global Regime on Ethnic Minorities	64	(1)
Conclusion	65	(5)
Ethnic Conflict and International Security	70	(22)
Introduction	70	(1)
The Internationalization of Ethnic Conflict	70	(14)
Diplomatic Activity of Ethnonationalists and States Confronted with Ethnic Conflict	71	(5)
Partisan External Intervention in Ethnic Conflicts	76	(7)
Ethnic Conflict and International Terrorism	83	(1)
Ethnic Conflict and Refugee Flows	84	(1)
The Ethnicization of International Politics	84	(3)
Globalization, Interdependence, and Ethnic Conflicts	85	(1)
The Link Between Arms Trading, Drug Trafficking, and Ethnic Conflict	86	(1)
Conclusion	87	(5)
Resolving Ethnic Conflicts Through International Intervention	92	(34)
Why Resolving Ethnic Conflicts Is Important	92	(1)
Ethnic Conflict Resolution by International Third Parties	92	(5)
Peacekeeping	93	(1)
Peacemaking	94	(3)
Peacebuilding	97	(1)
Ethnic Conflict Resolution by the United Nations	97	(15)
The United Nations as a Peacekeeper	99	(4)
The United Nations as a Peacemaker	103	(3)
The United Nations as a Peacebuilder	106	(3)
The UN Agenda in the Twenty-first Century	109	(3)
States as Third Parties in Ethnic Conflict Resolution	112	(5)
Major Powers and Ethnic Conflict Resolution	112	(3)
Ethnic Conflict Resolution by Third-World Regional Powers	115	(2)
Regional Organizations as Third Parties in Ethnic Conflict Resolution	117	(2)
International Nongovernmental Organizations as Third Parties in Ethnic Conflict Resolution	119	(1)
Conclusion	120	(6)
PART II CASE STUDIES
Nationalism and the Collapse of an Empire: The Soviet Union, Russia, and Chechnya	126	(30)
The Breakdown of Empires	126	(2)
Why Did Ethnic Conflict Occur?	128	(17)
Soviet Imperialism and Great Russian Nationalism	128	(3)
Democratization as a Source of Ethnic Conflict	131	(1)
The Conflict of Identities	132	(2)
Nationalist Mobilization in Post-Soviet Russia	134	(2)
The Core Ideas of Russian Nationalism	136	(1)
Russian Nationalists Resurgent	137	(2)
Russia's New Minorities	139	(1)
Russia and Chechnya	140	(3)
Chechen Ethnosecessionism	143	(2)
International Reaction	145	(2)
Noninternationalization of the Chechen Conflict	147	(3)
Third-party Mediation in Chechnya	150	(2)
Conclusion	152	(4)
Separatist Movements in Constitutional Democracies: Canada and Quebec Nationalism	156	(26)
Introduction	156	(1)
Why Has Ethnic Conflict Occured? Sources of Quebec Nationalism	157	(25)
British Colonization	158	(2)
Confederation	160	(1)
Economic Stagnation	160	(1)
Conscription Crises	161	(1)
Disputed Borders	161	(1)
Society in Transformation	162	(1)
The Quiet Revolution	162	(2)
Quebec's Exclusion from the Canadian Constitution	164	(1)
The Failure to Bring Quebec Back in	165	(2)
The Growth of the Sovereignty Movement	167	(2)
The Canadian Supreme Court on Secession	169	(3)
Why Peaceful Secession Is Rare	172	(2)
International Reaction	174	(1)
Can a Constitutional Dispute Be Internationalized?	175	(3)
Is External Mediation Possible in Canada?	178	(4)
Protracted Ethnic Wars: The Tamil-Sinhalese Conflict in Sri Lanka	182	(30)
Introduction	182	(1)
Why Did Ethnic Conflict Occur in Sri Lanka?	182	(8)
Historical, Cultural, and Religious Issues	183	(2)
The Issue of Language	185	(1)
Economic Issues	186	(1)
The Political Fallout	187	(1)
The Drift Toward Tamil Militancy	188	(2)
The Escalation of Ethnic Violence in the 1980s	190	(1)
International Reaction Toward Sri Lanka's Ethnic War	190	(1)
International Covert Involvement in Sri Lanka	191	(2)
Other International Aspects of Sri Lanka's Ethnic Conflict	193	(1)
Resolution Attempt: International Third-party Action in Sri Lanka	193	(9)
The Parthasarathy Initiative and the All-Party Conference	194	(1)
The Thimpu Talks	195	(1)
The December 19 Proposals	196	(1)
The Indo-Sri Lankan Accord	196	(2)
Tamil-Sinhalese Reactions to the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord	198	(1)
Implementation of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord	198	(3)
Why Did India's Resolution Attempt Fail in Sri Lanka?	201	(1)
Withdrawal of the IPKF and the Entrenchment of the Ethnic Civil War in Sri Lanka	202	(2)
Changing International Perception of Sri Lanka's Ethnic Civil War	204	(3)
Conclusion	207	(5)
Weak States and Ethnic Conflict: Secessionism and State Collapse in Africa	212	(23)
Introduction	212	(1)
Weak States	213	(2)
Secessionism in Ethiopia	215	(12)
Sources of Conflict: The Colonial Legacy	215	(2)
Pan-Africanism and Pan-Ethiopianism	217	(1)
Military Repression	217	(1)
Ethiopia's Collapse, Eritrea's Independence	218	(2)
The Resilience of Ethnic Schisms: Renewed War Between the Two States	220	(2)
International Reaction to Eritrean Independence	222	(1)
Internationalization	222	(3)
External Mediation	225	(2)
Weak States, Politicized Identities in Central Africa	227	(4)
Conclusion	231	(4)
When International Actors Engineer Separation: The Breaking Up of Yugoslavia	235	(23)
Introduction	235	(3)
Wars in a Disintegrating Yugoslavia	238	(6)
War in Bosnia	241	(2)
The Conflict in Kosovo	243	(1)
International Prevarication on Yugoslavia	244	(6)
Third-party Interventions in Former Yugoslavia: Ever Closer to Belgrade	245	(1)
Bosnia	245	(2)
Kosovo	247	(3)
International Peace Keeping: Too Much Too Late?	250	(5)
Bosnia	250	(2)
Kosovo	252	(3)
Conclusion	255	(3)
The U.S. Response to Nationalism: To Intervene or not to Intervene?	258	(19)
Studying Postbipolar Policymaking	258	(1)
The American Experience as Foreign Policy Influence	259	(4)
Cultural Diversity	259	(3)
Cultural Pathways	262	(1)
Justifying U.S. Interventionism in Ethnic Conflicts	263	(6)
Promoting Liberal Internationalism	263	(2)
Self-interest: Preempting Conflicts to Maintain Prosperity and Stability	265	(3)
Activism to Promote Integration	268	(1)
Opposing U.S. Activism	269	(3)
Conclusion	272	(5)
Selected Bibliography	277	(8)
Glossary	285	(12)
Index	297