Abstract
Ethnic and racial social movements are goal-directed actions sustained by groups whose identity is distinguished by the perceived presence of racial or ethnic markers. Markers may include skin pigmentation, ancestry, language, or a history of discrimination, conquest, or other shared experiences. Researchers classify forms based upon dimensions of duration, target, tactics, violence, and audience. These distinctions yield three broad categories: (a) territorial sovereignty movements demanding regional autonomy, separatism, resettlement of a diaspora, or outright secession; (b) protests that demand expansion of a group's civil and economic rights or an end to discrimination; (c) collective attacks ranging from genocide, ethnic cleansing, and mob violence, to symbolic threats. Recent research focuses on several core questions: First, how does ethnic identity become transformed into social movements? Second, what explains the emergence and persistence of these movements? Internal colonialism and cultural division of labor, competition, cultural and institutional, and rational choice theories provide some useful answers.
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