Ethnic Groups Confront a Choice

Abstract

After the events in Nagorno Karabakh it is hardly necessary to persuade anyone that ethnic policy [natsional'naia politika] cannot be built up on ideological dogmas, however nice-sounding the words in which they may be phrased. But this is only the first lesson. The second lesson, which has so far been difficult to accept, is the following: one can rely on common sense only so long as those who are involved in interethnic relations are guided by it. It has been possible to affect the situation positively not so much by appeals to preserve common sense and self-restraint, but by taking extraordinary measures, even up to the highest level. What must yet happen for us finally to understand that ethnic policy is realistic and effective when it is firmly grounded in science? The purpose of the present article is to present briefly some results of sociological studies of ethnic relations and to show what may be gleaned from these results for purposes of forecasting and regulating these relations.