Ethnicity and Conflict: Understanding Rohingya Issue in Myanmar

Abstract

The terms'Ethnicity' and 'conflict' are often correlated when discussing the conflicts within any nation's boundaries. Most likely, the state of Myanmar and the conflict with the Rohingya are one of the recent examples. This study intends to investigate how the ethnic identity of the Rohingya people manifested itself as strife in Myanmar society. Two questions: Firstly, why has Rohingya ethnicity become a question of "belongingness"? Secondly, howis ethnic identity entwined with politics and becomes a cultural threat?