Ethnic Affinity Research Articles

IMPORTANCE OF TURKEY IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF AFGHANISTAN (THE CASE OF SOFT POWER)

Among the topics of modern international relations, the issue of "soft power" is one of the most studied current topics. The processes taking place in the system of international relations show that today the tasks of influencing people's world view, penetrating deeply into the internal cultural roots of societies, and making effective use of the large-scale power of the media are important conditions for conducting foreign policy. This article highlights the soft power of Turkey, which was able to create a unique phenomenon in Afghanistan by combining elements of historical, religious, cultural and ethnic affinity, and the structures that implement it.

Robert Park and Norbert Elias's contributions to ethnic and racial studies: A relational approach

AbstractSince Weber's work on ethnic affinities, two centuries have passed in which scholars have drawn on sociological traditions in attempts to capture the characteristics and complexities of ethnic and racial phenomena. While some authors' works have been critically acclaimed and widely cited, others remain somewhat more peripheral, including two of sociology's more famous names from the classical cannon: Robert Park and Norbert Elias. In this paper I present these seminal thinkers' central ideas, discussing some of the crucial points of convergence, as well as limitations and divergences between them, and conclude with some of the contributions that might be applicable for studying ethnic and racial phenomena as intrinsically relational and processual. I suggest that this approach is valuable for avoiding dichotomising tendencies frequently found in ongoing debates between primordialist, constructivist, situationalist, and instrumental accounts of intergroup identities. I note that neither Elias nor Park's individual approaches are sufficient as self‐contained theoretical frameworks for the task of advancing an understanding relational ethnicity, but it is precisely in their conceptual convergencies where there is potential for moving forwards.

Digital Advertising in the Age of Generative AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is significantly reshaping branded content delivery and consumer engagement in the advertising industry. Generative AI, exemplified by ChatGPT, is anticipated to have a substantial impact on all digital advertising domains worldwide. This special issue delves into the exploration of future trends in global digital advertising in the era of generative AI. The research articles within this special issue encompass a diverse array of topics, ranging from consumer responses to AI-generated virtual influencers in the metaverse and livestreaming e-commerce to the influence of anthropomorphic virtual agents, privacy concerns in online behavioral advertising, understanding of AI-driven ethnic affinity targeting, and the role of relational bonds within online gaming communities.

Linking Ethnicity Targeting with Artificial Intelligence and Data Collection: Perceptions and Behavioral Responses of Black Consumers

Data-centric targeting with artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming advertising by using machine learning and big data to target consumers, creating value for both consumers and brands. Despite the growing interest in ethnicity targeting in social media, there is still much to learn about leveraging ethnicity data for advertising research and practice. In this study, we surveyed 1,030 Black U.S. social media users to explore their understanding of AI and data gathering related to ethnicity. We focused on ethnic affinity targeting (EAT), a controversial tactic used by social media platforms. Our results indicate that the ethical aspects of persuasion knowledge, specifically appropriateness beliefs, affect consumers’ coping strategies through distinct mechanisms. Consumers’ ethnic identification and the stability of their affinity feelings toward social media also influence intentions to use specific coping strategies. These findings suggest that consumers’ perceptions of ethnicity targeting depend on how advertisers collect and use ethnicity data and underscore the importance of diverse perspectives to inform algorithm transparency practices and policies.

Does ethnic affinity affect consumers’ posting behavior? Evidence from face recognition and difference-in-differences design

ABSTRACT Research findings have shown that consumers’ cultural backgrounds affect their evaluations on products or services. We argue that the ethnic affinity between consumers and service providers can affect their evaluations and online engagement after consumption. Using the information of 359,885 consumer reviews and their profile images collected from restaurants in New York City listed on Yelp, we employ face recognition and a difference-in-differences (DID) design. The results suggest that the ethnic affinity between consumers and restaurants induces consumers to post positive reviews with high ratings and sentiments; their engagement in posting reviews is also enhanced with longer texts and more photos. These findings offer direct implications for restaurant managers and online booking platform operators from the perspective of hospitality marketing and management. 研究结果表明，消费者的文化背景会影响他们对产品或服务的评价. 我们认为，消费者和服务提供商之间的种族亲和力会影响他们的评价和消费后的在线参与. 使用从Yelpṣ列出的纽约市餐馆收集的359885条消费评论及其个人资料图像的信息，我们采用了面部识别和差异差异（DID）设计. 结果表明，消费者和餐馆之间的种族亲和性促使消费者发表具有高评分和情感的正面评论;更长的文字和更多的照片也增强了他们发布评论的参与度. 这些发现从酒店营销和管理的角度为餐厅经理和在线预订平台运营商提供了直接影响.

Refugees in host countries: A comparative study between Uyghurs in Turkey and Tibetans in India

The status of refugees in host nations may depend upon several factors, including the economic situation of the receiving state, political alignments, international commitments, ethnic affinities, the domestic refugee regime, security considerations and bilateral ties with the home country. The study aims to discern the role that bilateral ties and domestic considerations play in the refugee experience. Is there a pattern that can be drawn out from these two factors? The article uses neoclassical realist and critical theories to better understand the phenomena, while employing the case study method to make a comparative study. The study analyses how India and Turkey have dealt with refugees belonging to two ethnic minorities of the Republic of China: the Tibetans and the Uyghurs. The results show that the way the receiving states handle refugees depends greatly on domestic considerations. It becomes clear that even though bilateral ties between the host and the home nation are important, no simple deduction can be made on how this affects the treatment of refugees. Both cases provide varied response patterns; it is only through a blend of realpolitik and critical theory that the phenomena can be understood. Mapping refugees and their movements, as well as their status in the host countries, determines many of the policies created for their welfare. The article therefore attempts to provide a framework for a better understanding of the phenomena by considering bilateral ties and domestic considerations.

Selected Filipino-Chinese small-medium entrepreneur communication management practices in the Philippines

Chinese entrepreneurial activities diaspora in Southeast Asia have received ample attention in academic debates. This academic attention is related to an impressive business presence of ethnic Chinese companies in the region, which seek explanations. Several works of literature have emerged arguing that because of specific cultural traits (personal networks, ethnic affinity, and Confucian Work Ethics), ethnic Chinese businesses function successfully in their new home countries and business contacts across borders. This study aims to describe the communication management practices of Filipino-Chinese Small Medium Enterprises (SME) entrepreneurs in terms of planning, leadership, organising and control. The method used in this study is phenomenology with data collection using interviews with six respondents and three Philippine government officials. The conclusion of this study shows that in terms of risk behaviour, the Filipino-Chinese entrepreneurs had a positive outlook by believing that taking risks is one key factor in business success.

Spatial interdependence and spillovers of fiscal grants in Benin: Static and dynamic diffusions

This paper investigates the spatial diffusion of an intergovernmental grant in Benin. Using static and dynamic spatial models, we estimate the spillover effects of the Fonds d’Appui au Développement des Communes (FADeC) on per capita local government expenditure in the 77 municipalities from 2008 to 2015. Neighborliness – a measure of interdependence – is captured through geographic and distance-based spatial weighting schemes. In addition, we constructed a measurement of ethnic affinity as an alternative spatial weighting scheme to test for the existence of an ethno-spatial interdependence in local public finance in Benin. The empirical results suggest that a statistically significant share of the total effects of the FADeC stems from indirect elasticities or the diffusion process of grants received by neighboring jurisdictions, regardless of how we measure neighborliness. The results also confirm the existence of a robust ethno-spatial interdependence and complementarity in local government expenditure in Benin. The spillovers across ethnic neighbors are estimated to be 13.9% of the total effects in the short-run and 15.5% in the long-run. Put differently, the effects of the FADeC in a given municipality are influenced by the transfers received by its ethnic (and linguistic) neighbors. The findings point to the appeal of inter-governmental transfers for the decentralized financing of public services, especially in low-income countries where local bureaucratic capacity in raising own-source revenues might be limited. Supporting local governments with well-structured grants can not only be a channel to foster local public provision but also contribute to pushing geographic or ethnic neighboring localities to increase their own spending and generate positive spillovers that are crucial for wholistic regional development.

External Relations of Russian Border Regions

Despite de-globalization, which has become a trend in recent years, a high degree of interdependence between countries remains in the world, and the solution of global problems through international cooperation of subnational units is in demand. Intrastate regions affect interstate relations by strengthening their cultural, trade, and economic ties, often contributing to the intensification of interstate dialogue. The article looks for the primary factors and features of international activity of Russia’s border regions as territories located near foreign states and which have the most significant number of “points of contact.” It also tries to assess their impact on Russia’s foreign policy. The study shows that Russian regions have recently gained some independence in their external relations and managed to acquire all the features of influential non-state actors, according to the theory of actorness by Russet and Star. They have become integrated into a wide variety of international structures, where they can implement joint infrastructure projects with foreign regions and develop local self-government. Russian border regions become active on the international stage when they have common socio-economic and security problems, ethno-confessional, and cultural-linguistic affinity with the regions of neighboring states, and when the federal center uses their regions for important geopolitical factors for the foreign policy of the federal center. Building close ties based on cultural, linguistic, and ethnic affinity, the Russian regions perform a “compensating function,” making up for the lack of mutual understanding at the level of bilateral relations. They also act as “diplomatic agents” of the federal center in international organizations which promote local-level democracy. Regions also have the potential to build up Russia’s “soft power.” Although cross-border cooperation implies some costs, which the federal authorities try to reduce through legal regulation, it is still widely supported by federal governments.

The Turkestan Political Émigré Community: Its Influence on the Foreign Policy of the Turkish Republic and the Soviet-Turkish Relations in the 1920s

In this article the author examines the historical circumstances of the formation of the Central Asian (Turkestan) political emigrant community in the territory of the Republic of Turkey in the first half of the 1920s, as well as its political activities aimed at organisational and ideological unification and attempts to gain political support from the Turkish leadership. The study draws on memoirs, reminiscences, and published notes of prominent representatives of the Turkestan emigration (both in Russian and Turkish), collections of documents published in the USSR, as well as recently declassified archival materials covering the foreign policy of Soviet Russia and neighbouring countries. Despite the cultural and ethnic affinity and pan-Turkic convictions of some members of the Turkish political leadership, Turkey provided only limited assistance to representatives of the Turkmen anti-Soviet emigration. Consequently, emigrant groups and associations were forced to seek political support from Eastern European governments. The author concludes that it was futile to encourage the creation of independent political entities on Soviet territory solely by supporting local anti-Soviet protests from abroad. The viability of such entities required internal objective conditions.

Political ecology of household water security among the urban poor in Malawi

This paper examines strategies used by the poor in urban Malawi in their struggles to ensure sufficient and continuous water supply for domestic and business purposes in a context where even though the state is the major provider of water, exorbitant tariffs mean that most people remain utterly excluded from or tenuously connected to the official grid. Using Mzuzu in northern Malawi as a case study, and applying theoretical perspectives grounded in political ecology, the findings of qualitative research (n = =52) conducted in Mzuzu indicate that the urban poor use a variety of contingent sources of water to augment supply from the ‘public’ water supply system. The findings also show that social ties and institutional affiliations operating outside of market relations provide an important avenue for ensuring adequate water supply. These non-market factors include, but are not limited to, blood relations, fictive kinship ties, membership and/or participation in civil society networks, ethnic affinities, and moral sentiments of need. The paper argues that, while the urban poor are themselves marginalized, the social and spatial strategies they pursue to access water are not necessarily inclusive. By shedding light on how the urban poor tactfully use these strategies to build spatial and intergenerational access to water, this study contributes to a better understanding of the non-market dynamics that provide an escape for the urban poor marginally integrated into the ‘public’ water supply system. The paper extends the applicability of political ecology beyond its traditional agrarian context to the realm of water politics in urban settings in the developing world

WHAT PERSONALISATION CAN DO FOR YOU! OR, HOW TO DO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION WITHOUT RACE

Between 2016 and 2020, Facebook allowed advertisers in the United States to target their advertisements using three broad “ethnic affinity” categories: “African American,” “U.S.-Hispanic,” and “Asian American.” This paper uses the life and death of these “ethnic affinity” categories to argue that they exemplify a novel mode of racialisation made possible by machine learning techniques. These categories worked by analysing users’ preferences and behaviour: they were supposed to capture an “affinity” for a broad demographic group, rather than registering membership of that group. That is, they were supposed to allow advertisers to “personalise” content for users depending on behaviourally determined affinities. We argue that, in effect, Facebook’s ethnic affinity categories were supposed to operationalise a “post-racial” mode of categorising users. But the paradox of personalisation is that in order to apprehend users as individuals, platforms must first assemble them into groups based on their likenesses with other individuals. This article uses an analysis of these categories to argue that even in the absence of data on a user’s race—even after the demise of the categories themselves—users can still be subject to techniques of inclusion or exclusion for discriminatory ends. The inductive machine learning techniques that platforms like Facebook employ to classify users generate “proxies,” like racialised preferences or language use, as racialising substitutes. This article concludes by arguing that Facebook’s ethnic affinity categories in fact typify novel modes of racialisation today.

Refugee exchanges between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, and their socio-economic relevance, from the First World War to immediate post-independence

ABSTRACT The paper explores the history of refugee experiences between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, one that transcends different historical periods. It pays particular attention to the European-engineered First World War in Africa, which triggered an unprecedented refugee situation. Digging into the deeper histories of the African refugee experiences through this case study, and particularly from the time of the war, allows for a better appreciation of the experiences as continuous global historical processes that are not peculiar to specific regions of the world. Furthermore, the paper discusses the socio-economic relevance of the refugees to their host communities, especially in circumstances where they shared ethnic affinities and cultural similarities.

“We Are Not Foreigners”: Constructing Migrant Subjects through Korean Chinese Migrants’ Claims-Making in South Korea

In this paper, we approach citizenship as a claims-making process consisting of social construction practices that emerge from ongoing negotiations and contestations. We examine the migrant subject-making process of Korean Chinese migrants in South Korea. We draw on the voices of migrants to discuss how Korean Chinese construct their migrant subjectivity by mobilizing a collective understanding of ethnonational belonging and thereby deploy distinctive strategies to support their claims. Our analysis of the data gathered from ethnographic observations and interviews with Korean Chinese migrant workers, activists, South Korean bureaucrats, and policymakers show that Korean Chinese migrants have called upon blood ties and ethnic affinity, continued allegiance, economic contributions, and human rights to construct themselves as legitimate candidates for citizenship in South Korea. By shifting our analytical focus from the state to the migrant subjectivity that emerges through day-to-day negotiations, we aim to unpack the complicated dynamics of social constructions of citizenship.

Челобитная калмыка Бокшурги Назарова о причислении его к башкирам Терсяцкой волости

Introduction. The article examines such phenomenon of 17th–18th century Bashkir society as incorporation of individuals representing other ethnic groups. Goals. The study aims at transcribing the process of incorporating foreigners into Bashkir clan structures. And in this regard Kalmyks are of special interest since they were distinct not only from Bashkirs proper but rather from all peoples of the Southern Urals both linguistically and confessionally. However, those were Kalmyks who would get integrated into Bashkir clans most frequently, even as compared to ethnically close and neighboring groups. Materials and Methods. The work focuses on documents of management and record keeping contained in collections dealing with Ufa Governorate Senate at the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts. The source analysis was performed through the methods of historical criticism and diplomacy most instrumental in examining such documents. The explored papers of the 1733 Bashkir embassy to St. Petersburg describe a case of Bokshurga Nazarov, ethnic Kalmyk, who applied for joining a Bashkir community. Results. The study shows reasons and procedures of incorporating foreigners into Bashkir clans. The analysis attests to that the applicant was virtually a land holder already, and the Bashkirs had recognized him as their relative. Nazarov himself was just seeking for a legal confirmation of the accomplished fact, i.e. a ‘guardian law’. Conclusions. The work reveals that incorporation into Bashkir communities in the 17th – early 18th centuries was largely determined by the applicant’s nomadic life style (backgrounds) — and his ability to promptly adapt to alert living conditions within the militarized society — rather than by ethnic affinity (common faith, origins, or language). According to the documents, the request was satisfied, and the ex-captive was not only granted the status of a Bashkir land owner but even became a foreman of the vast Tersyatskaya Volost. Later he took an active part in the Bashkir Rebellion and was executed.

Constructing Ideology through Modality in Newspaper Editorials on Security Challenges in Nigeria

This paper explores Nigerian media’s deployment of modality on editorials on security challenges in Nigeria. The study examines how such impress on the ideological position of the media on the security issues in Nigeria. The study relates to how well Nigerian newspaper organisations attempted to reveal or mask security cases across different regions of the country through modal options. The editorials were sourced from The Punch and The Guardian (South-Western region), Vanguard and The Sun (East) and Leadership and Daily Trust (Northern Region) between 2014 and 2016. The frequencies and percentages of occurrences of these modality markers were examined and their implications were interpreted to reflect the attitudes and dispositions of the newspapers to security issues. Our findings show that the six newspapers expressed unbiased concerns over the Boko-Haram Insurgency whether or not the newspaper is situated in the northern region. However, the fact that certain security issues emanated from particular regions also prompted the kinds of modal markers employed by specific newspapers representing such regions. The Sun’s choices of modal indirectly expressed support for their plights and protests of the pro-Biafra agitators. The Punch’s choices of modal verbs portrayed President Buhari as sharing some ethnic affinity with herders.

Karta Polaka—New Wine in Old Bottles

The Karta Polaka was adopted by the Polish parliament in 2007. Its main aim at the time was to facilitate the maintenance of cultural links between Poland and the Polish kin-minorities living in the former Soviet Union. This paper discusses the international context and long legislative history of the statute on the Karta Polaka, and illustrates the evolution of its provisions. The main argument is that the function of the Karta Polaka has evolved from one of maintaining links with the kin-minority abroad to facilitating emigration to Poland by people of Polish ethnic origin or cultural affinity.

Ethnic affinities of kazakhs and karakalpaks

Ethnic affinities of kazakhs and karakalpaks

We Are All Coethnics: State Identities and Foreign Interventions in Violent Conflict

AbstractWhat is the role of religious identity in states’ decisions to intervene in foreign conflicts? Existing scholarship on external interventions in armed conflict pays little attention to religion, while many studies on religion and conflict give intrinsic importance to actors’ religious beliefs. In this article, we draw on insights from the comparative study of ethnic identity to explain foreign intervention decisions. Ethnic constructivism has been developed to explain domestic and group identity politics, but we demonstrate its utility for explaining state behavior in international politics. Based on the core premise of ethnic constructivism, we argue that coreligionism and coethnicity are poor predictors of states’ foreign policies. Rather, states create narratives of ethnic affinity in the service of political objectives. We use archival and other primary sources to test the theory's expectations through a structured within-case comparative analysis of Iran and its response to violent conflicts in Lebanon, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan. Our findings offer robust support for our theory while providing theoretical and methodological implications for the study of “religious” and other identity-based conflicts in international politics.

Forensic applicability of autosomal insertion/deletion loci in Chinese Daur ethnic group and genetic affinity evaluations between Daur group and reference populations.

In present study, we evaluated the genetic diversities of 30 insertion/deletion (InDel) loci and analyzed the genetic relationships between Daur and other comparison populations. In the studied Daur group, any two InDel loci showed no linkage disequilibrium, and all loci showed no deviations from exact tests of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Insertion allele frequencies at 30 InDel loci ranged from 0.1459 (HLD39) to 0.8774 (HLD118). The observed heterozygosity and expected heterozygosity values were ranged from 0.1984 (HLD118) to 0.5564 (HLD6) and 0.2155 (HLD118) to 0.5000 (HLD92 and HLD6), respectively. The combined power of discrimination and power of exclusion values were 0.999999999993428 and 0.9878, respectively, which indicated that this panel of 30 InDels could be used for individual identifications in Daur group. Population genetic analyses including pairwise fixation index, STRUCTURE analysis, principal component analysis, genetic distance, multidimensional scaling analysis and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the Daur group had the closer genetic relationships with the groups from western China in comparison with other continental populations.