Ethnic Divisions Research Articles

Tracing race, ethnicity, and civilization in the Anthropocene

This study critically reconsiders how the Anthropocene concept defines today’s trends in rapid anthropogenic climate change. As the proposed label for a new geological epoch, it is influencing contemporary debates in many fields of research, because these changes allegedly are caused by all human beings. This explanation, however, is simplistic. Material inequalities between different racial, ethnic, and class groups are the outcome of conflicts won and lost in historical time. Unequal economic growth has produced small concentrations of winners and large groups of losers along existing racial, class, and ethnic divisions in human societies. The destructive material by-products of such inequality now appear to be registering in geological time due to rapid climate change. The Anthropocene concept, in turn, must be challenged on how it constructs theoretical binaries, like self/other, us/them, nature/culture, or happenstance/design, in social theory and collective action. The analysis suggests many understandings of the Anthropocene are politicized interpretations of anthropogenic events in the environment that wrongly attribute them to all humanity as a species when they largely have been caused by a few privileged human beings in white, wealthy Western countries. The argument traces the impact of those social forces in history with specific technological, political, financial, and cultural capacities for mystifying how science and technology reproduce enlightenment as whiteness. Such social forces appear far more responsible for the extreme anthropogenic changes behind the Anthropocene than all humanity as such. This outcome also generates special benefits for them, as planetary managers, while they deploy scientific and technical authority to impose heavy costs on the managed. Given how the material effects of such inequality are altering global environments, the Anthropocene concept is a political problem that merits closer critical reconsideration.

How an Islamic State Rejected Islamic Law

How do states transitioning to democracy, including newly independent states emerging from colonialism or war, decide on their legal systems? In particular, why would a fledgling Muslim-majority state choose to uphold the legal system of its European colonial master rather than publicly enact Islamic law? Drawing on archival and interview data I gathered in Sudan, this Article shows how English common law emerged from colonialism as a default option that helped local elites bridge deep social, ethnic, and political divides. Because democratic-minded intellectuals were unable to agree on a common implementation of Shari’a (roughly translated as Islamic law), English common law provided a less satisfying but (to them) more practical basis to form a new state. Choosing common law over Islamic law allowed intra-elite conflicts, particularly among political parties and ethnic groups, to lay dormant during the transition to independence. But it also marginalized progressive Islamic jurists who had sought to create a democratic state built on Islamic principles of justice and equality. By unearthing Sudan’s remarkable legal history, this study reveals the contested nature of common law and Shari’a within Muslim-majority states. This Article ultimately demonstrates how debates over the place of religion shape democratic development and how colonial politics creates legal discourses that survive into the independent state.

“This barrier between:” the ethnic divisions of higher education in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates

Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates are home to wealthy minority groups with little or no access to public higher education. These countries share parallel trajectories of economic and educational growth, yet they have starkly different citizenship and educational policies that govern the diverse populations within their borders. The result in higher education has been differentiated systems whose contours are largely shaped by these ethnic divisions. Institutional prestige, student enrolment, and long-term sector stability are the areas most strongly influenced, although outcomes differ between Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates due to differing national policies on citizenship. A comparative, vertical analysis of student interviews, institutional curriculum, and government policies indicates that institutions and governments can mitigate the deleterious divisions in higher education related to ethnicity and citizenship. Government policies which withhold citizenship or higher education from a particular ethnic or class group, will, in the long run, decrease the stability of the education sector and reinforce the ethnic divisions within a country. Conversely, inter-ethnic collaboration within university programs has the potential to improve ethnic relations between groups, while inclusive notions of citizenship solidify the higher education sector.

Pirzad’s Diasporic Transnational Subjects in “A Day Before Easter”

Abstract In “A Day Before Easter,” Zoya Pirzad highlights the fact that despite the forced dislocation and the necessarily hybrid existence of Armenians in Iran, Armenians have by and large adopted a monolithic notion of who they are. Bringing the characters’ diasporic consciousness to light, this article argues that Iranian Armenian identity reflects the cultural clashes that are an inevitable consequence of such an interweaving of cultures and histories across religious and ethnic divides. However, the lived reality for Iranian Armenians has changed over time. Taking into account the Armenians’ forced relocation and their citizenship in Iran, this article considers Pirzad’s new generation as diasporic transnational subjects.

Persistence of gender inequality: the role of ethnic divisions

ABSTRACTGender inequality remains a fundamental challenge for global policymakers given that it has detrimental implications for growth and human capital formation. However, studies examining the roots of gender inequality, and what determines the level of inequality are relatively scant. In this study, we seek to contribute to the literature that examines the roots of gender inequality and thus, our objective is to examine the impact of ethnic diversity on gender inequality. We argue that the level of ethnic diversity within a country plays a role in either deepening or bridging gender gaps. Using indices of ethnic fractionalization, we examine the effects of ethnic diversity on measures of gender inequality such as the gender inequality index, and its associated dimensions of empowerment, educational attainment and labour market outcomes. Our evidence suggests that ethnic diversity widens existing gender gaps. We discuss several mechanisms through which ethnic diversity may lead to the increase of existing gender gaps, and lay out various policy approaches to address gender inequality.

Multiple Cultural Encounters of Urban Youth in Russia’s Muslim Regions

ABSTRACTThe article presents the results of studies of urban youth culture in two Russia’s predominantly Muslim regions. Gerard Delanty’s theory of cultural encounters and the cultural scene approach form the theoretical base of the work. Its empirical base is the research project entitled ‘Fields of positive interethnic interactions and youth cultural scenes in the Russian cities’. Fields of interactions are regarded as contact zones where some combination of practices and agents produces a potential for bridging ethnic divides. The results of two case studies conducted within the project are discussed in the article. First, a case study of a Tatar post-folk metal group demonstrates that elements of ethnic culture can be used as a resource for creating communicative ties among young people. Second, a study of animé fans describes the formation of a new youth cultural style in Makhachkala and the difficulties in interaction of its carriers with a mostly conservative environment.

Abstract B048: Androgen metabolism and incidence of prostate cancer in Nigeria

Abstract The risk of prostate cancer among blacks, especially of Nigerian descent, is higher than other races. This could be attributed to biologic and genetic variability. The role of androgen metabolism in prognosis of prostate cancer has been delineated and reported. One of the enzymes involved in androgen metabolism is CYP3A4, which has not been studied in Nigerian men afflicted with prostate cancer. Racial differences in this functional gene may contribute to variations in incidence of prostate cancer across ethnic divides. Therefore, identifying a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker such as CYP3A4 polymorphism for prostate cancer in black men will improve the treatment and management of the disease. In this study, we investigated the genotypes of CYP3A4 of prostate cancer patients from Nigeria for possible correlation to the high incidence of the disease in Nigerian men. The results obtained showed a preponderance of the GG genotypes, which indicates a possible correlation between this genotype of CYP3A4 and higher risk of prostate cancer among Nigerian men. Citation Format: Solomon Rotimi, Chidiebere Ogo, Olubanke Ogunlana, Shalom Chinedu, Emeka Iweala. Androgen metabolism and incidence of prostate cancer in Nigeria [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Prostate Cancer: Advances in Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research; 2017 Dec 2-5; Orlando, Florida. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(16 Suppl):Abstract nr B048.

Beyond Keeping the Peace: Can Peacekeepers Reduce Ethnic Divisions After Violence?

Existing research suggests that international peacekeeping contributes to conflict resolution and helps sustain peace, often in locations with hostile ethnic divisions. However, it is unclear whether the presence of peacekeepers actually reduces underlying ethnocentric views and parochial behaviors that sustain those divisions. We examine the effects of NATO peacekeeper deployments on ethnocentrism in postwar Bosnia. While peacekeepers were not randomly deployed in Bosnia, we find that highly ethnocentric attitudes were common across Bosnia at the onset of peacekeeper deployments, reducing endogeneity concerns. To measure ethnocentrism, we employ a variety of survey instruments as well as a behavioral experiment (the dictator game) with ethnic treatments across time. We find that regions with peacekeepers exhibit lower levels of ethnocentrism in comparison to regions without peacekeepers, and this effect persists even after peacekeepers have departed. The peacekeeping effect is also robust to a sub-sample of ethnic Bosnian Serbs, suggesting that peacekeeper deployments can have positive effects on diminishing ethnocentrism, even when local communities are especially hostile to their presence. Our results speak to the potential long-term role of peacekeepers in reducing tensions among groups in conflict.

Experimental Estimates of Impacts of Cost-Earnings Information on Adult Aspirations for Children’s Postsecondary Education

ABSTRACTEconomic information may close aspiration disparities for postsecondary education across socioeconomic, ethnic, and partisan divides. In 2017, we estimated impacts of information on such disparities by means of a survey experiment administered to a nationally representative sample of 4,214 adults. A baseline group was asked whether they preferred a 4-year degree, a 2-year degree, or no further education for their oldest child younger than the age of 18 years (or the option they would prefer if they had a child younger than 18 years). Before 3 other randomly selected segments of our sample were asked the same question, they were given either information about (a) both net costs and returns, (b) net costs, or (c) returns to a 2-year and 4-year degree. Information about both costs and returns did not reduce socioeconomic-status disparities but did affect ethnic and partisan divides. The findings suggest that reductions in socioeconomic inequalities in educational opportunity require more than simple changes in the dissemination of information aimed at altering economic cost–benefit calculations. Sustained effort that mitigates deeper-seated cultural and social barriers seems necessary.

Online ethnic segregation in a post-conflict setting

Existing research has shown that online networks are often segregated along identity lines, such as political ideology or religious views. Although online segregation should be specifically detrimental when appearing between ethnic groups in a post-conflict setting, to date we have no systematic evidence on the level of online ethnic segregation. To close this gap, the present study examines online ethnic segregation in a large ethnically mixed blogger network in a post-conflict society, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since politics has been found to enhance ethnic divides in the offline world, we additionally examine whether segregation is higher for bloggers engaging with political topics. Using large-scale web scraping, automated text analysis and Monte Carlo simulation, we find evidence for pronounced ethnic divisions. Furthermore, we find that political bloggers tend to have more ethnically segregated networks. The findings show that a broad public exchange transcending ethnic categories remains limited in the online context we study, and that those who dominate the online political debate tend to be those who in their social interactions put even more weight on ethnic categories than the average.

Bilingual adolescent vowel production in the Parisian suburbs

Aims and objectives:The study examines how bilingualism and adolescent identity interact to influence acoustic vowel patterns. This is examined in students at a secondary school in the socially and economically disadvantaged working-class Parisian suburbs.Design:The front, round vowels /y/, /ø/, and /œ/ were analyzed in the speech of ( N = 22) adolescents. Three student groups were juxtaposed: monolingual Franco-French ( N = 9) and two simultaneous bilingual groups, Arabic-French ( N = 6), and Bantu-French ( N = 7). Crucially, unlike French, these contact languages do not have phonemically round front vowels.Data and analysis:To elicit naturalistic speech, sociolinguistic interviews were conducted with students speaking in dyads or small groups. Vowel roundedness, derived from acoustic measurements of the third formant and the difference between the third and second formants, was compared across speaker groups.Findings:Results show an effect of bilingual status for male speakers – monolingual speakers pattern differently from both bilingual groups. Still, bilingual Bantu-French and Arabic-French speakers show some distinct patterning. This suggests influences beyond first-language phonology on bilingual speakers’ production of French.Originality:This is one of the first studies to look beyond Arabic substrate influence in emerging Hexagonal urban youth vernaculars. It contributes naturalistic data from those most prone to language change, adolescents, for the study of French in contact. Finally, the study proposes a type of ‘laboratory in the field’: because none of the contact languages contrast vowels by roundedness, first-language influence is controlled for and the effect of social stigmatization upon speech can be isolated.Implications:The findings suggest that the social and ethnic divisions between dominant ethnic groups and minorities of immigrant descent may even be reflected in their phonetic patterning. Because these patterns are present in adolescents, who are the source of much language change, a connection between segregation and language change is drawn.

"Machine Town": Panethnic Asian American Identity in Philadelphia Politics

This paper investigated the topic of panethnic Asian American political coalition-building in Philadelphia politics, to determine if efforts to forge such a coalition succeeded. This paper traced the scholarship accumulated across multiple spheres of Asian American studies ranging from the emergence of panethnic Asian American identity, Asian American involvement in American politics before and after the civil rights movement, and the continuing ethnic divisions within the Asian American community. Further research on urban politics and its intersection with ethnic identity was also investigated, yielding insights into the nature of the potential of and obstacles to successful panethnic political organizing across ethnic lines in the urban areas of the United States. Upon investigating data on the voting patterns of Asian Americans, the socioeconomic statistics on various Asian American ethnic groups, the organizational landscape of organizations--panethnic or ethnic--serving the Asian American community, and the political clout of Asian American political activists and groups in Philadelphia politics, the conclusion was reached that efforts to forge a panethnic Asian American coalition in Philadelphia politics have not succeeded. While the topic of panethnic Asian American politics in the urban context remains a relatively understudied topic in political science, the existing evidence points that there remain significant obstacles to panethnic political organizing in Asian American communities.

Inequality and Conflict

Over the second half of the 20th century, the frequency of conflicts within national boundaries increased. One-third of all countries experienced civil conflict. There are two remarkable facts about social conflict that deserve attention: first, within-country conflicts account for an enormous share of deaths and hardship in the world today, and second, internal conflicts often appear to be ethnic in nature. Which factors influence social conflict? Do ethnic divisions predict conflict within countries? How do we conceptualize those divisions? If ethnic cleavages and conflicts are related, how do we interpret such a result? Is ethnicity instrumental achieving political power or economic gain? We provide indices of ethnic diversity in the society, fractionalization and ethnic polarization, and find significant relationships with respect to social conflict.

Montenegro, NATO and the divided society

In this paper we are investigating the political and social effects of Montenegro joining NATO. This issue is highly controversial and follows the political divisions in Montenegro, which motivated us to apply social cleavage theory. As method, we applied logistic regression clustered for standard error. We found that besides socio-demographic variables (ethnic division between Montenegrins and Serbs), the main line of the cleavage indicated by support of, or opposition to NATO membership falls along the issues of the independence of Montenegro, its relationship with the EU vs. Russia, as well as the attitude toward political power and party identification.

Contextualising social enterprise in Fiji

PurposeThis study aims to examine the geographic, historical and institutional influences on social enterprise in a small Pacific island country.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on theoretical literature and factual materials published by reputable sources and based on local knowledge of the authors, the study considers how Fiji’s location; history; and social, economic, political and cultural institutions affect social enterprise.FindingsSocial enterprise is influenced by Fiji’s remote location and small economy, which reduces access to external information and suggests that the nation is slow to embrace new ideas. Fiji’s demographics, ethnic divisions and cultural arrangements create economic and political tensions that affect how support services and economic policies are delivered. Indians were brought to Fiji under the British colonial administration, and Fijians with Indian heritage now make up almost 40% of the population. Informal separation and growing tensions between these Fijian Indian citizens and indigenous Fijians have contributed to political instability. The resulting outmigration of skilled nonindigenous people has reduced levels of human capital and expertise. This limits Fiji’s capacity to innovate, including developing a robust social enterprise sector. Although social enterprise could be a very effective way to address social and economic problems in Fiji, it seems unlikely that the government will embrace the concept without support and encouragement from external sources, especially international aid and UN agencies.Research limitations/implicationsGeneralisability is not assumed with this study, as it examines only one Pacific island country; however, it is likely that the findings will apply in other small Pacific island countries having similar cultural arrangements.Practical implicationsThis paper offers information that will assist practitioners, researchers and policymakers in understanding and negotiating complexities of the institutional environment in remote locations, especially in small Pacific island countries.Originality/valueAs one of the first studies of a small Pacific island country, this paper extends scholarship in this region and adds to the current understandings of social enterprise. In particular, the paper adds valuable, new knowledge of the effects of geographic location, political instability and cultural and ethnic divisions. This study is likely to be relevant for other small countries in isolated locations, especially those in the Pacific region with similar cultural environments.

Radio Culture in Cold War Hong Kong

Studies of Cold War broadcasting tend to focus on radio as a predominant medium of propaganda. This essay turns the attention to radio’s role in shaping new cultural identities across ethnic and social divisions in Hong Kong during the 1950s and 1960s, a time of mass migration and circulation of people, ideas, technologies, and cultural forms. Radio was the leading conduit of communication and information. The three radio stations – Radio Hong Kong, Radio Rediffusion, and Hong Kong Commercial Radio – produced diverse programmes broadcast in varied dialects and languages. From the communal listening of the 1950s to the introspective listener in the 1960s and its burgeoning city life, the vibrant radio programmes in Hong Kong contributed to its social rehabilitation and forged new cultural identities and sensibilities. The rapid development of radio culture also prompted a new round of innovation in other sectors of the arts and media, such as traditional-style storytelling, the newly migrated shidai qu, radio plays, and film. Dynamic intermedia experiments such as the incorporation of radio into film entail new forms of expression and representation, and explore the interaction of media, technology, and the human sensorium.

Capturing Contested States

This article argues that external state contestation and internal ethnic divisions have resulted in a high degree of state capture in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro, thus providing structural mechanisms for the reproduction of power of political elites. The article focuses on two dominant forms of state capture – party membership in public administration and the privatization process. First, by examining the extent to which party membership influences the composition of public administration, the article explains the solidification of the link between electoral preferences and job security. Second, by looking at the privatisation of state assets, the article shows how state capture facilitated the elites’ accumulation of private wealth. The latter developed into subsidiary networks for financing political parties, offering resources for corruption, clientelism and patronage that are key to the reproduction of political power in captured states. The article concludes by exploring the implications of the link between state contestation and state capture in the Western Balkan states.

Sources of Conflict in the Middle East: Borders or Stratified Identities?

Abstract Since the end of Ottoman control, Middle
 East has experienced a large number of conflicts. The arrangements made at the
 end of World War I are often blamed for these conflicts. Arbitrarily drawn
 borders and the creation of influence zones between Great Britain and France
 without paying attention to religious and ethnic divisions present in the
 region are seen at the source of today’s conflicts. Arangements such as the
 Bunsen Committee report, Sykes-Picot agreement, and Hussein-McMahon
 correspondence shaped the region after the war, but none of these were
 successfully implemented due to changing circumstances, and their contradicting
 nature. This study argues that even though these constituted the first step in
 the creation of the modern Middle East, the real cause of today’s conflicts lie
 in the creation of a stratified politicized identity system that emerged
 through stages over the past century. These stages were marked by the conflicts
 between Arab nationalism and nation state identities; the politicization of
 sectarianism; and finally the emergence of ethnicity in politics. Keywords: Middle East, conflict, Sykes-Picot agreement, Arab nationalism,
 sectarianism, ethnicity.

Fiji, rugby and the geopolitics of soft power. Shaping national and international identity

In this century, sport has steadily become a more visible and marketable part of everyday life and of global political significance. States have consequently used sport as a means of soft power in order to develop a positive international presence and, usually to a lesser extent, affirm national identity. Sport diplomacy is usually associated with mega‐events and large states, but Fiji has used its prowess in rugby, and its Sevens victory in the 2016 Olympic Games, to promote itself globally, strengthen its national image and support government claims to legitimacy. The government emphasised Fijian values to construct a banal nationalism, in the face of ethnic divisions, and external concerns over repression of civil society. At least ephemerally, Fiji acquired new international recognition, and the government gained national legitimacy, indicating the expanding role of sport in geopolitics.

Moral Courage: A Sociological Perspective

While many social scientists have written about obedience and conformity, few have analyzed the conduct of outliers and nonconformists who defy these forces by engaging in acts of moral courage. Among psychologists and philosophers, moral courage is often portrayed as an individualistic phenomenon that is immune to sociological analysis. This paper challenges this view, positing that social ties with like-minded coconspirators, an identification with ‘imagined others’ who espouse similar moral beliefs, and social interactions that awaken the conscience play a crucial role in facilitating these seemingly solitary acts. Drawing on two original case studies – a border guard who defied a restrictive immigration law on the eve of World War II, and a Serb who crossed the lines of ethnic division during the Balkan wars of the 1990s – the article illuminates the social dimensions of moral courage and contributes to the project of developing a social psychology of conscience.