Ethnicity and the State

Race vs Ethnicity 0 Race 0 Identity with a group of people descended from a common ancestor 0 Genetically significant differences among people 0 Examples: 0 White, black, Asian 0 Ethnicity 0 Identity with a group of people that share distinct physical and mental traits as a product of common heredity and cultural traditions 0 Common ancestry and culture 0 Examples: 0 Asian-American, German, Han Chinese 0 Nation

Nationality 0 Nationality 0 Identity with a group of people that share legal attachment and personal allegiance to a particular place as a result of being born there 0 Examples: 0 American, German, Irish, Egyptian 0 Nation-States 0 State: independent political unit (aka country) 0 An independent country dominated by a relatively homogeneous culture group 0 Examples: 0 Japan, Albania, Portugal, North and South Korea, Lesotho, Egypt, Swaziland

Nationalism: the feeling of belonging to a nation as well as the belief that a nation has a natural right to determine its own affairs 0 Centripetal Forces 0 Forces that strengthen and unify the state 0 Examples: 0 Political beliefs of nationalism 0 A strong and well liked national leader 0 And effective and productive economy 0 Effective government social welfare programs 0 Centrifugal Forces 0 Forces that divide or tend to pull the state apart 0 Examples: 0 Ethnic, racial, or religious differences or conflicts 0 Political corruption 0 Failing economic conditions 0 Natural disasters or a wartime defeat

Multi-ethnic States 0 Multi-ethnic state 0 A state that contains more than one ethnicity 0 Sometimes all ethnicities contribute to a single nationality 0 Examples: 0 Belgium, United States 0 Multinational states 0 A state that contains 2 ethnic groups with traditions of self- determination that agree to coexist peacefully 0 Examples: 0 UK, former USSR, Russia, Canada

Something to think about… 0 How could centrifugal and centripetal forces impact the viability of a state? 0 How could the desire for a nation-state cause conflict?

Multination State 0 Occurs when several distinct nations are found together in the same political state 0 Canada or South Africa 0 May lead to ethonationalism 0 A strong feeling of belonging to a minority nation that is contained within a state dominated by a more powerful nation 0 Could lead to: 0 Regional autonomy (Scotland) 0 Separatism (Quebec, Tibet) 0 Secession (Lithuania from USSR)

Multistate Nation 0 Exists when a national homeland overlaps into more than one state. One state encompasses the majority with outliers in neighboring states 0 Can give rise to irredentism 0 Occurs if a nation’s homeland spills over into another state and the people on the “wrong side” of the boundary wish to join their territory with the rest of their homeland 0 Often seen when a nation refers to their homeland as “Greater _____” 0 Greater Somalia or Greater Germany

What if your nation doesn’t have a state? 0 Examples: