Culture VIII – Ethnic Conflict

Why Do Ethnicities Clash? Competition to dominate nationality Ethiopia and Eritrea Sudan Somalia Dividing ethnicities among more than one state India and Pakistan

Ethiopia and Eritrea Ethiopia Eritrea Civil War – 1961-1991 665,000 Eritrean refugees fled to Sudan 1991 Eritreans defeated Ethiopia and became independent Border disputes

Sudan South – black Christians and animists North – Arab Muslims (control gov’t) Civil War – 1980s-2005 2 million (5%) dead 1 million refugees Darfur – 2003 Janjaweed – Arab nomads w/gov’t support 450,000 dead (est.) 2.5 million refugees Genocide?

Somalia 9 million people, six ethnic groups, mostly Sunni Muslims Civil War – 1991-2006 Gov’t collapsed Somaliland declared independence 300,000 dead from famine and warfare Islamist took control 1992 – US sent troops Huge debacle 1994 US withdrew

India and Pakistan 1947 – End of colonial rule in India Creation of East and West Pakistan Forced migration in the late 1940s

Ethnic Cleansing What is it? What is its purpose? Two major examples Yugoslavia Rwanda

Yugoslavia Creation – unite several Balkan ethnicities “Yugoslavia has seven neighbors, six republics, five nationalities, four languages, three religions, two alphabets, and one dinar” Breakup of Yugoslavia in to five states based on five republics Problem came in Bosnia (considered an ethnicity, not a nationality)

Ethnic Groups in the former Yugoslavia

Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia Ethnic groups Bosnian Muslims – 48% Serb – 37% Croat – 14% Serbs and Croats fought to unite the portions of Bosnia with Serbia and Croatia Ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims to create a homogeneous population to be united w/Serbia or Croatia Dayton Accords – 1996 Divided Bosnia & Herzegovina into three regions Bosnian Serbs – ½ of country Bosnia Croats – ⅓ of country Bosnian Muslims – ¼ of country

Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo Southern Serbia – 90% ethnic Albanian Albanians maintained control under Tito Breakup of Yugoslavia Serbia took over control of Kosovo Ethnic cleansing of ethnic Albanians by Serbs 1999 – 750,000 refugees (out of 2 million total) NATO UN

Balkanization Balkanized Balkanization Small geographic area that cannot be successfully organized b/c of numerous ethnic groups Led to WWI Balkanization Process by which a state breaks down through conflict among its ethnicities

Ethnic Cleansing in Rwanda Ethnic groups Hutu (85%) – farmers Tutsi (15%) – cattle herders Colonial rule Germany and then Belgium Independence – 1962 Hutus killed or ethnically cleansed Tutsis 1994 Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi assassinated Hutus ethnically cleanse Tutsis and moderate Hutus 800,000 dead in 100 days

Ethnic Boundaries vs. State Boundaries