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Dominant Ethnicity From Background to Foreground Eric Kaufmann Birkbeck College, University of London
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Omission in Current Literature Nation and dominant ethnie conflated in popular mind and in the scholarly literature (i.e. French in France; Japanese in Japan) Parochialism (ethnic as 'other' in US literature) nationalism, citizenship, migration, ethnic studies, political theory equate ethnic = minority Dominant group is not background, but an active sub-national player
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Dominant Ethnicity Kymlicka's notion of ethnicity typical Ethnic group (primary/secondary) vs nation Schermerhorn 1970 - 'dominant majority', 'dominant minority' Smith 1986 - 'core ethnie'. 1991 - 'dominant ethnie.' Other terms: 'staatsvolk', 'host society', 'charter group', 'herrenvolk democracy', etc.
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Dominant Ethnicity Dominant Ethnie remains within nation, though often elided by dominant group members Not reducible to 'ethno-nationalism' Straddle pre-modern period and modern era of nations
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Varieties of Dominant Ethnicity Majorities or minorities Dominance of state or sub-state nation Economic, Political, Cultural, Demographic Indigenousness (Smith; Horowitz) and power (Schermerhorn, Doane) S. Caribbean cases demonstrate
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The Emergence of Dominant Ethnicity West: Norms of Cultural liberalism/ Universal personhood Rise of Far Right Developing Countries: Collapse of post-colonial and Cold War states; Norms of self-determination; Democratisation Rise of Ethnic Party Systems (i.e. Africa)
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The Shadowy Nature of Dominant Ethnicity Must look not only at state or national elites, but at the often informal structures of dominant ethnicity Dual national-ethnic functions of many elites (I.e. Ghana, Singapore, US, Ireland) Expansive strategies (power over particularity) Restrictive strategies (authenticity over power)
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Dominant Ethnicity in Theoretical Context Resurgence and decline in post- modernity Role of diaspora (i.e. India; Croatia; Israel) Dominant ideologies do not determine dominant ethnicity
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Empirical Questions Political questions: how does group maintain power and economic advantage? Cultural questions: national-ethnic identities; struggle over symbolic/narrative dominance; demographic policy
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Normative Questions Dominant ethnicity necessary for stable power sharing systems? (O' Leary 2001) Is the ethnicity of a dominant group worth consideration/preservation? Can we have a liberal form of dominant ethnicity? (i.e. a liberal 'national ethnicity')
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http://www.kpdata.com/epk/index.html http://www.politicsarena.co.uk/politicsarena/books/pol_books.htm
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