Third, if ethnic conflict, rather than class conflict, is to be viewed as the principal form of conflict. Essentialism and ethnic conflict by ashutosh varshney. The end of the cold war thus sparked interest in two important questions about ethnic conflict. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise cambridge core to connect with your account. Scholars estimate that the number of the reach of civil society organizations csos. In his examination of hindumuslim conflict in india, varshney 2001 found. Ethnic conflict has become one of the worlds deadliest causes of insecurity, destruction. These studies provide a range of explanations based upon various metrics of diversity. I argue that ethnic conflict occurs when a particular set of factors and conditions converge. International actors and democracy promotion in central europe. The argument that emerges is that there is a direct link between the structure of civil society and ethnic violence. For a society with a conscience, public intervention was necessary.
Western european social policy health, education, safety nets not enough. India and beyond, world politics, april 2001, american. White, however, has argued that emotive moral revulsion is a poor substitute for sober structural analysis, if one aims to avoid a repeat of catastrophic political events. Ethnicity, conflict and inequality in global perspective. This years bloodbath in gujarat was no exception and created a climate of both anger and hysteria. Professor varshney talked about his book, ethnic conflict and civic life. Chapter 12 ethnic conflict, the state, and civil society pp. Ethnic conflict and civic life is an outstanding work of social science, one of the most important studies of ethnic violence to appear in many years. A second group relates patterns of political violence to the character of civil society. Ethnicity and civil war elaine k denny, barbara f walter.
Human rights in russia and the former soviet republics 22 ethnic conflict by kristina libby since the fall of the soviet union, russia has experienced high levels of ethnic conflict with regard to exit claims by former satellite states that. Varshney ethnic conflict civil society varshney highlights the importance of civic associations in maintaining peace in multiethnic societies. The article proposes a multidimensional conceptual framework for understanding causes of ethnic conflict, specifically focusing on the case of bosnia and herzegovina. This article focuses on ethnic conflict and ethnic identity. India and beyond scholars have worked either on civil society or on ethnic conflict, but no systematic attempt has yet been made to connect the two. Through systematic, comparative analysis, varshney develops a compelling explanation of why hindumuslim violence has occurred in some indian cities and not in others.
Ethnic conflict and civil society india and beyond by ashutosh varshney much scholarly work has been done on the topics of civil society and ethnic con. Ethnic conflict and civic life yale university press. It presents a survey of the explanations provided in four traditions of enquiry, and also provides an analysis of the inadequacies or merits of arguments within each tradition. Gregory luebbert prize, runner up, for the best article in comparative politics, 2000 and 2001, ethnic conflict and civil society. First, he explores the fact that in india between 1955 and 1995, a disproportionate amount of violent conflict between hindus and muslims took place in cities. When cities in which there was a large amount of ethnic violence were examined. Hindus and muslims in india, published by yale university press. Strong associational forms of civic engagement, such as integrated business organizations, trade unions, political parties, and professional associations, are able to control outbreaks of ethnic violence, varshney shows. The burden of social policy in the developing world is heavier.
This final criterion differentiates ethnic conflict from other forms of struggle. Ethnic conflict wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. The view that ethnic conflicts today can be traced back to ancient group hatreds is known as essentialism, sometimes also called primordialism. If you have access to a journal via a society or association membership, please browse to your society journal, select an article to view, and follow the instructions in this box. Hindus and muslims in india by ashutosh varshney oxford communal violence generates strong reactions. Depending on the political structure of the state democracy versus authoritarian regimes and the size and situation of the ethnic minority large versus small portion of the society, regionally concentrated versus dispersed, ethnic groups will have different. The key, varshney argues, is to explore the history of civil societyin particular, indian cities. Managing, reducing, preempting violent ethnic conflict should be one of the primary aims of social policy in the developing world. On the basis of a comparison of indian cities, ashutosh varshney has argued that vibrant interethnic. I agree with varshney and hereby only address violent ethnic. Ethnocommunal conflict and nationalism ashutosh varshney. World politics 53 april 2001, 36298 ethnic conflict and civil society india and beyond by ashutosh varshney m uch scholarly work has been done on the topics of civil society and ethnic conflict, but no systematic attempt has yet been made to connect the two. This is a fine book, which has already received some recognition, partly for its own merits, partly from the timing of its publication in march 2002, shortly after the communal carnage in gujarat. This perspective dominates the portrayals of ethnic conflict in.
Conflict between hindus and muslims, a familiar theme in the literature on south asia, has remained a matter of urgent concern well after the partition of india in 1947. Ethnicity and nationalism by ashutosh varshney youtube. Concerning this, the context of varshneys ethnic conflict and civic life is an. We argue that ethnic groups, on average, are likely to have more grievances against the state, are likely to have an easier time organizing support and mobilizing a movement, and are more likely to face difficulttoresolve bargaining problems. Scholars have worked either on civil society or on ethnic conflict, but no systematic attempt has yet been made to connect the two. The causes of ethnic conflict in multiethnic societies. Im rereading ashutosh varshneys ethnic conflict and civic life. In an attempt to explore the possible links, this article makes two interconnected arguments. An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. Conflict resolution programme speaking of ethnic conflict. Ethnic conflict and civil society india and beyond by ashutosh varshney much scholarly work has been done on the topics of civil society and ethnic conflict, but no systematic attempt has yet been made to connect the two.
Towards a theory of political forgiveness rjuly 29 metacommunity. Pdf ethnic conflict and civic life hindus and muslims in india. Civil society may contribute to the prevention or diminution of collective violence and ethnic conflict within states, and to. An important set of studies, for example, focuses on the impact of ethnic diversity, in which the presence of multiple ethnic groups is hypothesized to lead to violence. Their combined citations are counted only for the first article.
Varshney ethnic conflict and civil society india and beyond. The book focuses on the networks of civic engagement that bring hindu and muslim urban communities together. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic groups position within society. It begins by differentiating these from nationalism, national identity, and civil wars. Through systematic, comparative analysis, varshney develops a compelling explanation of why hindumuslim violence has occurred in. He analyzed the hindumuslim violence that occurs in. This final criterion differentiates ethnic conflict from. Ethnic conflict ethnic conflict types of ethnic groups. Curriculum vitae may 2016 ashutosh varshney sol goldman professor of international studies and the social sciences professor of political science. Runnerup, gregory luebbert award for the best article in comparative politics, comparative politics organized section, american political science association, 2001 and 2002. Access to society journal content varies across our titles. This morning we are very pleased to have ashutosh varshney, who will be discussing his book, ethnic conflict and civic life.
Articles nationalism, ethnic conflict, and rationality. First, interethnic and intraethnic networks of civic engagement play very different roles in ethnic conflict. The news headlines reporting on the resurgence of tensions between indias hindu majority and its sizable muslim minority has captured our attention in recent months. In this passage from his 2001 work, ethnic conflict and civil society, varshney highlights the importance of civic associations in maintaining peace. The problem is to explain how such associations keep going. National identity and the politics of nationalism in the middle east professor mahmood monshipouri duration. If a civil war begins, it is more likely to be initiated by an ethnic group than any other type of group.
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