Defining Race & Ethnicity
o
Definitions of race in the US had historically focused on dividing country into
__________________ and ________________________
o
Because of immigration and differences in fertility rates, the United States is
increasingly “nonwhite.”
o
How Americans ___________________________________.
o
Example: 2000 Census
o
Race is an identity that is more often ___________________whereas we may
_________________ to belong to an ethnicity.
RACE
ETHNICITY
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Comparison chart
Ethnicity Race De fi n it ion An ethnic group or ethnicity is a population group whose members identify with each other on the
basis of common nationality or shared cultural traditions.
The term race refers to the concept of dividing people into populations or groups on the basis of various sets of physical characteristics (which usually result from genetic
ancestry). Si g n if ic a n c e
Ethnicity connotes shared cultural traits and a shared group history. Some ethnic groups also share linguistic or religious traits, while others share
a common group history but not a common language or religion.
Race presumes shared biological or genetic traits, whether actual or asserted. In the early 19th century, racial differences were ascribed significance in areas of intelligence, health, and personality. There is no evidence
validating these ideas.
Ge n e a lo g
y Ethnicity is defined in terms of shared genealogy, whether actual or presumed. Typically, if people believe they descend from a particular group, and
they want to be associated with that group, then they are in fact members of that group.
Racial categories result from a shared genealogy due to geographical isolation. In the modern world this isolation has been broken down and racial groups have mixed.
Di s ti n g u i sh in g Fa c tor
s from one time period to another. They typically seek Ethnic groups distinguish themselves differently to define themselves but also are defined by the
stereotypes of dominant groups.
Races are assumed to be distinguished by skin color, facial type, etc. However, the scientific basis of racial distinctions is very weak. Scientific studies show that racial genetic differences are weak except in skin color.
Na ti o n a li sm
In 19th century, there was development of the political ideology of ethnic nationalism -- creating nations based on a presumed shared ethnic origins
(e.g. Germany, Italy, Sweden...)
In 19th century, the concept of nationalism was often used to justify the domination of one race over another within a
specific nation. Le ga l Sy s te
m and in most nations, the In the last decades of the 20th century, in the U.S. legal system as well as the official ideology prohibited ethnic-based
discrimination.
In the last decades of the 20th century, the legal system as well as the official ideology emphasized racial equality.
Co
n
fl
ic
ts existed throughout Often brutal conflicts between ethnic groups have history and across the world. But most ethnic groups in fact get along peacefully within one another in most nations most of the time.
Racial prejudice remains a continuing problem throughout the world. However, there are fewer race-based conflicts
in the 21st century than in the past.
Ex a m p le s o f co n fl ict
Conflict between Tamil and Sinhalese populations in Sri Lanka, or the Hutu and Tutsi people in Rwanda.
Conflict between white and African-American people in the U.S., especially during the civil rights movement.
TEN THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT RACE
Our eyes tell us that people look different. No one has trouble distinguishing a Czech from a
Chinese, but what do those differences mean? Are they biological? Has race always been with
us? How does race affect people today? There's less - and more - to race than meets the eye:
1. Race is a modern idea.
Ancient societies, like the Greeks, did not divide people according
to physical distinctions, but according to religion, status, class, even language. The English
language didn't even have the word 'race' until it turns up in a 1508 poem by William Dunbar
referring to a line of kings.
2. Race has no genetic basis.
Not one characteristic, trait or even gene distinguishes all the
members of one so-called race from all the members of another so-called race.
3. Human subspecies don't exist.
Unlike many animals, modern humans simply haven't
been around long enough or isolated enough to evolve into separate subspecies or races.
Despite surface appearances, we are one of the most genetically similar of all species.
4. Skin color really is only skin deep.
Most traits are inherited independently from one
another. The genes influencing skin color have nothing to do with the genes influencing hair
form, eye shape, blood type, musical talent, athletic ability or forms of intelligence. Knowing
someone's skin color doesn't necessarily tell you anything else about him or her.
5. Most variation is within, not between, "races."
Of the small amount of total human
variation, 85% exists within any local population, be they Italians, Kurds, Koreans or
Cherokees. About 94% can be found within any continent. That means two random Koreans
may be as genetically different as a Korean and an Italian.
6. Slavery predates race.
Throughout much of human history, societies have enslaved others,
often as a result of conquest or war, even debt, but not because of physical characteristics or a
belief in natural inferiority. Due to a unique set of historical circumstances, ours was the first
slave system where all the slaves shared similar physical characteristics.
7. Race and freedom evolved together.
The U.S. was founded on the radical new principle
that "All men are created equal." But our early economy was based largely on slavery. How
could this anomaly be rationalized? The new idea of race helped explain why some people could
be denied the rights and freedoms that others took for granted.
8. Race justified social inequalities as natural.
As the race idea evolved, white superiority
became "common sense" in America. It justified not only slavery but also the extermination of
Indians, exclusion of Asian immigrants, and the taking of Mexican lands by a nation that
professed a belief in democracy. Racial practices were institutionalized within American
government, laws, and society.
9. Race isn't biological, but racism is still real.
Race is a powerful social idea that gives
people different access to opportunities and resources. Our government and social institutions
have created advantages that disproportionately channel wealth, power, and resources to white
people. This affects everyone, whether we are aware of it or not.
10. Colorblindness will not end racism.
Pretending race doesn't exist is not the same as
creating equality. Race is more than stereotypes and individual prejudice. To combat racism, we
need to identify and remedy social policies and institutional practices that advantage some
groups at the expense of others.
Current Distribution of African Americans in the United States &
AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATION PATTERNS
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"
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Forced Migration from Africa
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Forced Migration from Africa
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Two waves:
o
o
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Expansion of the Ghetto
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Concentration of Ethnicities in Cities
African Americans are highly clustered within cities. About ¼ of all Americans live in cities,
whereas more than half of African Americans live in cities.
The contrast is greater at the state level. For example, African Americans comprise 85% of the
population in the city of Detroit and only 7% in the rest of Michigan. Otherwise state, Detroit
contains less than one tenth of Michigan’s total population, but more than ½ of the state’s
African American population. Similarly, Chicago is more than one third African American,
compared to one-twelfth in the rest of Illinois. Chicago has less than one-fourth of Illinois’ total
population and more than one-half of the state’s African Americans.
The distribution of Hispanics is similar to that of African Americans in large northern cities. For
example, New York City is more than one-fourth Hispanic, compared to one-sixteenth in the
rest of New York State, and New York City contains two-fifths of the state’s total population
and three-fourths of its Hispanics.
In the states with the largest Hispanic populations – California and Texas – the distribution is
mixed. In California, Hispanics comprise nearly half of Los Angeles’s population, but the
percentage of Hispanics in California’s other large cities is less than or equal to the overall state
average. In Texas, El Paso and San Antonio – the two large cities closest to the Mexican border
– are more than one-half Hispanic, but the state’s other large cities have percentages below or
about equal to the state’s average of around one-third.
The clustering of ethnicities is especially pronounced on the scale of neighborhoods within
cities. In the early 20
thcentury, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and other Midwestern cities
attracted ethnic groups primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe to work in the rapidly
growing steel, automotive, and related industries. For example, in 1910, when Detroit’s auto
production was expanding, three-fourths of the city’s residents were immigrants and children of
immigrants. Southern and Eastern ethnic groups clustered in newly constructed
neighborhoods that were often named for their predominant ethnicities, such as Detroit’s
Greektown and Poletown.
The children and grandchildren of European immigrants moved out of most inner-city
neighborhoods during the 20
thcentury. For descendants of European immigrants, ethnic
identity is more likely to be retained through religion, food, and other cultural traditions rather
than through location of residence. A visible remnant of early 20
thcentury European ethnic
neighborhoods is the clustering of restaurants in such areas as Little Italy, Chinatown and
Greektown.
Ethnic concentrations in US cities increasingly consist of African Americans who migrate from
the South, or immigrants from Latin American and Asia.
African Americans
How many live in cities?
DETROIT
__________ in the city of Detroit while only ________ in the state of Michigan
CHICAGO
___________ in the city of Chicago while only ___________ in the rest of Illinois.
Hispanics
Distribution is similar to that of African Americans in ______________________________________.
NEW YORK CITY
__________ in the city of Detroit while only ________ in the state of Michigan
States with large Hispanic population - ____________________ and ______________________ -
distribution is __________________.
CALIFORNIA
_______ in the city of _____________________ and the percentage in
other large cities is less than
or ________________ the overall state average
TEXAS
_________ in cities of ___________________ and _________________________ but
state’s other
large cities have percentages below or ________________ to the state’s average.
The clustering of ethnicities is especially pronounced on the scale of
___________________________ within cities.
Division of Race
A distinctive feature of race relations has been the strong discouragement of spatial
interaction – in the past through legal means and today through cultural preferences or
discrimination.
Division of Race in the United States
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Plessy v. Ferguson: 1896
separate but equal
o
Supreme Court stated that Louisiana’s law that required black and white
passengers to ride in separate railway cars was constitutional. Equality did not
mean that whites had to mix socially with blacks
#
Jim Crow Laws: set of laws to segregate blacks from whites as much as possible
o
Buses, shops, restaurants, schools, neighborhoods all separated by race
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Brown vs. Board of Education: 1953 separate but equal was unconstitutional
o
Schools had to be desegregated
o
Rather than integrate, whites fled.
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White Flight: Emigration of whites from an area in anticipation or blacks immigrating
into the area
o
Allowed from the expansion of black ghettos in cities
o
Blockbusting: real estate agents convinced white homeowners living near a
black area to sell their houses at low prices, preying on their fears that black
families would soon move into the neighborhood and cause property values
to decline. The agents then sold the houses at much higher prices to black
families desperate to escape overcrowded ghettos
!
Through blockbusting, neighborhoods could change from all white to all
black in a matter of months
Division of Race in South Africa
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Apartheid: physical separation of different races into different geographic areas
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Late 20
thcentury, not repealed until the 1990s
o
Black, white, colored (mix white and black) or Asian
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Each race had different legal status: where they could live, attend school,
work, shop, and own land.
o
Blacks were restricted to certain occupations and could not vote
o
System was created by descendents of white who arrived from Holland in 1652
(called Boers or Afrikaners).
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Nelson Mandela, African National Congress: principal anti-apartheid organization
o
Many countries had cut off ties to South Africa in protest of apartheid
o
1994 first time blacks could vote, Nelson Mandela elected president
Rise of Nationalities & Nation States
Ethnicity and race are distinct from nationality, another term commonly used to describe a group of
people with shared traits. Nationality is identity with a group of people who share legal attachment and
personal allegiance to a particular country.
A nation or nationality is a group of people tied together to a particular place through legal status and
cultural tradition. In the United States, the term
nationality
is generally kept reasonably distinct from
ethnicity
and
race
in common usage. The American
nationality
identifies citizens of the United States of
America, including those born in the country and those who immigrated and became citizens.
Ethnicity
identifies groups with distinct ancestry and cultural traditions, such as African Americans, Hispanic
Americans, Chinese Americans or Polish Americans.
Race
distinguishes blacks and other persons of color
from whites.
Outside North America, distinctions between ethnicity and nationality are even muddier. We have already
seen the confusion between ethnicity and race, but confusion between ethnicity and nationality can lead to
violent conflicts.
Ethnic groups have been transformed into nationalities because desire for self-rule is a very important
shared attitude for many of them. To preserve and enhance distinctive cultural characteristics, ethnicities
seek to govern themselves without interference. The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern
themselves is known as
self-determination.
During the 19
thand 20
thcenturies, political leaders have generally supported the right of self-determination
for many ethnicities and have attempted to organize Earth’s surface into a collection of nation-states. A
nation-state
is a state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been
transformed into a nationality. Yet despite continuing attempts to create nation-states, the territory of a
state rarely corresponds precisely to the territory occupied by an ethnicity.
! Race:
! Ethnicity:
! Nationality:
! Why have ethnic groups turned into nationalities?
! Self-Determination:
NATION STATES
Example:
Description:
NATIONALISM
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Centripetal Force
Centrifugal Force
examples
In nation-states, ____________________________ unify people. ___________________ of state
matches _______________________ (cultural values, language, religion, traditions – of people)
Nation-State
The
nation-state
"is one where the great majority are conscious of a common identity and
share the same culture"
1.
The nation-state is an area where the cultural boundaries match up with the political boundaries.
The ideal of 'nation-state' is that the state incorporates people of a single ethnic stock and
cultural traditions
2. However, most contemporary states are polyethnic. Thus, it can be argued
that the nation-state
"[...] would exist if nearly all the members of a single nation were organised
in a single state, without any other national communities being present. Although the term is
widely used, no such entities exist"
3.
The nation as we think of it today is a product of the nineteenth century. In modern times nation
is recognised as 'the' political community that ensures the legitimacy of the state over its
territory, and transforms the state into the state of all its citizens. The notion of 'nation-state'
emphasises this new alliance between nation and state. Nationality is supposed to bind the
citizen to the state, a bond that will be increasingly tied to the advantages of a social policy in as
much as the Welfare State will develop
4.
After the First World War the principle of 'the right to national self-determination' were commonly
used by international lawyers, national governments and their challengers. The demand that
people should govern themselves became identified with the demand that nations should
determine their own destiny. By this followed that 'state' and 'nation' came to signify the same
and began to be used interchangeably. 'National' came to mean anything run or regulated by
the state, as in 'national health insurance' or 'national debt'
5. Today, the idea is that nations
should be represented within a territorially defined state.
Nevertheless, the idea of the nation-state is more problematical as the state can no longer be
seen as the primary focus of national culture
6. The 'crisis of the nation-state' refers to the
separation of the state from the nation. Social identities, and in particular national culture, can
reassert themselves in a variety of ways due to a gradual freeing of the state from some of its
traditional functions
7. In Western Europe the crisis of national identity is related to the rise of a
new nationalism that operates at many different levels, ranging from extreme xenophobic forms
to the more moderate forms of cultural nationalism. Underlying this new nationalism is more a
hostility against immigrants than against other nations; it is motivated less by notions of cultural
superiority than by the implications multiculturalism has for the welfare state. Accordingly, one
important challenge facing the democratic multi-cultural state is to find ways of preserving the
link between social citizenship and multiculturalism. Without a firm basis in social citizenship,
multiculturalism can undergo continued attacks from nationalism, often as a result of social
insecurity.
1
Davis, 1997
2
Kazancigil, A. and Dogan, M. 1986. The State in Global Perspective; Comparing Nations: Concepts, Strategies, Substance. Gower/UNESCO. France. Page 188.
3
Halliday sited in Baylis, J. and Smith, S. 1997. The Globalisation of World Politics. An Introduction to International Relations, Oxford.
4 Smelser, N. J. and Baltes, P. B. (eds.) 2001. International Encyclopaedia of the Social and Behavioural Sciences. Vol. 15. Elsevier. Oxford Science Ltd. 5 Smelser, N. J. 1994. Sociology. UNESCO. Blackwell. UK.
6
Delanty, G. 1996. Beyond the Nation-State: National Identity and Citizenship in a Multicultural Society - A Response to Rex, Sociological Research Online, vol. 1, no. 3
7
Why can it be argued that the nation-state no longer exists?
Find and copy the sentence that best fits the definition of “self determination.”
What is the ‘crisis of the nation-state?’
What underlies feelings of nationalism in Western Europe? Compare the argument to the current situation
in the United States today.
CENTRIPETAL VS CENTRIFUGAL FORCES
What is a centripetal force?A centripetal force is a force or attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state. They provide stability, strengthen the state, help bind people together, and create solidarity.
There are several examples of what a centripetal force in a state can be. Religion is a centripetal force in many states. For example, Hinduism in Nepal and India brings people together as they feel a sense of unity. Islam in Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as Buddhism in Bhutan, is another example of religion as a centripetal force.
The term centripetal force comes from the Latin words centrum, meaning "center", and petere, meaning "tend towards" or "aim at". They are forces that unite and bind a country together - such as a strong national culture, shared ideological objectives, and a common faith.
Cultural homogeneity, national
culture: France used to be a classic case of this, but immigration over the last 3 decades has changed this formerly white, Roman catholic, Francophone country, and produced serious centrifugal forces
A strong commitment to building a new nation; nationalism:
Israel in 1948 - people with very different backgrounds, but desiring to create the state of Israel; helped by a common religion, and war
One religion can be an extremely
strong centripetal force: Roman Catholicism (in Italy, in Mexico, in Brazil, in the Republic of Ireland) Hinduism in India Judaism in Israel Islam in several countries One language is another strong
unifier, since it is through language that culture is transmitted and acquired:
Israel - the modern Hebrew language was created to unify people from many different countries who came to live in the new Jewish homeland USA - immigrants through the 19th century learned American English Indonesia - created a national language, Bahasa Indonesia, to unify a tremendously fragmented country
A powerful external threat can
unite citizens: USA since 9.11.2001 USA during the Cold War - fear of Communism USSR during the Cold War - fear of "Capitalists" Citizens of the American Colonies united in opposition to British control in 18th century
A “charismatic” leader: Yugoslavia - Tito India - Mohandas Ghandi> Nehru> Indira Ghandi> Rajiv Ghandi; in combination with nationalism Germany 1930s - Adolf Hitler Infrastructure: The transportation system in the US unites the people. The railroads in India
unite the people.
Physical Geography: Pakistan is a good example for demonstrating how physical geography is a centripetal force. Pakistan as a river valley is isolated by mountains and deserts. These geographic features act as barriers that keep the people of Pakistan inside.
Language Language acts as a specific centripetal force because it unites people through a
common form of communication. English in the U.S, Hindi in India, Bengali in Bangladesh, and Punjabi in Pakistan, eliminate miscommunication.
Transportation and Communication When there is good transportation in a state, there is easy access to all that is in the state. This makes life easier for people and helps reduce problems that would harm an easy-flowing society. Public transportation in the U.S and railroads in India are examples of this. Communication helps keep everyone in touch when it comes to important decision making. Having a good
transportation/communication system helps to create a more dependable infrastructure for a country.
Nationalism Loyalty and devotion to a nationality helps to emphasize the common culture in
a state through things such as mass media. It also promotes government, beliefs, and symbols (i.e. flags & songs). Communism once used symbols like the hammer and sickle to unite the people. The U.S has the national anthem, sung in schools and public events, to unite the state.
Compact State A compact state’s distance from the center to any boundary doesn’t vary greatly when it is a compact state. This makes internal communication easy in states such as Burundi, Rwanda and Poland; therefore it strengthens a country’s infrastructure. Compact shapes are beneficial to smaller states since it helps establish good communication in all regions.
What is a centrifugal force?
A centrifugal force is the exact opposite of a centripetal force. It is a force or attitude that tends to divide a state. Centrifugal forces lead to Balkanization (the process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among ethnicities—as threat to world peace, not just in a small area), as happened in the Balkans during WWI. Centrifugal forces are closely related not only to Balkanization, but also to devolution, which is also the breaking apart of a state. Centrifugal forces destabilize and weaken a state by disrupting the internal order of the state.
Just as centripetal forces were in abundance, centrifugal forces are as well. Many examples of centripetal forces can also apply to centrifugal forces because they are in different context within varying states. For example, the religion of Hinduism in India acts as a centripetal force, but in Pakistan it is a different situation. Religious Muslims groups of Shiite and Sunni, act as a centrifugal force because they fight amongst each other and break apart the state rather than unify it. Other examples of religion as a centrifugal force in a state include Islam and Hindu in India and Bangladesh, Buddhist and Hindu in Sri Lanka, Islam and Hindu in Kashmir, and Jains and Hindu in India.
The term centrifugal force comes from the Latin words centrum, meaning "center"’ and fugere, meaning "to flee". They are forces that divide a country - such as internal religious, linguistic, ethnic or ideological differences.
Different religious beliefs can be the dominant centrifugal force in a country:
Muslims and Hindus in India
Different languages can also be
important causes of unrest : Canada - Francophones, especially in Quebec, will not be satisfied till they have a totally independent country. Cultural diversity - in some
countries important differences in several aspects of culture create powerful divisions and centrifugal forces:
the former Yugoslavia - shattered into 5 separate countries and probably more to come typified diversity in culture, with Serbs, Croats, and Muslims the main groups Sri Lanka - Hindu Tamils wage terror against the Sinhalese Buddhists
Physical Geography: Just like physical features, such as mountains and rivers, can unify a country. They can also separate a country. Mountains divide communities in Nepal.
Language There are over 2,000 languages spoken in the African continent alone, with as many
as 8,000 dialects. This acts as a centrifugal force because it creates a rupture in communication. Conflicts can easily begin due to a lack of communication.
Ethnic groups There are at least 2 million ethnic and tribal groups in African States. Each group has differing sets of cultural styles of living and beliefs. Not having the same beliefs is a way to easily break up states. Conflicts begin and wars occur. This difference in lifestyles is a major step away from further developing a country, especially if they are in a stage 1 or stage 2 of the demographic transition.
Multinational State If a state has 2 or more ethnic groups that are aiming for self determination, this can be considered a centrifugal force. States that want self determination are not united and they wish to separate and form their own country. This is an exact model of a centrifugal force and its result can be seen in what was Yugoslavia. The conflicting ethnic groups caused world wars and eventually broke up into several countries. Former Soviet Union is also an example of a multinational state that experienced the effects of centrifugal forces. It broke up into 15 independent countries
Physical Boundary Physical boundaries, like mountains and bodies of water, cause an obvious split within states. Mountains in Nepal cause a separation among communities in the state. There is great difficulty in communicating and traveling between communities which further exemplifies the breaking apart of a state.
TASK: ON A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER, COME UP WITH
TWO SPECIFIC EXAMPLES
OF CENTRIPETAL FORCES AND
TWO SPECIFIC EXAMPLES
OF CENTRIFUGAL
Name______________________________________________
The viability of any state depends on a balance between centripetal and centrifugal
forces.
A.
Define the concepts of “centripetal force” and “centrifugal force.”
B.
Give a specific example of and explain a centripetal force that affects the
viability of any of the states on the map above.
C.
With reference to a different specific example, explain a centrifugal force that
Multinational States
The Former Soviet Union
Largest Multinational State
"
Collection of Nation-States
The Soviet Union was an especially prominent example of a multinational state until its
collapse in the early 1990s. When the Soviet Union (USSR= Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics) existed, its 15 republics were based on the 15 largest ethnicities. With the
breakup of the Soviet Union into 15 independent countries, a number of these numerous
ethnicities are now divided among more than one state. The 15 republics that once
constituted the Soviet Union are now independent countries.
!
Three Baltics:
!
Three European:
!
Five Central Asian:
!
Three Caucasus:
!
Russia
Reasonably good examples of nation-states have been carved out of the Baltic, European, and
some Central Asian states. On the other hand, peaceful nation-states have not been created in
any of the small Caucasus states, and Russia is an especially prominent example of a state
with major difficulties in keeping all of its ethnicities contented.
Directions: Use the reading on the back to fill in the chart describing the former Soviet Union.
Then shade the countries on the map, using one color for each independent group.
NEW BALTIC NATION-STATES
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are known as the Baltic States for their location on the Baltic Sea. They had been independent countries when the USSR annexed them.
One of three Baltic states, Lithuania most closely fits the definition of a nation-state, because ethnic Lithuanians comprise 83% of the population. In Estonia, ethnic Estonians comprise only 68% and in Latvia, only 58% are Latvians. These three small neighboring Baltic countries have clear cultural differences and distinct historical traditions.
NEW EUROPEAN NATION-STATES
The former Soviet Union republics of Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine now qualify as nation-states. Belarusians comprise 81% of the population of Belarus, Moldovans comprise 78% of population in Moldova and Ukrainians comprise 78% of population in Ukraine.
NEW CENTRAL ASIAN STATES
The five states in Central Asia caved out of the former Soviet Union display varying degrees of conformance to the principles of a nation-state.
In Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the leading ethnic group has an overwhelming majority – 85% Turkmen and 80% Uzbek, respectively. Both ethnic groups are Muslims who speak an Altaic language. Turkmen and Uzbeks are examples of ethnicities split between more than one country, the Turkmen between Turkmenistan and Russia, and Uzbeks among Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan is a recipe for ethnic conflict. The country is divided between Kazakhs (53%) and Russians (30%). Kazakhs are Muslims who speak an Altaic language similar to Turkish, whereas the Russians are Eastern Orthodox Christians who speak an Indo-European language. Tensions exist between the two groups, but Kazakhstan has been peaceful, in part because it has a somewhat less depressed economy than its neighbors. Tajikistan (79% Tajik, 15% Uzbek, 1% Russian) would appear to be a stable country, but it suffers from the civil war among the Tajik people (former Communists and Muslims). Lastly, Kyrgyzstan is 65% Kyrgyz, 14% Uzbek and 13% Russian.
TURMOIL IN THE CAUCASUS
The Caucasus region, an area about the size of Colorado, is situated between the Black and Caspian Seas. The region is home to several ethnicities, with Azeris (Azerbaijanis), Armenians, and Georgians the most numerous. With the breakup of the region into several independent countries, long-simmering conflicts among ethnicities have erupted into armed conflicts. Every ethnicity in the Caucasus has the same aspiration – to carve out a sovereign nation-state. The region’s ethnicities have had varying success in achieving this objective, but none have fully achieved it.
RUSSIA
Russia officially recognizes the existence of 39 nationalities, making it now the largest multinational state. 20% of the country’s population is non-Russian and are clustered in two principal locations: some are located along borders with neighboring states and others are clustered in the center of Russia.
Particularly troublesome for the Russians are the Chechens, a group of Sunni Muslims who practice distinctive social customs. Chechnya was brought under Russian control in the nineteenth century. When the Soviet Union broke up into 15 independent states, the Chechens declared their independence and refused to join the newly created country of Russia but Russian leaders ignored their declaration. Russian army was sent in to control the territory and fought hard to prevent Chechnya from gaining independence. Chechnya is important to Russia because the region contained deposits of petroleum. Russia viewed political stability in the area as essential for promoting economic development and investment by foreign petroleum companies
FORMER SOVIET UNION: The Largest Multinational State
"
Nation-States
BALTIC NATION-STATES
% of population comprising their ethnicity
NEW EUROPEAN NATION-STATES
% of population comprising their ethnicity
NEW CENTRAL ASIAN STATES
State Ethnicity make-up Where is there a conflict and why?
