The Global Dynamics of Racial and Ethnic Mobilization (Studies in Social Inequality) - Softcover

Olzak, Susan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0804778620 ISBN 13: 9780804778626

Publisher: Stanford University Press, 2006

Synopsis

This book tests a new approach to understanding ethnic mobilization and considers the interplay of global forces, national-level variation in inequality and repression, and political mobilization of ethnicity. It advances the claim that economic and political integration among the world's states increases the influence of ethnic identity in political movements.

Drawing on a 100-country dataset analyzing ethnic events and rebellions from 1965 to 1998, Olzak shows that to the degree in which a country participates in international social movement organizations, ethnic identities in that country become more salient. International organizations spread principles of human rights, anti-discrimination, sovereignty, and self-determination. At the local level, poverty and restrictions on political rights then channel group demands into ethnic mobilization. This study will be of great importance to scholars and policy makers seeking new and powerful explanations for understanding why some conflicts turn violent while others do not.

About this title

About the Author

Susan Olzak is Professor of Sociology at Stanford University. She is the author of The Dynamics of Ethnic Competition and Conflict (Stanford University Press, 1992) and Competitive Ethnic Relations (1986).

Edition details

• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804778620
• ISBN 13: 9780804778626
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 284