Minorities at Risk: A Global View of Ethnopolitical Conflicts

The turmoil in Yugoslavia, the rebellions of the Kurds and Shi’is in Iraq, the ongoing struggle in South Africa―ethnic conflict continues unabated in many areas of the world.

To help us understand the persistence of such conflict, this pioneering work analyzes ethnopolitical conflict in every region of the globe. An ambitious and unprecedented effort, it provides a comprehensive survey of 233 politically active communal groups, plus in-depth assessments of ethnic tensions in the western democracies, the former Soviet bloc, the Middle East, and Africa.

By identifying these groups and examining their disadvantages and grievances, Minorities at Risk attempts to explain why disadvantaged groups mobilize, and it evaluates strategies that have successfully reduced ethnic conflict in the past, including autonomy, pluralism, and power sharing.

This provocative and well-written volume challenges conventional wisdom and raises the discussion about a widespread but little-understood phenomenon to a higher level.

Ted Robert Gurr is distinguished professor at the University of Maryland and director of the Minorities at Risk project at the university's Center for International Development and Conflict Management. He has written or edited eighteen books and monographs, including Minorities at Risk: A Global View of Ethnopolitical Conflicts (USIP Press).