1st Edition

Democratization and Ethnic Minorities Conflict or compromise?

Edited By Jacques Bertrand, Oded Haklai Copyright 2014
    254 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    240 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Many new democracies are characterized by majority dominance and ethnocentrism. Varying paths or transitions toward democracy create very different outcomes for how ethnic identities, communities and politics are recognized. This book illustrates the varied consequences of democratization, from ethnic violence, new forms of accommodation to improve minorities’ status, or sometimes only minor improvements to life for ethnic minorities.

    The book treads a nuanced path between conflicting myths of democratization, illustrating that there are a variety of outcomes ranging from violence or stability, to the extension of rights, representation, and new resources for ethnic minorities. Contributors discuss the complex mechanisms that determine the impact of democratization of ethnic minorities through five factors; inherited legacies from the pre-transition period, institutional configurations, elite strategies, societal organization and international influences. Global in scope, this book features a broad range of case studies, both country specific and regional, including chapters on Nigeria, Kenya, Turkey and Taiwan, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Southeast and East Asia.

    This book provides new insights and makes at important contribution to existing debates. Democratization and Ethnic Minorities will be essential reading for students and scholars of democratization, nationalism, ethnic conflict and ethnic politics, political science, history, and sociology.

    1.  Democratization and Ethnic Minorities Jacques Bertrand and Oded Haklai  2. Regime Transition and the Emergence of Ethnic Democracies Oded Haklai  3. Ethnic Party Bans in Africa: Can Party Regulation Create National Parties? Matthijs Bogaards, Sebastian Elischer, and Anika Becher  4. Agenda Control, Nationalist Politics and Constitutional Settlements in Democratizing Divided Societies: Spain and Czechoslovakia Simon Toubeau  5. Democratization and Ethnic Violence in Kenya: Electoral Cycles and Shifting Identities Gabrielle Lynch and David M. Anderson 6. Democratization and Determinants of Ethnic Violence: The Rebel-Moderate Organizational Nexus Jacques Bertrand and Sanjay Jeram  7. Democratization and Recognition of Difference in a Chinese Society: the Taiwanese Experience André Laliberté  8. Ethnically Based Redistributive Policies in Democratizing Bipolar States Brian Shoup  9. The Long Road toward Kurdish Accommodation in Turkey: The Role of Elections and International Pressures David Romano  10. Conclusion Jacques Bertrand and Oded Haklai

    Biography

    Jacques Bertrand is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto, Canada.

    Oded Haklai is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University, Canada.