The global dynamics of racial and ethnic mobilization

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.

CHAPTER ONE World Integration and Centrifugal Forces 1 CHAPTER TWO Definitions and Dynamics of Racial/Ethnic Mobilization 33 CHAPTER THREE Escalation and De-escalation: Trends in the Data 78 CHAPTER FOUR Globalization and Nonviolent Ethnic Protest, 1965-1989 93 CHAPTER FIVE Global Integration and Ethnic Violence, 1965-1989 116 CHAPTER six Group Dynamics of Ethnic Protest and Conflict, 1980-1994 131 CHAPTER SEVEN Globalization in a New Era: Ethnic Violence since 1989 152 CHAPTER EIGHT Democracy, Ethnic Violence, and International War 169 CHAPTER NINE Models Incorporating Endogeneity 196 CHAPTER TEN Conclusions and Future Considerations 212