Cultural sovereignty vs. political utilization – the global ethnic paradigm
An essay for the Seminar on “Globalisation – A Critical Approach” by Dr. Afe Adogame, Dr.Dagmar Borchers, PD Dr. Gabriele Cappai, written in Bayreuth, January 2003
In the ongoing debate about the process of globalization, ethnic minorities have claimed some attention to themselves – maybe despite or because of the fact that global positions towards politics, economics and culture are discussed and found.
The dozen years since the end of the Cold War and the rapid changes that came with the change on the political stage have made us observers in conflicts centering around the issue of ethnic minorities. The violent conflict in the former Yugoslavian republic, in Kosovo and Macedonia are probably first to jump into the mind of the reader when thinking of the issue of ethnic minorities.
Ethnic minorities have underlined their cultural distinctiveness and claim a right to preserve their culture, their traditions, their language. But when and in what contexts is this claim made? Is this claim justified in general? Are there rights which groups could have? And is there a right to preserve one’s culture?
These questions I would like to debate in the following essay and show the diversity of contexts in which ethnic minorities are placed, I also want to show the diversity of claims that arise out of these contexts and how these claims are treated by the majority in a country. I also want to discuss if ethnicity is sometimes used as a vehicle for political or economic claims.
My focus is on the global ethnic paradigm – and solutions to it.
You can download the paper, but please do not plagiarize. Below you will find the contents of the essay.
- Introduction
- An attempt to define “ethnicity”
- Why not deconstructing ethnicity?
- Ethnicity across the globe
- Amount and size
- Language and language related rights
- Political rights
- Economical situation
- Ethnic conflicts
- Investigating the violence of ethnic conflicts
- Internalists explanations
- Controllists explanations
- Expandists explanations
- All-inclusive approach
- Global responses to global ethnic violence
- Group vs. individual rights
