ETHNICITY: A CONSTRUCTIONIST PERSPECTIVE
"As has been noted by a number of scholars, this is ethnicity in a nutshell - the ability to combine strong identification with members of a community with rational maximization of one'
s goals." (Chai 2005: 382)
Based on historical examples, we believe that ethnic boundaries are neither something primordially given that can not be changed, nor that they can be constructed and changed in any possible way. Rather, we conceptualize ethnic boundaries as being socially constructed, built on (combinations of) ascriptive criteria - such as language, geographical origin or religion - that are present in the population. But, given the multiplicity of potential dividing lines, how can the salience of actual ethnic boundaries be explained?
The formation of ethnic boundaries
We believe that several factors influence the formation of actual ethnic boundaries. First, individuals are mostly socialized in homogeneous groups, sharing the same ascriptive characteristics, and will develop a concrete sense of identification with this group - making boundaries that cross-cut these identities unlikely. Second, as ethnic boundaries are based on identifications with abstract groups, but should be readily available for individuals to recognize, they will be based on easily identifiable ascriptive criteria. Thus, the number of potential ethnic boundaries is not unlimited. Third, those ethnic boundaries resulting in a group that is big enough to dominate but not much bigger are expected to form. As benefits have to be shared and collective action to be enforced, groups that are much bigger will not be advantageous. Fourth, when these criteria allow for multiple ethnic boundary lines to be formed, shared economic and political characteristics can be decisive in explaining why one group is formed rather than another.
Application in our project:
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Dataset: Creation of a cross-country dataset of active and latent ethnic groups, based on population data on distributions of ascriptive criteria such as language, religion and origin - with data for groups along each of these lines.
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Experiments: Testing the importance of knowledge of the other's group for social preferences and trust in the laboratory.
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Simulation: Using game-theoretic models to translate information about potential ascriptive boundary lines into predictions about actual ethnic boundaries and violent conflict.
Background readings:
Chai, S. K. (2005). Predicting Ethnic Boundaries. European Sociological Review, 21(4), 375-391.
Chai, S. K. (1996). A Theory of Ethnic Group Boundaries. Nations and Nationalism, 2(2), 281-307.