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Refutes commonly held views of ethnic conflicts, and argues that debates among policy-makers on intervention demand a more sober perspective. Topics include role of tribal and religious rivalry, genocide, globalization, and fanaticism; Africa, the former Soviet Union, and elsewhere.

The social sciences offer many insights into the causes of the intense ethnic conflicts that characterize the close of the twentieth century, but they also create obstacles to understanding these baffling problems, contends H. D. Forbes in this important book. Forbes takes a critical look at the "contact hypothesis"-the assumption commonly held by social scientists that increased contact between different ethnic groups gives each group more accurate information about the other and thus reduces friction. By distinguishing aggregate from individual relations, Forbes suggests a way out of the perplexities induced by current social science literature on prejudice and discrimination.Drawing on studies of the contact hypothesis in sociology and social psychology and on the literature on nationalism and ethnic conflict, this book provides the most thorough review of contact theory available. Scientific research suggests that increased contact between culturally distinct groups in some cases gives rise to more intense conflict. Yet individuals who get to know each other better generally like each other better. Can these apparently conflicting generalizations both be true? asks Forbes. They are, he argues, and he takes contemporary social science to task for failing to show how and why this is possible. The author clarifies the weaknesses of contact theory, develops an alternative "linguistic model" of ethnic conflict, and concludes with penetrating reflections on the politics and methodology of the social sciences today

Understanding Ethnic Conflict provides all the key concepts needed to understand conflict among ethnic groups. Including approaches from both comparative politics and international relations, this text offers a model of ethnic conflict's internationalization by showing how domestic and international actors influence a country's ethnic and sectarian divisions. Illustrating this model in five original case studies, the unique combination of theory and application in Understanding Ethnic Conflict facilitates more critical analysis of contemporary ethnic conflicts and the world's response to them.

PurposeThis themed issue seeks to gather together several papers on the topic of managing ethnic conflicts. This introduction summarizes these papers.Design/methodology/approachThis introduction gives an overview of the purpose of the themed issue and then summarizes each of the articles. It also provides recommendations for future research.FindingsThe papers and research recommendations involve theoretical, methodological, and statistical issues. A key to understanding success in publishing research in this area is that researchers should use theories, methods, and statistics that match.Originality/valueThis unique themed issue illustrates how ethnic issues are important in understanding conflict management. These articles illustrate how it is particularly important to understand the differences in conflict styles and also the means and methods of participation of constituents and third parties in the field of ethnic conflict management.