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THEORETICAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CULTURAL PLURALISM, MODERNIZATION, & POLITICAL INSTABILITY ARE REEXAMINED, & STATISTICAL REGULARITIES AS DEVELOPED FOR 30 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN NATIONS ARE INVESTIGATED. POLITICAL INSTABILITY IS DEFINED AS A CONDITION IN WHICH THE INSTITUTIONALIZED PATTERNS OF AUTHORITY BREAK DOWN & VIOLENCE TAKES ITS PLACE. ELITE INSTABILITY, COMMUNAL INSTABILITY, & MASS INSTABILITY ARE DIFFERENTIATED. 3 HYPOTHESES ARE OFFERED: (1) THE GREATER THE CULTURAL PLURALISM IN A NATION THE GREATER THE LIKELIHOOD OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY, (2) THE GREATER THE MODERNIZATION IN NATIONS THE GREATER THE LIKELIHOOD OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY, & (3) THE GREATER THE CULTURAL PLURALISM IN NATIONS THE GREATER THE LIKELIHOOD THAT MODERNIZATION WILL LEAD TO POLITICAL INSTABILITY. DISTRIBUTIONS WERE COMPARED FOR 30 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN NATIONS ON A SET OF VARIABLES MEASURING THESE 3 CONCEPTS. DATA WERE COLLECTED & DOCUMENTED FROM THE MACHINE READABLE DATA BANK OF THE AFRICAN NATIONAL INTEGRATION PROJECT; ADDITIONAL DATA WERE GATHERED ON THE BACKGROUNDS OF MEMBERS OF CABINETS IN AFRICAN NATIONS AT THE TIME OF INDEPENDENCE, DIRECTLY PRIOR TO THE 1ST COUP D'ETAT, & IN DEC, 1967. CULTURAL PLURALISM INCREASES THE POSSIBILITIES OF CONFLICT BETWEEN MEMBERS OF COMMUNAL GROUPS IN AFRICAN NATIONS & THE POSSIBILITY OF ELITE & COMMUNAL INSTABILITY, GREATER DEGREES OF VARIATION IN ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS INCREASE THE POSSIBILITY OF ELITE INSTABILITY, WHILE MODERNIZATION DECREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY. MODERNIZATION, IF NOT MISMANAGED BY FOREIGN POWERS, WILL HAVE A STABILIZING INFLUENCE ON AFRICAN NATIONS. 7 TABLES, 1 FIGURE. B. WEISBROD.

Cet article résume les essais de théorisation qui ont cherché à expliquer l'instabilité politique dans les nouvelles nations par des facteurs de pluralisme culturel et de modernisation. Il met ces explications à l'épreuve de données quantitatives portant sur trente pays d'Afrique, situés au sud du Sahara. Le problème théorique est posé à savoir si oui ou non un degré élevé de pluralisme culturel et de modernisation rend compte des différents types d'instabilité politique. On se demande aussi si l'interaction entre le pluralisme culturel et la modernisation rend compte de ces différences. L'analyse empirique comprend la classification des diverses unités culturelles dans les pays d'Afrique, la mesure des taux de changement dans de nombreux indices de modernisation, et la recension des cas de violence politique où des élites opposées et des groupes locaux ont été impliqués. A l'examen des résultats positifs et convergents qui sont atteints par voie d'une opérationnalisation diverse des trois concepts centraux, on arrive à la conclusion que la variation dans le pluralisme culturel est une source importante d'instabilité politique dans les pays d'Afrique, et que la modernisation de ces pays, contrairement à une opinion répandue, a des effets restrictifs sur la probabilité que l'instabilité politique se produise.

The PDF of this file is 4,124 kbytes in size and therefore will take a long time to download if you click on the PDF link below. If you would like the file to be sent to you by email, please send a request to info@nepjol.info. Please include the citation below in your request. DOI: 10.3126/opsa.v8i0.1125Occasional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology Vol.8 2003 p.128-158

Sectarian agencies represent the ideal of cultural pluralism and their perpetuation symbolizes and sustains the group's experience as a determinate entity

Ethnicity is broadly defined in terms of group identity based on race or geographic origin, ie, as a sense of belonging related to ancestry, origin, religion, & common language. Econ factors are seen to contribute in a complex manner to ethnic definitions & identity maintenance. A schema classifying the polarities of conflicts & accommodations in loyalty & a sense of belonging is traced. The relationship between ethnicity & individual mobility is discussed under reference to US concern with loyalty & the general uneasiness over the legitimacy of a claim to be 'Amer.' As occup'al discrimination is more & more eliminated, primary group participation is becoming more ethnic-oriented. A shared soc self-identity is used to overcome, internally & externally, the negative soc definitions which have been internalized accommodatively by large numbers in the past. It is insisted that an 'emic' or psycho-cultural approach to an understanding of soc belonging is a necessary vantage point in considering soc behavior. A conflict approach in particular is more productive in understanding change than one based on formal structure alone. The history of soc life in any culture is a continual rhythm of conflict & accommodation of groups to one another, both externally & internally. Stratification allows for accommodation. Ethnicity must be seen in the context of modern man's search for meaningful & ultimate units of soc belonging. M. Maxfield.

Learning pluralism and shaping religious identity in the context of cultural and ideological differences – between traditional diversification and contemporary pluralism
In the public and academic discourse, pluralism is recognized as one of the main features of the contemporary Western world, which is culturally, religiously and ideologically diversified. According to its supporters and promotors, pluralism is a significant value which constitutes a virtue of the modern world. However, pluralism is also associated with various problems, dilemmas and difficulties. Contemporary cultural pluralism has a substantial impact on shaping the religious identity and causes significant changes within it. In the 1970s and 1980s, sociologists indicated some pluralization processes which modified religious identity. In 1983, while examining the determinants of the Church activities in the industrial society, Janusz Mariański – a sociologist of religion, agreed with the observation that "what is eliminated in the pluralistic society is the situation of the monopoly of church institutions in interpreting human reality in the consciousness of the contemporary man. Religious values are not the only which give sense to fundamental values institutionalized in the society". Thus, religion ceases to have the earlier potentialities of the monopoly in the sphere of fundamental values. The issue of pluralism, widely discussed today and raising a lot of dispute, can be viewed from the perspective of the analysis of broadly understood learning processes and outcomes (the analysis of educational and self‑educational activities). Pluralism can be perceived as a process and a result of mutual and constant learning in the (educationally potent and dynamic) relationship with individuals who show more or less different attitudes and beliefs – a process of learning those who, by entering relationships with each other, preserve and at the same time shape their different identities. If a person enhances the inner will to learn constantly, to multiply the cognitively valuable knowledge, to improve intellectual skills, this willingness should lead to the recognition of important intrinsic and educational values of other attitudes and beliefs. By meeting what is to some extent different, it is possible to learn further and, with growing accuracy, to recognize the fields of one's own ignorance. Modern pluralism poses serious challenges to religion. The statement used in sociological discourse that "pluralistic tendencies are destructive to religion" can be read by those for whom religion – confessing religious faith – is close and important as a challenge to oppose pluralism for the sake of the defense of traditionally perceived religious faith, the defense of its world view and its institution. Such a deeply engaged interpretation imposes formulating an alternative: either the pluralistic tendencies which are destructive to religion get intensified or religion gets more power, counteracting the dangerous tendencies of pluralism which pose threat to religion. Two different ways of the inner diagnosis of religion are outlined here. The first is a fundamentalist one and consists in "strengthening its own positions", as it recognizes that the overemphasized (in religion) elements of openness and dialogue weaken religion from inside, making it more sensitive to destructive influence of pluralism (openness and dialogue are a "Trojan horse" of hostile pluralism, let into the inside of religion). The second way, of the in‑depth and self‑critical reflection upon the current situation of religion, may lead to recognizing (among the elements so far belonging to religious identity) those which – in the context of pluralism and in spite of their presence for many centuries – are of doubtful value or even become the causes of the destructive crisis of religion in spite of their being situated inside it. Therefore, the situation of pluralism allows for cleaning religion, which is confronted with pluralism and was earlier closed within its homogeneous world. At the same time, the religious crisis in the pluralistic world can be viewed as a crisis of inner maturation and growth of religion. Undertaking ideological discussion with the conviction that common and binding arrangements should be reached is not an easy matter. What is more, in the opinion of people who believe in the necessity of confrontation, this discussion is not even needed. It can be assumed that, in the diversified social life, the persistent conducting of difficult negotiations is indispensable, instead of the state of embittered confrontation. Referring to the standpoint of Jerzy Nikitorowicz, who promotes learning pluralism and intercultural dialogue, the dialogical concept of pluralism can be applied: "In the pluralistic society, the process is taking place of reaching commonly shared values by individuals and groups through unceasing negotiations of values and interests, the process of shaping the sensitivity to others and the need for mutual respect and recognition, without the division to upper and lower cultures".

Competition & conflict between diff ethnic, religious, or racial groups may result in either accommodation, assimilation, or cultural pluralism. The latter is seen to portray the relationships between Negroes & East Indians in Trinidad & Tobago at the present time. A brief historical review of the 2 groups is given. An analysis of marriage patterns shows diff's between the 2 cultural groups. Data were derived from interviews with 200 Negro women & 100 Indian women who were asked to respond to a, 71-item 0. Diff's in the 2 sample groups re age, educ, & area where born as well as religion & number of women working are pointed out. 92% of the Indian women said they were married vs 60% of the Negro women; the rest were single (never married, widowed, separated, or divorced). Indian women married on the average at age 18.6, Negro women at age 21.5 yrs. Statistical comparisons of the data show the following major diff's: (1) Marriage: Far more Indian than Negro women were legally married. Indian women tended to rate their marriages at a higher leven than did Negro women & marriage seems to be more important to the former than the latter. This may be a reflection of the immediate patriarchal past of the Indian R's. (2) Sexual dimension of the marriage: Negro women placed greater importance on sex for both their husbands & for themselves. The lower importance given to sex for themselves by Indian women is probably a reflection of their patriarchal past which, it is stated, placed little importance on the sexual needs of the women. (3) Parenthood: both groups have large fam's & started having their children at young ages. Given a choice, many of the women would now prefer to have fewer children. When faced with a, forced choice of being wife or mother, both groups overwhelmingly chose being a mother. (4) Illegitimacy: 2 out of every 3 Negro mothers in the study had at least 1 illegitimate child vs 1 out of every 10 Indian women. Negro women placed less stigma on the illegitimate mother than Indian women, but both felt it was important to marry to make the child legitimate. (5) Child-rearing: Indian women usually reared their children by themselves while Negro women were more apt to have the help of the father. Yet the latter more than the former felt the father & husband could have contributed more to the care of the child. The Indian woman expected less & got less in the way of help from the father in rearing the children. M. Maxfield.

The question of whether the theory of 'plural society' is a conflict theory, & to what degree it is a theory of race relations & race conflict is discussed. It is contended that the theory of the plural society is one of the few attempts to construct a theory of overall race relations as opposed to psychol'al theories on the origins of racial prejudice & discrimination, but that, in the form it has come to adopt, it tends to obscure rather than elucidate problems of racial conflict. Such a theory is, however, a necessary prerequisite for comprehending the nature & signif of racial & ethnic divisions. In this context, the origins & development of plural society theory are examined under special reference to the work of J. S. Furnivall & of the Jamaican soc anthrop'st M. G. Smith. In a critique of the theory in its present state, the charge is made that it is 'oversimple' & 'static.' It differs from Furnivall's original & says nothing about such essential processes as interaction, acculturation & instit'ization. A reformulation of the theory is proposed in terms of soc & group interaction with a division between types of group or quasi-group boundaries as follows: classes-defined in relation to the means of production; deference groups-defined by their position on a subjectively interpreted hierarchy of prestige; pol'al groups-defined in relation to cultural features & traits; & racial groups-defined in terms of physical appearance. These group definitions are essential for a real understanding of multi-ethnic situations. While the concept of pluralism is fraught with imprecise definitions & confused usage, it is useful for incorporating racial & ethnic divisions within a conceptual framework. M. Maxfield.