The Dynamics of Ethnic Competition and Conflict

Download or read book The Dynamics of Ethnic Competition and Conflict written by Susan Olzak and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Although earlier theories of race and ethnic conflict have often assumed that ethnic conflict is primarily a function of poverty or deprivation, the evidence presented in this book contradicts this view. Paradoxically, the analysis suggests that conflict arose during periods of economic expansion as well as during periods of economic contraction. The author explains this anomaly by arguing that ethnic conflicts erupt when ethnic inequalities and racially ordered systems begin to break down - when, in other words, different ethnic groups find themselves competing for key resources such as jobs and housing." "The book analyzes ethnic violence at three levels: at the national level, it examines the impact of economic fluctuations and immigration flows; at the city level, it investigates the effects of occupational segregation and illiteracy on rates of ethnic unrest; at the organizational level, it analyzes how ethnic conflict affects one type of ethnic organization - ethnic newspapers." "The author adds new evidence to the debate about the relationship of inequality to the occurrence of collective action. Breaking with tradition by emphasizing the crucial role of availability of resources to the disadvantaged, she argues that to the extent we understand the processes of competition that spark ethnic conflict, we will have progressed beyond the outdated and static models that equate poverty, race, and hostility."--BOOK JACKET.