POLS 312 Ethnic Conflict Lecture 2: Ethnicity and Rationalism

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POLS 312Ethnic ConflictLecture 2 Ethnicity
and Rationalism

• 01/27/2009
• Cigdem V. Sirin
• Department of Political Science
• Texas AM University

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In this lecture, we will talk about Rationality
Value Rationality versus Instrumental
Rationality Nationalism Nationalism of Exclusion
versus Nationalism of Resistance And then, we
will relate forms of rationality to mechanisms of
ethnic mobilization.
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What is rationality? Rationality generally
refers to reasoned assessment as the basis of
action.
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COLLECTIVE (SOCIAL) ACTION Max Weber categorizes
social action into four different
types -Instrumental-rational -Value-rational -No
rm-oriented rational (based on conventions and
traditions, without critical deliberation) -Affect
ive or impulsive (the expression of anger, envy,
love, etc).
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Value Rationality versus Instrumental
Rationality Both types of rationalities are
expressions of goal-directed behavior. But,
their conceptions of costs widely diverge.
Instrumentally rational behavior entails a
strict cost-benefit calculus with respect to
goals, necessitating the abandonment or
adjustment of goals if the costs of realizing
them are too high. ? self-interest Value
rational behavior is produced by a conscious
ethical, aesthetic, religious, or other belief,
independently of its prospects of success and
despite high level of costs. ? group-interest
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• Demand for food is relatively insensitive to
  price (cost) whereas demand for an Xbox 360 is
  remarkably sensitive to price (cost).
• Low price elasticity for food
• High price elasticity for Xbox 360
• Demand for food value-rational behavior
• Demand for Xbox 360 instrumental-rational
  behavior

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Which line (a or b) illustrates value-rational
behavior?
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Why do individuals have (or develop) ethnic
preferences? Why do ethnicity often become the
basis of mass mobilization? Can we explain the
formation of ethnic preferences instrumentally,
i.e., as a means to a self-interested end
(political power, economic benefits, survival)?
But then, what about the problem of
free-riders? When does it become irrational to
free ride and rational to join an ethnic movement?
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Ex ante possibility of violence or coercion
almost always accompanies ethnic or national
resistance, thus costs are often high. For
ethnicity to be manipulated by a leader when
death, incarceration, or injury is a clear
possibility, it must be valued as a good by a
critical mass of people.
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Nationalism of Exclusion vs. Nationalism of
Resistance In the nationalism of exclusion, a
dominant group within a society-domestic or
foreign-seeks to impose its own values on the
various other groups within that society or seeks
to exclude, sometimes violently, other ethnic
groups from the portals of power. In the
nationalism of resistance, a dominated group
opposes such a move and seeks to preserve its
cultural identity and resist the hegemony and
power of the dominant group.
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Questions What type of nationalism is parallel
to nationalism of exclusion? Civic or ethnic
nationalism? Which international principle may
nationalism of resistance evoke? Principle of
national self-determination or state sovereignty?
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• According to Varshney
• nationalism of exclusion/hegemony/dominance/subord
  ination
• self-respect and dignity - value rationality
• nationalism of resistance
• ethnic mobilization

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• Mechanisms of ethnic mobilization
• -A critical mass of individuals having a strong
  group identification via value-rational
  mechanisms.
• -Depending on how the dominant groups and the
  state respond to the critical mass, mobilization
  itself can be identity forming for those who did
  not initially participate in it.
• -A conflict cannot take place unless we also
  factor in the behavior of the dominant groups.
  The dominant groups typically have three options
• To defend pre-existing privileges prejudice
• To incorporate the elite selective cooptation
• To renegotiate privileges -fairness

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Three Kinds of Ethnic and Nationalistic Behavior
The pure case of value rationality
The pure case of instrumental rationality The
instrumental benefits of participating in
nationalist mobilization are obvious when -
nationalists are already close to capturing power
and much can be gained by joining - ethnic
animosities have reached to the point of forcing
an individual to use preemptive violence against
other ethnic groups for personal security
Combination of value rationality and instrumental
rationality
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This lecture focused on Different forms of
rationality to account for ethnic mobilization.
In the next lecture, we will talk more about
ethnic preferences and ethnic entrepreneurship.
We will also talk about -Plural versus
pluralistic societies -Structures of
inter-ethnic relations