Political Manifestations of Ethnic Diversity

1
Political Manifestations of Ethnic Diversity

• Martha B. Sharma
• APHG Test Development Committee
• NCGE, Kansas City
• October 22, 2004

2
Integrating Themes in Human Geography

• Cultural Patterns and Processes
• Cultural differences
• Ethnicity
• Political Organization of Space
• Evolution of the contemporary political pattern
• Internal political boundaries and arrangements
• Challenges to inherited political-territorial
  arrangements
• Spatial relationships between political patterns
  and patterns of ethnicity

3
Some Basic Vocabulary

• Ethnic group a group, which is part of a
  larger population, that possesses a distinct
  culture of its own. The members of such a group
  feel a common origin, real or imaginary, and are
  frequently set apart by race, religion, or
  national origin, or a combination of these.
• Territoriality A behavioral phenomenon
  associated with peoples organization of
  space.reflects the need that individuals and
  groups have for space for reasons of security,
  identify .area over which they wish to assert
  control.

Source Dictionary of Human Geography (Penguin,
1987)
4
Challenges to the State

• A perceived threat to a groups sense of identity
  can be a strong centripetal force, binding the
  group together for common defense against the
  other
• Competing claims among ethnic groups for
  territory, control, or recognition can be a
  strong centrifugal force , threatening to
  undermine the stability of the state

5
Contemporary Conflicts Rooted in Ethnic Identity

• Ethnicity stirs human emotions that, under
  certain circumstance, can erupt into public
  displays, civil disturbances, even open political
  conflict.
• Some manifestation of ethnicity lies at the heart
  of tensions that mark events at various places
  and scales around the world, including

• French Canada
• Nigeria
• Sudan
• Lebanon
• Mexico (Chiapas)

• Sri Lanka
• Russia (Chechnya)
• Northern Ireland
• Philippines
• Eritrea

6
Language is often a symbol of ethnic identity
Source Atlas of Canada. http//atlas.gc.ca/site/e
nglish/maps/peopleandsociety/ officiallanguages/mo
thertonguefrench
7
KFC becomes PFK (Poulet Frait de la Kentucky).
Source http//www.travelin-tigers.com/ztravel/can
08.htm
8
The Number of languages spoken in the states of
Nigeria is a clue to ethnic diversity

• Nigerian languages represent three different
  language families
• Nilo-Saharan
• Afro-Asiatic
• Niger-Congo

Source Http//www.uiowa.edu/intlinet/unijos/nigon
net/nlp/regions.htm
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Ethnic Diversity a Legacy of Colonialism

• Tensions among Nigerias main ethnic groups erupt
  into open conflict in the streets of Lagos.

Source http//www.msu.edu/course/iss/325/stein/re
volt.htmNigeria
10
Ethnic Conflict Puts Nigeria at Risk

• 53,787 people died in ethnic and religious
  clashes between Christians and Muslims in Plateau
  State between September 2001 and May 2004
• NY Times (October 8, 2004)

Plateau State
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Chad-Sudan Border Zone

• Border zone marked by ethnic diversity
• Open conflict has destroyed villages
• Thousands have fled to refugees camps on both
  sides of the international border

Source Human Rights Watch http//www.hrw.org/cam
paigns/darfur/map.htm
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More than 1 million people have fled as Arab
militias attack black African populations.
Source http//www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan
_africa/sudan/images/satellite/index.html
Source http//www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/ dar
fur_villages_0802_2004.jpg
13
The High Price of Conflict

• Two families arrive in Bredjing camp after
  walking for many days from Sudan bearing on their
  heads all the possessions they were able to grab
  when soldiers drove them from their villages in
  Darfur.

Source http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pict
ure_gallery/04/africa_chad_refugee_camp/html/5.stm
14
Sri Lankas Complex Cultural Environment

• Ethnic diversity
• Sinhalese 74
• Sri Lankan Tamils 12
• Indian Tamils 6
• Other minorities Muslims, Burghers, Veddas
• Religious diversity
• Sinhalese Buddhist
• Tamils Hindu
• Muslims - Sunni

Source http//www.globalsecurity.org/military/wor
ld/para/ltte.htm
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Sri Lanka's conflict has cost thousands of lives
Source http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/ fro
m_our_own_correspondent/2256215.stm
Source http//www.globalsecurity.org/military/
world/para/ltte.htm
16
Ethnic Mosaic of the Former Soviet Union
Source http//es.rice.edu/projects/Poli378/Maps/F
ormer_USSR/People/Ethnic.gif
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Russias Ethnic Republics
Source http//www.reisenett.no/map_collection/com
monwealth/Russia_Ethnic94.jpg
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Chechen (58) Russian (23) Formula for
Conflict
Source http//www.mirrorimage.com/ai/actions/ rus
sia/trip/nazran-2.html

• Chechen boy with a toy helmet and toy gun leads
  his sister through Grozny. A Russian mortar shell
  is in the foreground on the left.AP/Wide World
  Photo

Source http//www.warchildren.org/images/ childre
n_shell.jpg
19
Religion lies at the core of ethnic identity
Source Cain Project. http//cain.ulst.ac.uk/imag
es/maps/map10.htm
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Barriers Emerge out of Diversity

• One of the main gates on the 'peace line' in west
  Belfast. This particular gate is used to seal a
  road that runs between the Catholic Falls Road
  area and the Protestant Shankill district.

Source CAIN Project. http//cain.ulst.ac.uk/ima
ges/ photos/belfast/peaceline/gate1.htmgate1
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Former Yugoslavia A Patchwork Quilt with Frayed
Threads
Source http//www.msnbc.com/modules/
bosnia/map1993.htm
Source http//www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/yugo
slav.jpg
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Searching for the Roots of Conflict

• A class investigation
• Divide the class into groups of 2 or 3
• Assign each group a country of region
  experiencing ethnic conflict (see slide 5 for a
  list add more for larger classes)
• Direct each group to prepare a briefing paper
  addressing the questions on the following slide,
  including at least one map
• If time permits, each group can report back to
  the class, or the briefing papers can be posted
  on a class bulletin board or copied for
  distribution

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Cultural Patterns and Processes Ethnic Conflict

• Location of the conflict (map)
• What lies at the root of this conflict?
• What form has this conflict taken (tension,
  discrimination, open violence)?
• What is the spatial extent of the conflict?
• How long has there been tension or conflict?
• In what ways has this conflict been manifested?
• How many people have been affected? In what ways?
• Sources ( a complete bibliography of all sources
  used, print and electronic)

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Starting the investigation

• The following Internet sites provide a wealth of
  information on world events
• http//www.washingtonpost.com click on world
  and then region in the sidebar
• http//www.cnn.com use the site search engine
• http//www.bbc.co.uk use the site search engine
• http//www.state.gov/countries click on
  Background Notes Country Reports
• Check for databases, such as CountryWatch.com or
  LexisNexis in your school library

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Additional Sources

• The map collection at the University of Texas
  Perry Castañeda Library is a great place to start
  a search for maps http//www.lib.utexas.edu/maps
  /
• Additional source links for some countries are
  provided on your workshop CD
• Students will want to google this assignment.
  Take time to discuss critical evaluation of the
  variety of resources that may turn up in an open
  search