Ethnic conflict

Ethnic conflict seems to be common in all countries of the world where people are divided into separate ethnic groups, that may have a racial, national, linguistic, tribal or religious. This case out that ethnic conflicts, war and terrorism are usually the result of the influence of charismatic leaders that persuade people into sharing their beliefs and performing their wishes. This relates that the use of violence or threat with political intentions aimed towards minorities or communities is usually carried out by non-governmental groups or secret organizations, which operate outside the regular parameters of official war or political negotiation.

The International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (article 1) does not define "race" but it does define "racial discrimination" to mean "any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life." Ethnicity is explicitly subsumed under this definition by the term "race". Most human rights treaties simply refer to "race" and do not use the terminology of "ethnicity".

At any given time during the past decade, several ethnic conflicts have raged around the world. In the year 2001, these include such well-known cases as Kosovo, Chechnya, Israel, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. In the view of many political analysts and social scientists, the era of the Cold War and ideological conflict has given way to an era of ethnic wars and cultural conflicts. Whether one subscribes to this characterization or another (one of the most convincing is that this is the era of globalization), ethnic conflict is an undeniable feature of the contemporary sociopolitical landscape. [1]

What is its cause? The problem with answering that question is not the lack of theories, but rather an excess. Around the question of ethnic conflict has sprouted a plethora of answers, a thicket of theories suggesting variously that (1) cultural traditions and historical legacies are giving rise to "primordial hatreds"; (2) the socioeconomic tensions produced by modernization and uneven development stoke violence among ethnic groups; and (3) political disorder and "failed states" create a "security dilemma" between ethnic groups that are often exploited by ambitious and unscrupulous "political entrepreneurs.

Ethnic conflicts or wars are never completely resolved unless they end in genocide. Ethnic hatreds thus tend to simmer, with racist lies. But although advertising can be an extremely persuasive message that creates the type of strife discussed in Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict: Current Controversies, it is never predestined to succeed and many ethnic groups have rejected its emotional appeal. Nations committed to peace can take solace in this fact as they attempt to strengthen ethnic relations within their own borders and around the world.