Evolutionary theory and ethnic conflict (Praeger studies on ethnic and national identities in politics) PDF
Preview Evolutionary theory and ethnic conflict (Praeger studies on ethnic and national identities in politics)
Evolutionary Theory and Ethnic Conflict Recent Titles in Praeger Studies on Ethnic and National Identities in Politics Using Force to Prevent Ethnic Violence: An Evaluation of Theory and Evidence David Garment and Frank Harvey The International Politics of Quebec Secession: State Making and State Breaking in North America David Garment, John F. Stack, Jr., and Frank Harvey, editors Evolutionary Theory and Ethnic Conflict Patrick James EDITED BY AND David Goetze Praeger Studies on Ethnic and National Identities in Politics JOHN F. STACK, JR., Series Adviser R Westport, Connecticut London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Evolutionary theory and ethnic conflict / edited by Patrick James and David Goetze. p. cm.—(Praeger studies on ethnic and national identities in politics, ISSN 1527-9901) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-275-97143-0 (alk. paper) 1. Ethnic conflict. 2. Ethnicity—Political aspects. 3. Nationalism. 4. Social evolution. I. James, Patrick, 1957- II. Goetze, David, 1949- III. Series. GN496.E89 2001 305.8—dc21 00-049179 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2001 by Patrick James and David Goetze All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-049179 ISBN: 0-275-97143-0 ISSN: 1527-9901 First published in 2001 Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.praeger.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21 Copyright Acknowledgment Chapter 6 in this volume includes selections from Frank P. Harvey, "Primordialism, Evolu tionary Theory and Ethnic Violence in the Balkans: Opportunities and Constraints for Theory and Policy," Canadian Journal of Political Science 33(1) (2000): 37-65. Reprinted by per mission of the Canadian Journal of Political Science. Every reasonable effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright materials in this book, but in some instances this has proven impossible. The author and publisher will be glad to receive information leading to more complete acknowledgments in subsequent printings of the book and in the meantime extend their apologies for any omissions. To Carolyn and Linda Contents Preface ix I. Evolutionary Theory and Ethnic Conflict 1 1. What Can Evolutionary Theory Say About Ethnic Phenomena? 3 David Goetze and Patrick James 2. The Roots of Ethnic Conflict: An Evolutionary Perspective 19 Gary R. Johnson 3. A Defense and an Extension of Pierre van den Berghe's Theory of Ethnic Nepotism 39 Frank Salter 4. Contributions of Evolutionary Thinking to Theories of Ethnic Conflict and Its Management 71 Marc Howard Ross II. Skeptical Views 95 5. From Ontology to Analogy: Evolutionary Theories and the Explanation of Ethnic Politics 97 Robert Hislope 6. Primordialism, Evolutionary Theory, and the Timing of Ethnic Conflict: Opportunities and Constraints for Theory and Policy 115 Frank Harvey Contents 7. Evolution, Ethnicity, and Propaganda: Why Negotiating with the Innocent Makes Sense 133 Kristan J. Wheaton in. Applications 151 8. National Identity in the Balkans: Confessionalism to Nationalism 153 Peter Mentzel 9. Regionalism and Evolutionary Theory in the Former Soviet Union: Russian Kaliningrad, 1991-2000 165 Joel C. Moses 10. Evolutionary Models, Third-Party Intervention, and Ethnic Conflict: Does Tough Love Really Work? 195 David Carment and Dane Rowlands 11. An Evolutionary Approach Toward the Drafting of Autonomy Agreements: Applying Theory to Reality in the Search for Resolution of Ethnic Conflict 217 Michael Patrick Tkacik Bibliography 235 Index 265 About the Contributors 271 Preface In April 1997, Patrick James and David Goetze organized and conducted a workshop entitled "Evolutionary Theory and Its Critics: Toward a Greater Understanding of Ethnic Conflict." This gathering occurred at Utah State University under the auspices of the Merrill Chair Endowment. James and Goetze invited a distinguished group of scholars to wrestle with a general and challenging question: Does evolutionary theory offer any new insight and understanding regarding the issues of ethnic identity, ethnic conflict, or its management? The choice of scholars was not random. Some individuals warranted inclusion because of their long-standing competence in explicating issues of ethnicity and because of their interest in—but a relative lack of exposure to—recent developments and strains of thought in the evolutionary paradigm. Other individuals received invitations to the workshop because they were fairly steeped in the evolutionary literature, had devoted much of their careers to addressing the role of evolutionary approaches to social and political phenomena, and had shown past schol arly interest in how ethnicity might be informed by evolutionary ap proaches. Within relevant ranges, we promoted variation in the background of the participants and were curious about how they would react to some common stimuli, not the least of which was the aforementioned question about evolutionary theory and ethnicity. In addition, the entire group was exposed to a reading list compiled from knowledge of the workshop organizers and consultation with well-known scholars who work at the interstices of evolutionary ideas and social be havior. Among the readings all participants were asked to peruse were Tooby and Cosmide's (1992) already classic article "The Psychological Foundations of Culture," in which the authors excoriate what they call the X Preface standard social science approach to the study of human behavior and cul ture and introduce the evolutionary psychology approach; Buss's (1995) elaboration of the essentials of the evolutionary paradigm; and van den Berghe's (1981) The Ethnic Phenomenon, wherein he develops kinship the ory to explain ethnicity. The list provided the participants with a broad spectrum of theories derivable from the fundamental evolutionary para digm that might have relevance for illuminating ethnic phenomena. The reading list also included classic works in the field of ethnic identity and conflict. Horowitz's (1985) Ethnic Groups in Conflict—a thorough and an elegant discussion of the proximate causes of ethnic identity and ethnic conflict—is very worthy of praise and helped all of the participants in the workshop. Also included were classic treatments of ethnic phenom ena by Smith (1986a), Brass (1991), Connor (1994), and Esman (1994). Most participants in the workshop were already familiar with these works, but their inclusion provoked an awareness of the crucial issues and prob lems in the field: What are the origins of ethnic identity and conflict? How can we explain and predict the timing and severity of ethnic conflicts? What are the best methods for preventing or managing conflicts so as to avoid their often calamitous consequences? These are no small matters. As Car- ment and Rowlands note in this volume, ethnic conflicts or conflicts be tween an ethnic group and the state have become the most common and, at least numerically, tragic form of human conflict. Inevitably, the preparation of the workshop's organizers and their con sultants was hardly sufficient for the tasks at hand. Our knowledge was limited, and the need for closure meant that many important areas of thought would not be represented. One reviewer of this volume noted, for example, that "foraging theory" might prove to be a fertile ground enjoin ing biology to the study of ethnicity, a body of thought we clearly failed to bring to the attention of the participants. We regret not having been more thorough. Nevertheless, we pooled our knowledge, and we believe that participants were exposed to a meaningfully wide variety of ap proaches derived from evolutionary theory and applicable to ethnic phe nomena. Our ultimate hope was for a meaningful appraisal of the contribution that aspects of evolutionary theory might make in fostering an understand ing of ethnic phenomena rather than a specific affirmation or disavowal of evolutionary theory. The authors most certainly took up that cause and generated a wide variety of conclusions. In the end (actually, the introduc tory chapter of the volume), James and Goetze could not resist submitting their own conclusions, which were drawn mostly from the work of the contributors, about the role that evolutionary theory can play in construct ing explanations of ethnic phenomena. We hope that indulgence will be forgiven. Preface xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Milton R. Merrill Endowment of the Political Science Department of Utah State University provided financial support for a conference on "Evolutionary Theory and Its Critics: Toward a Greater Understanding of Ethnic Conflict," held in Logan, Utah, on April 25-26, 1997. We are most grateful for that support. Many of the papers presented at the conference made their way into this volume. We owe a special thanks to Carolyn James, who played a huge role in organizing the conference and covered superbly for the administrative inadequacies of the editors. Rachel Hurst at Utah State University also provided organizational assistance in the early stage of the conference planning. We also are grateful to Bev Christenson, Barb Marvick, and Joyce Wray at Iowa State University for their invaluable assistance with the text, figures, and tables in this book. Latrice Blair, Ryan Larson, and Daniel Merriman provided superb research assistance, and we thank all of them as well. In addition to the authors included in this volume, the individuals who participated in the conference and contributed mightily to the refinement of ideas found in the present volume include: James Hanley, Roberta Herz- berg, Jing Huang, Eric Hyer, Carolyn James, Janet Landa, Amal Kawar, George Marcus, John Orbell, Randy Simmons, and Veronica Ward. We would also like to thank John Stack, whose leadership and sponsorship were invaluable in guiding us through the editorial process.
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