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The essay, The Myth of Global Ethnic Conflict by John R. Bowen, overlooks the work by Huntington, Kaplan, and Barber and their theories on ethnic conflict. Bowen states that there are three basic assumptions made about ethnic conflict. The three assumptions are: ethnic identities are ancient and unchanging; that these identities motivate people to persecute and kill; and lastly, that ethnic diversity itself leads to violence.
He says that these are mistaken. He argues that ethnicities are a part of modern politics. He uses the example of the Balkans and how the Serb, Croats and Bosnian's had different languages and different religious backgrounds but they learn to live in peace. The real reason any of the three civilizations clashed were because Ethnicity became nationalistic. Nationalistic, in a sense meaning, gain of land and power. Another key point to his argument is that colonial powers (like Britain, France, Germany) were the cause of ethnic identities or ethnic conflicts, in a sense.
Colonial Powers would declare that each and every person have an ethnic identity. For instance, The Hutu and the Tutsi's are a great example of colonial powers causing ethnic conflicts. The Belgians put the Tutsi's in power. The Belgians gave the Tutsi's more access to education, and since they were taller then the Hutu, Belgians made a height regulation to enter college.
The Belgians showed segregation and separation between the Tutsi's and the Hutu's and this is what caused the Hutu to rebel and the arise of a civil war. Bowen also states that the ethnic conflicts arise from being pushed and threatened from the leaders who control the armies and the airwaves. He goes on to say that the fear from the top causes violent acts, not because of ethnic differences. Lastly, Bowen argues that there are two reasons for social peace or social conflict. First is raw materials a way of bridge-building, or a way to build political consensus. Raw materials is a theory showing how conflict will arise if a central polity controls national politics, which makes smaller lesser power groups seek for allies to achieve goals.
The second reason for social peace or conflict is: the states making all the decisions for the groups. The decisions mainly dealing with political procedures, can have an effect on the groups, either cutback the tensions or intensify the situation. In conclusion, The Myth of Global Ethnic Conflict, rejects the idea that ethnic and cultural clashes are decisive and that political choices made by the governments and states, dictate much of global affairs.
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Research essay sample on Colonial Powers Raw Materials
