Evolutionary theory and ethnic conflict (Praeger studies on ethnic and national identities in politics)

276 Pages·2001·16.48 MB·English

by  Patrick James

Evolutionary Theory
and Ethnic Conflict
Recent Titles in
Praeger Studies on Ethnic and National Identities in Politics
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David Garment and Frank Harvey
The International Politics of Quebec Secession: State Making and State Breaking
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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.