BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online

    Dominant ethnicity: from minority to majority

    Kaufmann, Eric P. and Haklai, O. (2008) Dominant ethnicity: from minority to majority. Nations and Nationalism 14 (4), pp. 743-767. ISSN 1354-5078.

    [img]
    Preview
    Text
    2148.pdf - First Submitted (AKA Pre-print)

    Download (404kB) | Preview

    Abstract

    This article argues that the world is in the midst of a long-term transition from dominant minority to dominant majority ethnicity. Whereas minority domination was common in premodern societies, modernity (with its accent on democracy and popular sovereignty) has engendered a shift to dominant majority ethnicity. The article begins with conceptual clarifications. The second section provides a broad overview of the general patterns of ethnic dominance that derive from the logic of modern nationalism and democratisation. The third section discusses remnants of dominant minorities in the modern era and suggests that their survival hinges on peculiar historical and social circumstances coupled with resistance to democratisation. The fourth section shifts the focus to dominant majorities in the modern era and their relationship to national identities. The article ends with a discussion of the fortunes of dominant ethnicity in the West.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Additional Information: The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Alawi, dominant ethnicity, dominant minority, Iraq, majority group, postcolonial nationalism
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 13 Jan 2011 15:50
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 16:52
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/2148

    Statistics

    Activity Overview
    6 month trend
    1,554Downloads
    6 month trend
    440Hits

    Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.

    Archive Staff Only (login required)

    Edit/View Item
    Edit/View Item