ETHNIC AND NATIONS

Lecture 6
Questions
Of all types of ethnic groups, how do you pick
the groups with an ethnic or national
identity?
which are the typical characteristics of
nations and ethnic groups?
Seen that we are racially different, and how
does it matter to our community?
Racial differences
Racial differences among people, according
to racial theory, did not only consist merely of
observable characteristics but also contained
elements of moral inferiority or superiority
Separating ethnic and race from
legal perspective
the concepts of ethnicity and national
identity should be defined without legal
characteristics
Contd
ethnic groups or nations are different entities
from states.
Ethnic groups may exist side-by-side in the
form of so-called multicultural societies.
Multiculturalism presents a challenge to
nationalism in that it may provoke nationalist
responses from groups who feel uneasy with
social heterogeneity.

Contd
Assuming that nations could not be defined
from states perspective, then how
homogenous or heterogeneous states tend to
be?
State with diverse nations
A critical point: where ethnic groups and
nations meet, as countries with many and
strongly motivated ethnic groups would tend
to display a low level of national identity.
Ethnic Groups
In the study of ethnicity, ethnic group is a
social group which is orientated in terms of
shared language or common historical fate.
It is a group that could be of any size in terms
of the group which support its culture.
Do you think both minorities and majorities
could be called ethnic groups?

Classifying ethnicity based on
identities
An expert on ethnicity F. Barth defines ethnic
group by saying that:
A group, which perpetuates itself
biologically, at least for some generations,
shares fundamental cultural values,
constitutes a field of communication and
interaction, identifies as a distinct group by
other groups and by itself (Barth 1969: 10-
11).
Contd
Acc to this definition, there are several
characteristics of a ethnic group:
Biological reproduction over several
generations (objective one, and called
association)
Shared or common values (subjective)
Interaction or communication between the
members
Self-identification and identification by other
groups.
Contd
On the other hand, A.D. Smith offers
characteristic of ethnic groups, and those are:
a collective proper name;
a myth of common ancestry;
shared historical memories;
one or more differentiating elements of common
culture;
an association with a specific homeland;
a sense of solidarity for significant sectors of the
population (Smith, 1991: 21).
Imagined community
Benedict defines ethnic group is a social group which
is formulated and maintained based on imagination
(Anderson 1983).
It may entail ethnic groups are merely so-called
imagined communities in contradiction to real ones.
Ethnic group would be one with an identity that has
been somehow constructed, as it is far from natural.
An ethnic group may have an identity merely
fabricated by political elites for the promotion of its
own interests.
And thus, social imagination may be the source of
well-established and long-lasting attitudes, which
are all but unreal.
Contd
Thus, a nation could consist of the ethnic
group that has a dominant position in a
society in terms of numbers.
a nation could also be the agreement on
certain principles that various ethnic groups
have arrived at in order to live together in a
country.
Contd
an open question whether several countries
today really harbor one nation or whether
perhaps they are to be seen as being made up
of a pattern of ethnic groups, as argued by
multiculturalism.
Contd
In the context of multi-cultural society, then it
is possible ethnic groups or social groups held
together by a few characteristics taken from
Smiths explanation.
Religious group could also be associated as
an ethnic group.
For example: Coptes group who mix
Christianity with Egyptian ancestry.
General definition that we
can use:
Ethnic groups are the social groups in which
members identify on the basis of a mixture of
identity-forming reasons including ancestry,
homeland legacy and common culture in the
form of, for instance, a language
Contd
One must ask today how an ethnic group
may relate to another when they must
coexist in a single society.
Contd
If an ethnic group does not amalgamate
intentionally with the other ethnic groups, or
does not assimilate unintentionally with
them, then all ethnic groups may perhaps live
side-by side in a multicultural society.
Ethnic Cores and Nation
Building
In milieu with the nation building, the
concept of ethnic cores, in ethnic theory, and
nation building can be used.
Smith uses this concept stating about the
links between ethnic group, nation and state:
a states ethnic core often shapes the
character and boundaries of the nation; for it
is very often on the basis of such a core that
states coalesce to form nations (Smith 1991:
39).
Nation and state
By definition the nation is a community of
common myths and memories, as in an
ethnic group. It is also a territorial
community. But whereas in the case of ethnic
groups the link with a territory may be only
historical and symbolic, in the case of the
nation it is physical and actual: nations
possess territories. (Smith, 1991: 40)
Contd
as many nations do not possess states today,
in the year 2002: consider the Kurds, the
Palestinians, the Berbers, the Sikhs, the
Tibetans, the Tamils, the Eskimos, the Samis
and so on.
many territories are populated by more than
one nation: consider India, South Africa,
Nigeria, Spain and the UK.
Controversy in defining a
state
States constitute legal entities, whereas
nations are groups with an ethnic identity.
They are different kinds of entities all
together. Nations are modern phenomena,
states Smith, as they tend to have: a legal
code of rights; a unified economy; a compact
territory; a single political culture,
guaranteeing citizen socialization (Smith,
1991, p. 69).
On the other hand
According to Kelsen 1961, the state is a legal
order whereas the nation is a solid social
group, making it compact to some degree.