Customer Reviews

Ethnic Groups in Conflict

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This book is a scholarly treatise on ethnic conflict. The author's ideas are thoroughly developed, and supported with numerous examples and references. I finished the book with a far greater understanding of the roots, complexity, dynamics, and interventions for ethnic conflict. Horowitz shows how the ethnic conflict which we may be most directly aware of is an example of a larger phenomenon. The book is not easy to read. It is 684 pages. Many of its 16 chapters have over 100 footnotes. The writing style favors cautious scholarly precision with exhaustive attention to detail, rather than an easy to understand summary of the central ideas.

Donald Horowitz's book "Ethnic Groups in Conflict" completely changed the way I not only look at Africa/South-East Asia, but also the way in which I look at all politics and group identity. If one carefully reads this book--and it certainly takes a dedicated, and systematic reading--one will come away changed. I was lucky enough to read this book during a class in the university; so I had the advantage of being required to sit and read this book, and also having the resources to ask questions. Horowitz systematically analyses the primordial and imperialist origins of group comparison, the politicizing of group cleavages--fueled by imperial favoritism--and, the politicizing of the military. (A great companion to Huntington's work on politics and the military.) And, in his conclusion, Horowitz shows the possible solutions to group conflict--economic specialization or specialized voting rules.

This book gives the reader a special insight into the logic of ethnic group behavior. It is full of highly cited examples, ranging for the Yorba to the Tamils. Anyone interested in politics, nationalism, Africa, Asia, imperialism and, even, economics and the effects of alternative voting rules, ought to take the time and effort of reading this classic volume.

*ALL* beliefs about ethnic that are commonly accepted in USA and the basis of far-reaching policies are 100% wrong based on the information in this book. US policies actually *increase* ethnic conflict! Don't expect the author to analyze the situation in USA directly - that would force him to drop the good-guy/bad-guy approach that is practically required by law here. It's not too hard to read between the lines, though.

Horowitz thinks that the best way to reduce ethnic conflict (elimination being unrealistic) is to allow each group to become economically specialized. Ethnic specialization is good, in his view, and not at all similar to ethnic ranking, which is bad. Of course, some groups will be specialized in high finance and others will be hewers of wood and drawers of water...

This book reviews the major theories and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. He never does come down solidly in favor of one theory, but he clearly considers some very popular theories virtually worthless.

I don't see how anybody who isn't an "ethnic entrepreneur" could read this book and still think that affirmative action, massive immigration and group rights will reduce ethnic conflict. This is a very scary book and difficult, too, but well worth the effort.