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.



