Tellis, Szayna, Winnefeld - Anticipating Ethnic Conflict

Ashley J. Tellis, Thomas S. Szayna and James A. Winnefeld go on the Brubaker’s line in their joint book “Anticipating Ethnic Conflict”: ethnicity can be useful tool for political mobilization, although ethnic action does not occur spontaneously but rather requires mobilization and direction, bringing political significance to ethnic attachments and feelings.[1] Frederick Barth further notes, “Ethnic groups are categories of ascription and identification by the actors themselves. We are interested in different processes that are involved in generating and maintaining ethnic groups”,[2] while Harald Eidheim points to ethnic groups, as social categories providing a basis for status ascription and, consequently, interethnic relations are organized with reference to such statuses.[3]
[1]Tellis J. Ashley, et al. Anticipating Ethnic Conflict (Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 1998), 2.
[2]Frederick Barth. (ed). Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: Social Organization of Culture Difference. (Oslo: Scandinavian University Press, 1994), 10.
[3]Harald Eidheim. When Ethnic Identity is a Social Stigma. Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: Social Organization of Culture Difference, Edited by Frederik Barth (Oslo: Scandinavian University Press, 1994), 39.