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Using a new approach to ethnicity that underscores its relative territoriality, Zeynep Bulutgil brings together previously separate arguments that focus on domestic and international factors to offer a coherent theory of what causes ethnic cleansing. The author argues that domestic obstacles based on non-ethnic cleavages usually prevent ethnic cleansing whereas territorial conflict triggers this policy by undermining such obstacles. The empirical analysis combines statistical evaluation based on original data with comprehensive studies of historical cases in Central and Eastern Europe as well as Bosnia in the 1990s. The findings demonstrate how socio-economic cleavages curb radical factions within dominant groups whereas territorial wars strengthen these factions and pave the way for ethnic cleansing. The author further explores the theoretical and empirical extensions in the context of Africa. Its theoretical novelty and broad empirical scope make this book highly valuable to scholars of comparative and international politics alike.
List of contents
Introduction; 1. Theory; 2. Empirical implications I: cross-national test; 3. Empirical implications II: historical cases; 4. Empirical implications III: Bosnia-Herzegovina; 5. Negative and atypical cases in Europe; 6. Theoretical and empirical extensions - relative absence of ethnic cleansing in Africa; 7. Conclusion.
About the author
H. Zeynep Bulutgil is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Politics at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, Massachusetts. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2009. Her research on ethnic cleansing has been supported by fellowships from the Belfer Center at Harvard Kennedy School, the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, New Jersey, and the National Science Foundation.
Summary
Using a new approach to ethnicity that underscores its relative territoriality, the author brings together previously separate arguments focusing on domestic and international factors to offer a coherent theory of what causes ethnic cleansing. Includes comprehensive studies of historical cases in Central and Eastern Europe.
