Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Polyethnicity refers to the close proximity of people from different ethnic backgrounds within a country or other specific geographic region. It also relates to the ability and willingness of individuals to identify themselves with multiple ethnicities. It occurs when multiple ethnicities inhabit a given area, specifically through means of immigration, intermarriage, trade, conquest, and post-war land-divisions. Professor William H. McNeill states in his series of lectures on polyethnicity that it is the societal norm for cultures to be made up of many ethnic groups. This has had many political and social implications on countries and regions.
Many, if not all, countries have some level of polyethnicity, with countries like the United States and Canada having large levels and countries like Japan and Poland having relatively small levels (and more specifically, a sense of homogeneity). The amount of polyethnicity prevalent in current society has spurred some arguments against it, which include a belief that it leads to the weakening of each societies strengths, and also a belief that political-ethnic issues in countries with polyethnic populations are better handled with different laws for certain ethnicities.
Conceptual history Edit
In 1985 Professor William H. McNeill, a Canadian historian known for his expertise on the subject of polyethnicity, gave a series of three lectures on polyethnicity in ancient and modern cultures at the University of Toronto. The main thesis throughout the lectures was that it has been the cultural norm for societies to be made up of different ethnic groups. McNeill states that the ideal of homogeneous societies may have grown between 1750 and 1920 in Western Europe due to a growth in the belief in a single nationalistic base for the political organization of society. McNeill believes that World War I was the point in time when the desire for homogeneous nations began to weaken.
Impact on politics Edit
Polyethnicity divides nations, complicating the politics as local and national governments attempt to satisfy all ethnic groups. Many politicians in countries attempt to find the balance between ethnic identities within their country and the identity of the nation as a whole. Nationalism also plays a large part in these political debates, as cultural pluralism and consociationalism are the democratic alternatives to nationalism for the polyethnic state. The idea of nationalism being social instead of ethnic entails a variety of culture, a shared sense of identity, and a community not based on descent. Culturally plural states vary constitutionally between a decentralized and unitary state (such as Great Britain) and a federal state (such as Belgium, Switzerland, or Canada). Ethnic parties in these polyethnic regions are not anti-state but instead seek maximum power within this state. Many polyethnic countries face this dilemma with their policy decisions. The following nations and regions are just a few specific examples of this dilemma and its effects.
United States Edit
|US Languages (2006)|
|English (only)||224.2 million|
|Spanish, incl. Creole||34.0 million|
|French, incl. Creole||2.0 million|
The United States is a nation founded by different ethnicities coming together in a melting pot. A controversial political issue in recent years has been the question of bilingualism. Many immigrants have come from Hispanic America, who are native Spanish speakers, in the past centuries and have become a significant minority and even a majority in many areas of the Southwest. In New Mexico the Spanish speaking population exceeds 40%. Disputes have emerged over language policy, since a sizable part of the population, and in many areas the majority of the population, speak Spanish as a native language. The biggest debates are over bilingual education for language minority students, the availability of non-English ballots and election materials, and whether or not English is the official language. It has evolved into an ethnic conflict between the pluralists who support bilingualism and linguistic access and the assimilationists who strongly oppose this and lead the official English movement. The United States does not have an official language, but English is the de facto national language.
Canada has had many political debates between the French speakers and English speakers, particularly in the province of Quebec. Canada holds both French and English as official languages. The politics in Quebec are largely defined by nationalism as French Québécois wish to gain independence from Canada as a whole, based on ethnic and linguistic boundaries. The main separatist party, Parti Québécois, attempted to gain sovereignty twice (once in 1980 and again in 1995) and failed by a narrow margin of 1.2% in 1995. Since then, in order to remain united, Canada granted Quebec statut particulier, recognizing Quebec as a nation within the united nation of Canada.
The divide between the Dutch-speaking north (Flanders) and the French-speaking South (Wallonia) has caused the parliamentary democracy to become ethnically polarized. Though an equal number of seats in the Chamber of Representatives are prescribed to the Flemish and Walloons, Belgian political parties have all divided into two ideologically identical but linguistically and ethnically different parties. The political crisis has grown so bad in recent years that the partition of Belgium has been feared.
Ethiopia is a polyethnic nation consisting of 80 different ethnic groups and 84 indigenous languages. Due to the diverse population and rural areas throughout the nation, it was nearly impossible to create a strong centralized state; though it was eventually accomplished through political evolution. Prior to 1974, nationalism was only discussed within radical student groups, but by the late 20th century the issue had come to the forefront of political debate. Ethiopia was forced to modernize their political system to properly handle the nationalism debates. The Derg military regime took control with a Marxist-Leninist ideology, urging self-determination and rejecting compromise over any nationality issues. In the 1980s, Ethiopia suffered a series of famines and after the USSR broke apart, they lost their aid from the Soviet Union and the Derg regime collapsed. Eventually Ethiopia restabilized and adopted a modern political system that models a federal parliamentary republic. It was still impossible to create a central government holding all power, so the government was torn. The central federal government now presides over ethnically-based regional states and each ethnic state is granted the right to establish their own government and democracy.
19th century Spain Edit
In Spain from 1808-1814 the Spanish War of Independence took place amidst a multi-cultural Spain. Spain, at the time, was under the control of King Joseph, who was Napoleon I of France's brother. Because the nation was under the control of French rule, the Spanish formed coalitions of ethnic groups to reclaim their own political representation, instead of the current French political system in power.
Southeast Asia Edit
In Southeast Asia the continental area (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam) generally practices Theravada Buddhism. Most of insular Southeast Asia (namely Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia) practices mostly Sunni Islam. The rest of the insular region (Philippines and East Timor) practices mostly Roman Catholic Christianity and Singapore practises mostly Mahayana Buddhism. Significant long-distance labor migration that occurred during the late 19th into the early 20th century provided many different types of ethnic diversity. Relations between the indigenous population of the region arose from regional variations of cultural and linguistic group. During this time immigrant minorities, especially the Chinese, developed as well. Although there were extreme political differences for each minority and religion, they were still legitimate members of political communities and there has been a significant amount of unity throughout history. This differs from both nearby East and South Asia.
Impact on society Edit
An increase in intermarriage in the United States has led to the blurring of ethnic lines. Anti-miscegenation laws (laws banning interracial marriages) were abolished in the United States in 1967 and now it is estimated that one-fifth of the population in the United States by 2050 will be part of the polyethnic population. In 2000, self-identified Multiracial Americans numbered 6.8 million or 2.4% of the population. While the number of interethnic marriages is on the rise, there are certain ethnic groups that have been found more likely to become polyethnic and recognize themselves with more than one ethnic background. Bhavani Arabandi states in his article on polyethnicity that:
Asians and Latinos have much higher rates of interethnic marriages than do blacks, and they are more likely to report polyethnicity than blacks who more often claim a single ethnicity and racial identity. This is the case, the authors [Lee, J & Bean, F.D] argue, because blacks have a "legacy of slavery," a history of discrimination, and have been victimized by the "one drop rule" (where having any black blood automatically labeled one as black) in the US.
Presently, most armed forces are composed of people from different ethnic backgrounds. They are considered to be polyethnic due to the differences in race, ethnicity, language or background. While there are many examples of polyethnic forces, the most prominent are among the largest armed forces in the world, including those of the United States, the former USSR, and China. Polyethnic armed forces are not a new phenomenon; multi-ethnic forces have been in existence since the ancient Roman Empire, Middle Eastern Empires and even the Mongol Khans. The U.S. Military was one of the first modern militaries to begin ethnic integration, by order of President Truman in 1945.
There are also arguments against polyethnicity, as well as the assimilation of ethnicities in polyethnic regions. Wilmot Robertson in The Ethnostate and Dennis L. Thomson in The Political Demands of Isolated Indian Bands in British Columbia, argue for some level of separatism.
In The Ethnostate, Robertson declares polyethnicity as an ideal that only lessens each culture. He believes that, within a polyethnic culture, the nation or region as a whole is less capable of cultural culmination than each of the individual ethnicities that make it up. Essentially, polyethnicity promotes the dilution of ethnicity and thus hinders each ethnicity in all aspects of culture.
In The Political Demands of Isolated Indian Bands in British Columbia, Thomson points out the benefits in some level (albeit small) of separatist policies. He argues the benefits of allowing ethnic groups, like the Amish and the Hutterites in the United States and Canada or the Sami in Norway, to live on the edges of governance. These are ethnic groups that would prefer to retain their ethnic identity and thus prefer separatist policies for themselves, as they do not require them to conform to policies for all ethnicities of the nation.
See also Edit
- Diaspora politics
- Ethnic Group
- Interracial marriage
- ↑ McNeil 1985, page 85
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Arabandi 2000, Online
- ↑ Smith 1998, page 190
- ↑ Smith 1998, page 200
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Dreisziger 1990 page 1
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Safran 2000, Introduction
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Benhabib 1996, pages 154-155
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 U.S. Census Bureau
- ↑ Thomson 2000, pages 213-215
- ↑ Burgess 2007, Online
- ↑ Safran 2000, pages 1-2
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Robertson 1992, pages 1-10
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Thomson 2000, pages 214-215
- ↑ Ritzer 2004, page 141
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Dreisziger 1990, pages 1-2
- ↑ Kellas 1991, page 8
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Kellas 1991, page 65
- ↑ Kellas 1991, pages 180-183
- ↑ Safran 2000, pages 2-3
- ↑ Adams 2001
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Navarrette 2007, online
- ↑ Hakimzadeh 2007, Online
- ↑ Crawford 1992, page 154
- ↑ Cromwell 1998, Online
- ↑ Roache 1996, Online
- ↑ Young 1993, page 73
- ↑ McArthur 1998, page 38
- ↑ Bélanger 2000, online
- ↑ Tuohy 1992, page 325
- ↑ McNeil 1985, page 86
- ↑ Leyton-Brown 2002, page 5
- ↑ The Calgary Declaration
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 Lijphart 199, page 39
- ↑ Bryant, Online
- ↑ Levinson 1998, page 131
- ↑ Grimes 1996
- ↑ Young 1993, page 147
- ↑ Tiruneh 1993, page 150
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 Young 1993, page 149
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 Young 1993, page 152
- ↑ Kavalski 2008, page 31
- ↑ Young 1993, page 159
- ↑ Young 1993, page 209
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 Baramendi 2000, pages 80-84
- ↑ Hirschman 1995 page 19
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 Hirschman 1995 page 20
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 Hirschman 1995 page 21
- ↑ 48.0 48.1 Hirschman 1995 page 22
- ↑ Lee 2000, pages 221-245
- ↑ Jones & Smith 2000 Online
- ↑ Yang 2000, page 168
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 Robertson 1992 p. 10
- Adams, J.Q (2001). Dealing with Diversity, Chicago: Kendall/Hunt.
- Arabandi, Bhavani (2007). George Ritzer Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology: Polyethnicity, Blackwell Publishing.
- B02001. RACE - Universe: TOTAL POPULATION. 2006 American Community Survey. United States Census Bureau. URL accessed on 2008-01-30.
- Bélanger, Claude (2000). The Rise of the Language Issue since the Quiet Revolution. Marianopolis College. URL accessed on 2009-11-22.
- Benhabib, Seyla (1996). Democracy and difference: contesting the boundaries of the political, Princeton University Press.
- Beramendi, Justo G (2000). Identity and Territorial Autonomy in Plural Societies: "Identity, Ethnicity, and the State in Spain: 19th and 20th Centuries", Routledge.
- Brittingham, Angela, G. Patricia de la Cruz (2004). Ancestry 2000. U.S.Census Bureau. URL accessed on 2007-06-13.
- Bryant, Elizabeth Divisions could lead to a partition in Belgium. San Francisco Chronicle. URL accessed on 2008-05-28.
- Burgess, Chris (2007). Multicultural Japan remains a pipe dream. Japan Times. URL accessed on 2009-11-22.
- The Calgary Declaration: Premiers' Meeting. Canadian Executive Council. URL accessed on 2009-11-22.
- Crawford, James (1992). Language loyalties: a source book on the official English controversy, University of Chicago Press.
- Cromwell, Sharon (1998). The Bilingual Education Debate: Part I. Education World. URL accessed on 2009-11-22.
- Dreisziger, Nándor F. (1990). Ethnic armies: polyethnic armed forces from the time of the Habsburgs to the age of the superpowers, Wilfrid Laurier University Press,.
- Grimes, Joseph Evans (1996). Ethnologue: language family index to the thirteenth edition of the Ethnologue, Summer Institute of Linguistics.
- Jones, Nicholas A., Amy Symens Smith (2001). The Two or More Races Population: 2000. Census 2000 Brief. (PDF) United States Census Bureau. URL accessed on 2008-05-08.
- Hakimzadeh, Shirin, D'Vera Cohn (2007). English Usage among Hispanics in the United States. Pew Research Center. URL accessed on 2009-11-22.
- Hirschman, Charles (1995). Population, Ethnicity, and Nation-Building, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
- Kavalski, Emilian (2008). Defunct federalisms: critical perspectives on federal failure, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd..
- Kellas, James G. (1991). The Politics of Nationalism and Ethnicity, New York: St. Martin's Press.
- Lee, J. (2000). American Review of Sociology: America's Changing Color Lines: Immigration, Race/Ethnicity, and Multiracial Identification.
- Levinson, David (1998). Ethnic groups worldwide: a ready reference handbook, Greenwood Publishing Group.
- Leyton-Brown, David (2002). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs: 1995, University of Toronto Press.
- Lijphart, Arend (1999). Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, Yale University.
- McArthur, Thomas Burns (1998). The English languages, Cambridge University Press.
- McNeill, William H. (1985). Polyethnicity and National Unity in World History, Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
- Navarrette, Ruben (2007). Language debate only divides us further. Oakland Tribune. URL accessed on 2009-11-22. [dead link]
- Rajagopalan, Swarna (2000). Identity and Territorial Autonomy in Plural Societies: "Internal Unit Demarcation and National Identity: India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka", Routledge.
- Ritzer, George (2004). Handbook of social problems: a comparative international perspective, SAGE.
- Roache, Mario (1996). Panel opens debate on bilingual ballots. The Ledger. URL accessed on 2009-11-22.
- Robertson, Wilmot (1992). The Ethnostate, Cape Canaveral, FL: Howard Allen Enterprises, Inc.
- Shaw, Ian (2003). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
- Smith, Anthony D. (1998). Nationalism and modernism, Routledge.
- Selected Social Characteristics in the United States: 2007. United States Census Bureau. URL accessed on 2008-10-09.
- Thomson, Dennis L (2000). Identity and Territorial Autonomy in Plural Societies: "The Political Demands of Isolated Indian Bands in British Columbia", Routledge.
- Tiruneh, Andargachew (1993). The Ethiopian revolution, 1974-1987: a transformation from an aristocratic to a totalitarian autocracy, Cambridge University Press.
- Tuohy, Carolyn J. (1992). Policy and politics in Canada: institutionalized ambivalence, Temple University Press.
- Yang, Philip Q. (2000). Ethnic studies: issues and approaches, SUNY Press.
- Young, Crawford (1993). The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism, Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.
- United States Census Bureau. Table 52—Languages Spoken at Home by Language: 2006. Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009. U.S. Census Bureau. URL accessed on 2009-10-11.
- United States Census Bureau. United States - Data Sets - American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. URL accessed on 2009-11-22.
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).|