Race and Ethnicity PPT 2023

Understanding Society: Introduction to Political Sociology
Lecture 5: Race and ethnicity

Overview
• Defining our terms

• Ontological basis for race
• Managing ethnic diversity
• Secession
• Ethnofederalism
• Consociationalism
• Minority rights
• Study skills and group task
Defining our terms
• Race: a category of people who are believed to share certain

inherited physical characteristics, such as skin colour, facial
features and stature.
• Ethnicity: the state of belonging to or characteristics of ‘named
human populations with shared ancestry myths, histories and
cultures, having an association with a specific territory and a
sense of solidarity’. (Anthony Smith)
• Category of practice v. category of analysis
• Racism: prejudice, discrimination or antagonism directed
against someone of a different race based on the belief that
one's own race is superior.
RACISM AS AN IDEOLOGY
Racial categorisation first attempted in the eighteenth century

Slave trade created a further incentive to categorise human
groups in order to justify the subordination of Africans.
Carolus Linnaeus (1735) divided homo sapiens into four
continental varieties of Homo Sapiens Europaeus, Asiaticus,
Americanus and Afer.
Racial category Characteristics Ruled by
Americanus Red, ill-tempered, subjugated Custom
Asiaticus Yellow, melancholy, greedy Opinion
Afer Black, impassive, lazy Caprice
Europaeus White, serious, strong Law
RACE AS A SOCIAL CATEGORY
Often see more physical differences within than between races

RACE AS A SOCIAL CATEGORY
Individuals are often assigned to a

race on arbitrary grounds because
of other social factors.
Mixed-race black/white individuals
usually classified as black
‘One-drop rule’ aimed to keep slave
population as large as possible
DNA of different races 99.9% same.
ETHNICITY
Ethnicity relates to the characteristics of ‘named human

populations with shared ancestry myths, histories and cultures,
having an association with a specific territory and a sense of
solidarity’. (Anthony Smith, Ethnic Origins of Nations)
Ethnicity was/is used as a marker for monopolistic closure.
Ethnic identities can give individuals a sense of belonging.
Achievements of ethnic group can also boost self-esteem by
comparing your in-group positively with the out-group →
positive distinctiveness.
Positive distinctiveness + monopolistic closure → prejudice
MONOPOLISTIC CLOSURE
“Usually one group of competitors

takes some externally identifiable
characteristic of another group of
(actual of potential) competitors - race,
language, religion, local or social origin,
descent, residence, etc. - as a pretext for
attempting their exclusion. It does not
matter which characteristic is chosen in
the individual case: whatever suggests
itself most easily is seized upon.”
Max Weber
ETHNICITY
Ethnic groups are ‘named human populations with shared

ancestry myths, histories and cultures, having an association
with a specific territory and a sense of solidarity’. (Anthony
Smith)
Ethnicity was/is used as a marker for monopolistic closure.
Ethnic identities can give individuals a sense of belonging.
Achievements of ethnic group can also boost self-esteem
by comparing your in-group positively with the out-group →
positive distinctiveness.
Positive distinctiveness + monopolistic closure → prejudice
SECESSION
• Secession is ‘attempt by a national minority to exercise its right

to national self-determination by breaking away either to join
another state or more often to establish an independent state
of its own’. (James Mayall)
• Secession = external or full national self-determination
• There is no right to secession in international law.
• Articles 1 (2) and 55 of the UN Charter (1945) enshrined the
‘principle of self-determination of peoples’ but
• The right of a state to ‘safeguard its sovereignty and territorial
integrity’ (UN Charter) is a higher claim.
SECESSION
Five principal categories of international recognition:

1. Mandated territories and territories created as non-self-
governing units under Chapter XI of the UN Charter
2. Entities subject to carence de souveraineté
3. Territories in which self-determination is mutually agreed
4. Highest-level constituent units of a federal state in the process of
dissolving (uti possidetis juris)
5. Formerly independent territories reasserting independence,
especially where the incorporation was illegal or of dubious
legality
ETHNOFEDERALISM
Territorially defined subunits

Dual sovereignty – centre and
subunits have own political and
economic spheres of influence
Relationship between centre and
subunits combines autonomy and
co-ordination rather than
subordination
Composed of and deemed to
represent geographically
concentrated minorities
ETHNO-FEDERALISM
Advantages Disadvantages
Inter-ethnic peace Undermines commonality /
Stable state borders locks in differences
Sustainable democratic Absence of commonalities
governance limits interaction and prevents
co-operation
Legitimation of difference
If centre is weak → leaders
Empowerment of minorities
engage in ethnic outbidding
Prevention of domination by
Gives minorities resources to
majority
press for independence
CONSOCIATIONALISM
‘Consociationalism’ coined by Arend Lijphart

Political system based on power-sharing among groups to
avoid majority rule by one majority group (cf. US Senate)
Underlying principle of consociational democracies is that deep
divisions cannot be eliminated → political system is based on
power-sharing among the ethnic groups to avoid majority rule.
Decisions reached by consensus and minority groups can veto
legislation they consider to be against their interests
Top positions allocated on basis of PR and minorities
encouraged to run own schools and preserve identities
All groups expected to share certain overarching values,
institutions and identity.
CONSOCIATIONALISM
Benefits
• Ensures all groups are represented
• Ensures all groups have access to political power
• Recognises political reality
Criticisms
• Undemocratic as it does not allow for opposition
• Discriminates against individuals → not confer benefits on
individual merit but on group identity

• Reinforces source of conflict
• Freezes collective identities

MINORITY RIGHTS
1992: UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to

National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities
Endorses special minority rights to participate in national and
regional decisions, establish and maintain associations and
have contact both within and across international frontiers
Acknowledges that these rights may be exercised individually
as well as in community with other members of the group.
Majorities must respect minorities’ desire to preserve own way
of life and minorities must do same, i.e. must not secede.
In CEE language and ethnic minority rights have been main
focus of political debate
LANGUAGE RIGHTS
Often only national and not ethnic minority languages are

recognised
Differential rights to speak minority language in private/public
Right to speak minority language in private: negative right
Right to speak minority language in public: positive right
Right to education in minority language more controversial:
expensive to run two or more parallel education systems
weakens state control over education & identity-production
Minorities fear their languages would die out otherwise
Right to be understood by state would require bilingualism
STUDY SKILLS
Identify the aim and the thesis statement of the following articles:
• Mole, R.C.M. (2011) ‘Nationality and sexuality: homophobic

discourse and the ‘national threat’ in contemporary Latvia’, Nations
and Nationalism, vol. 17, no. 3, 540-560
• Fodor, É. (1997) ‘Gender in Transition: Unemployment in Hungary,

Poland, and Slovakia’ East European Politics and Societies, vol. 11, no.
3, 470–50
GROUP TASK
Analyse sections of the Framework Convention for the Protection

of National Minorities. Set out the main points of the Articles,
explain why – in your view – they were or were not controversial
and relate the issues, where possible, to specific European states.
• All groups will look at Articles 4-9
• Group A will look at Articles 10/11
• Group B will look at Articles 12-14
• Group C will look at Articles 15-18
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Race and ethnicity are often understood

as biological/essentialist categories but
are socially constructed
Positive distinctiveness + monopolistic
closure can produce racial and ethnic
hierarchies and discrimination
Democratic means of managing ethnic
diversity include: secession, ethno-
federalism, consociationalism and
minority rights

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Understanding Society: Introduction to Political Sociology

Lecture 5: Race and ethnicity

• Defining our terms

• Race: a category of people who are believed to share certain

Racial categorisation first attempted in the eighteenth century

Often see more physical differences within than between races

Individuals are often assigned to a

Ethnicity relates to the characteristics of ‘named human

“Usually one group of competitors

Ethnic groups are ‘named human populations with shared

• Secession is ‘attempt by a national minority to exercise its right

Five principal categories of international recognition:

Territorially defined subunits

‘Consociationalism’ coined by Arend Lijphart

• Ensures all groups have access to political power

• Recognises political reality

• Discriminates against individuals → not confer benefits on

individual merit but on group identity

• Freezes collective identities

1992: UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to

Often only national and not ethnic minority languages are

• Mole, R.C.M. (2011) ‘Nationality and sexuality: homophobic

• Fodor, É. (1997) ‘Gender in Transition: Unemployment in Hungary,

Analyse sections of the Framework Convention for the Protection

Race and ethnicity are often understood

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