Interest in ethnic conﬂict and identity politics has led to an increase in the number of works attempting to understand this phenomena. The two works examined here follow in the same tradition

Ratan, Sudha

English

VCU Scholars Compass

Number 1 4  (Summer 1 994) the researchers and, consequently, methodology, theoretical orien­tations, and models. Notably absent in this collection are the voices of the immi­grants themselves. How do they see the i r  s i tuation? What  are their expectations, goals ,  and responsibi l i ties? Are ethnicity and ass imi la­t ion mutually exclusive or do they not relate to each other in a d ialectical manner? Psychological and cultural factors are not stressed in these essays, yet they are crucial  for expla ining attitudes, beliefs, stereotypes, and i n form ing the qual ity and texture of dai ly group contact. One is left with other questions: Is  it a lways a manifestation of racism to ask questions? One gets the impression that it i s  when reading Smal l 's or Teun Van D i jk 's  contributions (the l atter's analysis of discourse, however, i s  excel lent,  for discourse p lays an  i m portant role in the reproduction of racism) .  There is no mention of anti-racist organizations or of success stories in  the i mmigrant communit ies .  Yet these do exist, j ust  as  in the United States m inorit ies are i ncreasingly attain ing posi tions of i n fluence as judges, doctors, educators, or polit icians.  In all  fai rness to the editors, they know that they do not deal with a l l  aspects of i m m i gration and racism, and Solomos and Wrench have produced a very interesting and useful col lection of papers which begins  to give some answers to the questions on the causes of and possible solutions to European racism today. Li l iane M. Vassberg University of Texas - Pan American Crawford Young, ed. The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism: The Nation-State a t  Bay. (Madison: U niverSity of Wisconsin Press, 1 993) 305 pp., $49 .50 hard cover, $ 1 7 . 95 paper. U nited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.  The State of the World's Refugees: The Challenge of Protection. (Middlesex , En­gland: Penguin,  1 993) 1 9 1  pp.  Interest in ethnic confl ict  and identity pol i t iCS has led to an increase i n  the number of works attempting to understand this  phenomena. The two works examined here fol low i n  the same tradit ion.  Crawford Young's recent  col lection of essays i s  a companion volume to his  ear l ier  The Politics of ell It  ural Pluralism, which was first publ ished in  1 976.  Thi s  new collection of essays, which grew out of an NEH Seminar for Col lege Teachers, exami nes some of the recent trends in the study of  ethnic i ty .  In his opening essay, Young dist in-93 Explora tions in Sights and Sounds guishes between the instrumental ist, the  primordia l i st, and the constructivist approache to the study of ethnicity. The first sees ethnicity as a tool than can be and is used in pol it ical and social  competit ion, the second focuses on the affective dimensions of ethn icity, whi le  the la t sees ethn icity as manufactured rather than give n .  Using these approaches, the authors of the essays present ana lyses of a variety of is ues and regions where eth nicity appears to be at issue. Virginia Shapiro exam ines some of the theoretical concerns that have emerged in recent years regarding the in tersection between gender and cultural plural i sm.  I oel Kent exam ines the  United States polit ical economy between 1 965- 1 986 and the ever-widening gap between Whites and Black as society moved towa rds what he cal l s  " symbolic racism , "  where the change in  racia l  norms is accompan ied by an "absence of com mitment to equal iz ing conditions . "  Ronald Schm idt examines the em.erging debate on language pol icy in  the Un ited States, which he argu s i s  sym ptom atic of a deeper ethnic  confl ict .  The essays which address specific regional or local  ethnic confl icts present recent research in  these areas .  Mark Beissinger's essay u es a constructivi t approach to argue that the col lapse of the Soviet Union needs to be seen as the col l apse of an empire as wel l as the fa i lure of a state.  S im il arly, Entessar exam ines the rise of Azeri nat ional ism in the former Soviet Un ion and I ran as manifestat ions of " i m agined communit ies, " to use a phrase popu larized by Benedict Anderson .  The two essays by Solomon Gashaw and Herbert S .  Lewis  on ethnic  confl ict in  Ethiopia examine  the r i se  of a national ist  di scourse which is rooted in  an ancient history. Whi le  Gashaw exam ines this  di scourse from an Ethiopian nationalist perspective, Lewis is concerned with ethnic identit ies at a sub-national level; in  particular, the  Oromo who constitute about forty pacent of the  population. Essays by  Woldemikael and Quir in a l so deal with Eth io­pia. The former examines the construction of identity within Eritrean national ist  movements whi le  the l atter examines the case of the Ethiopian Jews or Beta Israe l .  Fr iedman examines the rise of the Han  Chinese identity and  the confl ict between this  domi nant group and other minorities wi thin the country.  Spitz argues for a primordia l  understanding of  the forces of the Hindu right within India whi le  LeBaron traces the  r i se  of  a new pan-Maya awareness and polit ical  uni ty in  Guatemala .  Al l  of the e essays broaden our understanding of ethnic identity formation and confl ict in different  parts of the world. The second work underscores some of the practical problems that confront i nternational  governmenta l  and non-governmental  agencies largely  as a consequence of the  forces of  cultural p lura l i sm exami ned above. This UNHCR publ ication documents the sca le  of  94 Number 1 4  (Summer 1 994) the problem-1 8 .2  m i l l ion refugees in  1 992 alone. The m ajority of these a re, of course, people who have been rendered homeless as a consequence of ethn ic  violence in  the former Yugoslavia (four mi l l ion) ,  Somalia ,  Armenia and Azerbai jan ,  and Bhutan.  I n  addition, twenty-four m i l l ion people are d i splaced within their own countries.  This collect ion of essays, supported by tables, charts, and statistics, effectively presents an  up-to-date analysis of the world refugee cris is .  The essays point out that pol icy to h andle the flood of refugees is being m ade in a d i fficult context-cont inuing armed struggles in many coun tries and shrinking opportunities for perma­nent l arge scale i ntegration in the countries of asylum . The result i s  that current pol icy focuses on temporary protection and voluntary repatriat ion.  The p roblem is that th is  requires peace-making and peace-keeping to be part of the UNHCR's responsibi l i ty if repatriation i s  to be successful .  The essays i n  the volume focus on several i ssues of concern to refugee policy:  1 )  the c l imate of receptivity for refugees i n  asylum countries; 2)  t h e  problems posed by the fact t h a t  refugees are part of a complex stream of m igrants i ncluding economi c  m igrants; 3) humanitarian assistance; 4 )  conditions for voluntary repatriation; 5) refugee problems as human rights problems; and 6) the need to focus on  prevention . The authors stress the important role of states i n  refugee pol icy-countries of origin as well as external states who sometimes are the indirect cause of some of the economic, social ,  and political turmoil .  The study m akes concrete recommendations for what can be done by the international community and suggests :  1 )  peace-making strategies including cease-fires; 2 )  long-term mediation to resolve confl icts; 3) economic development; 4) information campaign to counter xenophobia/racism in coun tries of asylum; and 5) creat ion of Open Relief Centers ( ORC's)  which would al low refugees to l ive and work close to their  homes.  The study concludes with an exami­nation of some of the chal lenges facing refugee protection in the 1 990's-providing i nternational  protection to those people who are forced to flee and the need to insist  on national protection of fundamental human rights .  This  volume i s  i nvaluable for a l l  those who h ave an i nterest in the area of ethnic confl ict, i m migration, and refugee related pol icy-making. Sudha Ratan Georgia Southern University 95 

[Review of] Crawford Young, ed. The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism: The Nation-State at Bay. And, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The State of the World\u27s Refugees: The Challenge of Protection

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1725&amp;context=ess

[Review of] Crawford Young, ed. The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism: The Nation-State at Bay. And, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The State of the World\u27s Refugees: The Challenge of Protection

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