Historical Violence and Ethnic Homogeneity

• In Event: Ethnic Inequality and Exclusion

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of historical violence on ethnic homogeneity levels. It posits that higher levels of historical violence are associated with higher ethnic homogeneity through two mechanisms. First, historical violence may influence contemporary ethnic identity formation. That is, historical violence may change individual attributes (e.g., language, religion) – whether through forced or voluntary adoption of those attributes – that are used as contemporary ethnic markers. Second, historical violence may influence population movement that results in more contemporary homogenous populations. Using 0.5 x 0.5 decimal-degree PRIO grids and ethnic settlement data, a measure for the number of ethnic groups present per grid is generated and regressed on the level of historical violence in each grid. Analyses using negative binomial, OLS, and logit regression models demonstrate a consistent relationship between historical violence and higher levels of ethnic homogeneity at the 0.5 x 0.5 grid level. The study advances extant studies on the relationship between historical violence and state stability with its geographically disaggregated unit-of-analysis and focus on ethnic homogeneity levels.

Author

• Brandon Ives, Seoul National University