Double Legitimacy Crises and Dynamics of Contention in Ethnic Democracies

• In Event: 467 - Regular Session. New Directions in the Study of the Dynamics of Racial and Ethnic Conflict

Abstract

Ethnic democracies constitute a specific type of segmented, composite regime, where different ethnic groups possess unequal citizenship rights. The possible effects of ethnic democracies upon the dynamics of contention remain largely unacknowledged and understudied. A comparative analytical framework is developed, anchored by the concept of legitimacy. It is argued that, in contrast to consociational democracies and authoritarian regimes, ethnic democracies’ responses to minority demands for equality are likely to de-legitimate authorities not only among ethnic minority groups, but also among dominant ethnic groups. Double-legitimacy crises encourage intense, extensive, violent, and prolonged contention. The case of civil rights contention in Northern Ireland between 1963 and 1972 provides preliminary support for this hypothesis. The analysis highlights the interplay between regime type and symbolic, cultural factors in shaping contention; the dialogical character of constructions of perceived political opportunities and threats by activists in dominant and minority-based movements; and the greater challenges that ethnic democracies face in responding to minority demands for political participation compared to other regimes, particularly in the context of high historic levels of ethno-nationalist contention.

Author

• Gregory Maney, Hofstra University