The Moral Economies of Ethnic and Nationalist Claims

Bringing together international experts on ethnicity and nationalism, this book argues that competing moral economies play an important role in ethnic and nationalist conflict. Its authors investigate how the beliefs and practices that normatively regulate and legitimize the distribution of wealth, power, and status in a society – moral economies – are being challenged in identity-based communities in ways that precipitate or exacerbate conflicts. The combination of theoretical chapters and case studies ranging from Africa and Asia to North America provides compelling evidence for the value of moral economy analysis in understanding problems associated with ethnic and nationalist mobilization and conflict.

Bruce J. Berman is professor emeritus of political studies at Queen’s University and was director and principal investigator of the Ethnicity and Democratic Governance Project, 2006-12. Andre Laliberte is professor of political studies at the University of Ottawa. Stephen J. Larin is a senior researcher with the Institute for Minority Rights at the European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano (EURAC), Italy. Contributors: Yasmeen Abu-Laban, Leslie Doucet, Oded Haklai, Lotte Hughes, Emma Hunter, Manuel Litalien, and Gabrielle Lynch