Culture VIII – Ethnic Conflict

Why Do Ethnicities Clash?

1. Competition to dominate nationalitya) Ethiopia and Eritreab) Sudanc) Somalia

2. Dividing ethnicities among more than one state

a) India and Pakistan

Ethiopia and Eritrea

• Ethiopia• Eritrea• Civil War – 1961-1991– 665,000 Eritrean

refugees fled to Sudan– 1991 Eritreans defeated

Ethiopia and became independent

• Border disputes

Sudan• South – black Christians and animists• North – Arab Muslims (control gov’t)• Civil War – 1980s-2005– 2 million (5%) dead– 1 million refugees

• Darfur – 2003– Janjaweed – Arab nomads w/gov’t support– 450,000 dead (est.)– 2.5 million refugees– Genocide?

Somalia

• 9 million people, six ethnic groups, mostly Sunni Muslims

• Civil War – 1991-2006– Gov’t collapsed– Somaliland declared independence– 300,000 dead from famine and warfare– Islamist took control

• 1992 – US sent troops– Huge debacle– 1994 US withdrew

India and Pakistan• 1947 – End of colonial

rule in India• Creation of East and

West Pakistan• Forced migration in the

late 1940s

Ethnic Cleansing

• What is it?• What is its purpose?• Two major examples– Yugoslavia– Rwanda

Yugoslavia

• Creation – unite several Balkan ethnicities– “Yugoslavia has seven neighbors, six republics, five

nationalities, four languages, three religions, two alphabets, and one dinar”

• Breakup of Yugoslavia in to five states based on five republics– Problem came in Bosnia (considered an ethnicity,

not a nationality)

Ethnic Groups in the former Yugoslavia

Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia

• Ethnic groups– Bosnian Muslims – 48%– Serb – 37%– Croat – 14%

• Serbs and Croats fought to unite the portions of Bosnia with Serbia and Croatia

• Ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims to create a homogeneous population to be united w/Serbia or Croatia

• Dayton Accords – 1996– Divided Bosnia & Herzegovina into three regions

• Bosnian Serbs – ½ of country• Bosnia Croats – ⅓ of country• Bosnian Muslims – ¼ of country

Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo

• Southern Serbia – 90% ethnic Albanian• Albanians maintained control under Tito• Breakup of Yugoslavia Serbia took over control

of Kosovo• Ethnic cleansing of ethnic Albanians by Serbs – 1999 – 750,000 refugees (out of 2 million total)– NATO– UN

Balkanization

• Balkanized– Small geographic area that cannot be successfully

organized b/c of numerous ethnic groups– Led to WWI

• Balkanization– Process by which a state breaks down through

conflict among its ethnicities

Ethnic Cleansing in Rwanda• Ethnic groups– Hutu (85%) – farmers – Tutsi (15%) – cattle herders

• Colonial rule– Germany and then Belgium

• Independence – 1962– Hutus killed or ethnically cleansed Tutsis

• 1994– Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi

assassinated– Hutus ethnically cleanse Tutsis and

moderate Hutus• 800,000 dead in 100 days

Ethnic Boundaries vs. State Boundaries