Ethnic Accommodation and the Backlash From Dominant Groups

Bibliographic Data

ID10071489
AuthorsAndreas Juon (0000-0003-1803-6688, University of Fribourg, corresponding author)
Year2025
Publication date2025-05-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00220027251343836
OpenAlexW4410618398
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited54

When does the accommodation of subordinate ethnic groups generate a backlash from the politically dominant group? I argue that power-sharing, regional autonomy, and multiculturalism lend themselves to the articulation of grievances and fears among members of dominant groups, especially if they explicitly recognize subordinate groups’ collective identities. In turn, nationalist parties can exploit such sentiment to organize protests, incite violence, and increase their electoral prospects. To test these arguments, I combine new monthly data on ethnic accommodation in 125 multi-ethnic electoral regimes between 1990 and 2018 with information on dominant group mobilization in anti-government protests and communal violence. I find systematic increases in dominant group mobilization around times when group-based accommodation is first introduced or expanded. These results enhance our understanding of mass mobilization by dominant ethnic groups. Moreover, they point to concrete proposals to reap the benefits of ethnic accommodation while avoiding a potentially destabilizing backlash against it

Accommodation · Backlash · Demographic economics · Economics · Ethnic group · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Computer Science · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology

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