Perils or Promise of Ethnic Integration? Evidence from a Hard Case in Burundi

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3198235
AutoresCyrus Samii (0000-0002-0823-1319, New York University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2013
Volumen107
Número3
Páginas558-573
Fecha de publicación2013-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0003055413000282
OpenAlexW3125959003
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas51
Referencias citadas56

A central question in the study of political development is how conflict between ethnic groups might be transcended. Findings from social psychology suggest that ethnically integrating institutions such as militaries or representative bodies may remove prejudices and exclusionary behavior that perpetuate interethnic animosity. Political scientists have tended to be skeptical, arguing that such processes may actually intensify or "freeze" conflicting ethnic identities. I use evidence from a hard case-military reform in the aftermath of a brutal, ethnically charged civil war in Burundi-to study this issue. At the macro level, the Burundian military undertook extensive quota-based integration that nonetheless resulted in a cohesive institution. A micro-level natural experiment, which produces quasirandom exposure to ethnic integration through the military retirement age, shows that exposure to ethnic integration decreases prejudicial behavior and is benign with respect to ethnic salience. Together, these results suggest promise in ethnic integration

Criminology · Development economics · Economics · Ethnic group · Institution · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Salience (neuroscience · Skepticism · Sociology · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology