Chosen peoples: Why ethnic groups survive*

The persistence of ethnic communities is a neglected area of research. The study of ethnies over long time‐spans requires comparison of different patterns of ethnic survival, in terms of symbols and myths of ethnic election. Such myths can be found in the ancient Near East, in Judea, Greece, Armenia, Persia, as well as Byzantium, Russia and Western Europe, mobilizing and inspiring ethnic survival. Four main patterns of ethnic survival are outlined: imperial‐dynastic, communal‐demotic, emigrant‐colonist and diaspora‐restoration. In each case, modern nationalism reinforces and politicizes the old myths of ethnic election and its forms and intensity can be explained in terms of these patterns of ethnic survival.