The Resolution of Ethnic Conflict: Towards a Typology

The set of policies adopted by states to deal with their ethnic minorities, ranging from genocide, population transfer, and boundary alteration to assimilation and accommodation, is presented in a typology. The nature of the policies adopted depends on such characteristics as the source of differentiation of the minority, its relationship to other groups in the state in demographic terms, the nature of the cultural division of labour, the tradition of the state in terms of its recognition of individual and group rights, and the state's autonomy in the international domain. The issue of which strategies are appropriate in dealing with ethnic questions is ultimately a political one.