ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors begin our examination of the cultures of the world by discussing various aspects of ethnicity — that is, ethnic identity as culture. As a source of cultural identification, ethnicity is second to none of the cultures of the world. The importance of ethnicity for politics, as well as for society, boils down to the role that three kinds of group play: ethnic groups, nations and races. To assess the impact of ethnicity on outcomes, one needs to specify and test a set of models which connect ethnic groups, nations or races with political, economic or social results on the basis of theory which establishes links between ethnicity and outcomes. The authors replace the discarded conception of race with the concept of language families. Interestingly, Weber argued early in the twentieth century that the concepts of nation and ethnic group are so vague that they hardly have any foundation at all.
