ABSTRACT
The concepts of 'ethnicity' and 'nationality' each provide a lens through which to understand differences between groups of people. This chapter first focus attention on the theoretical underpinning of both ideas. This follows the modern precedent set by earliest twentieth-century republicans who embraced an i.e. of Chinese nationality divorced from ethnicity as the key to uniting China's diverse peoples. The post-World War II era has been characterised by the bourgeoning of nationalist movements across the world; particularly in the post-colonial nations of Africa and Asia, as well as the former Soviet Bloc. In this space, ethnicity, rather than race, has become the more favoured term used by anthropologists when categorising and comparing different human populations. The evolution of each term, from their initial conceptualisation and definition, to their acceptance and mainstream use, mirror each other in many ways.
