ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part begins with the cultures of the world by discussing various aspects of ethnicity – that is, ethnic identity as culture. The most fervent versions of ethnicity occur in right-wing nationalism, but strong ethnic identification may also occur in liberation movements, conducted by ethnic groups. 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. Interestingly, Max 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. Admittedly the concept of race has almost entirely been discarded, but it may also be pointed out that groups with ethnic identities display varying degrees of compactness, from high with certain ethnic groups to low with races.
