ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the classics from sociology and anthropology, such as Max Weber and Frederick Barth, but also contemporary theories such as Craig Calhoun's conceptualization of the nation as a discursive formation. It highlights differences between essentialism/primordialism and modernism, describes ethnic elites' strategic essentialisms, outlines in greater detail the concept of groupism in order to then demonstrate how it manifests itself in the approaches to ethnic conflict of neo-realism, neo-liberalism, and systemic constructivism. The book summarizes the effects of groupism, and focuses on the writings of Robert Cox, Michel Foucault, Jaques Derrida and Pierre Bourdieu hypothesizes on the motives behind it. The prominence of International Relations in accounts of ethnic conflict stems from the widely held perception of the discipline to be most qualified to explain issues of war and peace in the international arena.