ABSTRACT

Several countries in Asia and the Pacific confront difficult challenges of ethnic conflict. Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New-Guinea, and Fiji have all faced serious bouts of ethnic violence, even allout civil war. In other countries, such as China or Malaysia, ethnic violence is seen as a serious possibility that can only be avoided by careful state control. The causes of these conflicts are disputed. Some scholars blame the lack of democracy; others argue that democratization is itself a major cause of ethnic conflict (Bell, 2002; Liddle, 1997; Ganguly, 1997; Wimmer and Schetter, 2002; Snyder, 2000). Proposals for resolving these conflicts are also contested. For some, the best hope lies in Westernstyle models of multiculturalism and minority rights. For others, these models are inappropriate, and the solution must instead be found in local models of ethnic accommodation.