ABSTRACT
Ethnic census taking can increase attention around the shifting local balance between 'natives' and 'migrants'. Some scholarship has focused on the importance of institutionalization of ethnicity for ethnic violent conflict to arise. A number of studies of ethnic conflict have suggested that when ethnic groups grow at different rates, this may lead to fears of an altered political balance, potentially causing political instability and violent conflict. Despite often being mentioned as a potential driver of ethnic conflict, surprisingly few attempts have been made to systematically explore how and when institutionalizing ethnic identity and shifts in the ethnic balance can influence conflict behavior. A noticeable exception is Toft, who tests the differential growth propositions for a global time-series sample of countries. In critical junctures, differential population growth between groups could be translated into declines and increases in political power and thus be expected to result in armed conflict.
