ABSTRACT
The management of ethnic confl ict, either by local elites or external actors such as individual states and international organisations, rarely results in the resolution of the confl ict or the dissipation of rival ethnic claims and grievances. Confl icts characterised by ethnic and cultural rivalries are the most common types of confl ict, most notably in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe (Bercovitch and Fretter 2004, 46; Wallensteen and Sollenberg 1999). The signifi cance of a group’s ethno-cultural identity cannot be dismissed as a guise to power-seeking. Depending on their historical and geographical experiences, ethnic groups are highly diverse in their aspirations and claims. Minority groups within existing political communities may seek access to power and equal rights (for example, Israeli Arabs), indigenous groups such as the Mayans and the Chiapas may resist attempts by the state to assimilate them, whereas the Basque people can be described as ethnonationals who strive for self-determination and even independence (Gurr 2000). Most contemporary confl icts need external assistance in order to be brought under control, and accordingly such strategies of confl ict management may involve diplomacy (for example, negotiation and mediation), legal methods (arbitration, adjudication) and even the use of military force. However, due to the intricate nature of some ethnically generated confl icts, we may at best hope to manage, or regulate them, rather than resolve them. Accordingly confl ict management can be defi ned as the limitation, mitigation and containment of confl ict without necessarily solving it. Importantly, confl ict management is distinct from confl ict resolution, where the emphasis is placed on resolving the underlying incompatibilities which have caused the confl ict, rather than simply containing them. Confl ict management and resolution are separate but related mechanisms which need to be used at different stages in the ‘confl ict cycle’; managing a confl ict may take a long time and must foster conditions which are amenable to the successful resolution of the confl ict (Tanner 2000).
