ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the specific types of societies in terms of ethnic homogeneity and heterogeneity, and the patterns of ethnic stratification. It argues that the interaction between all the processes has led to a restricted number of type's maybe an ethnic differentiation and stratification. One of the most important historical forms of domination of one ethnic-national group over another was slavery. It seems appropriate to discuss shortly the issue of the new Iron Curtain between South and North also from the perspective of historical sociology; this provides some additional surprising and highly significant insights. The German-Swiss sociologist H. J. Hoffmann-Nowotny has coined the term Unterschichtung for this process. In East and South East Europe, the breakup of several states and the emergence of new ones in recent times occurred mostly along linguistic borders. Given the contradictory situation, a pressure emerges for governments to control immigration and to accept only necessary 'welcome' immigrants but to prevent undesired and illegal immigration.
