ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the general increase in sensitivity to the importance and relevance of intergroup relations in particular countries and worldwide. Various kinds of intergroup relations, while frequently addressed, tend to be analyzed with respect to very limited types of groups, resultant types of interaction, and analytical frameworks. Ethnic and racial groups tend to be focused on most often, ignoring a myriad of others, relations are frequently confined to ‘majority,’ ‘minority,’ or both, while types of interaction are generally limited to a continuum ranging from the more segregationist to the relatively assimilationist. Intergroup relations are often associated with violence and hostility related to an individual’s group memberships, given the general manner in which in-group solidarity may contribute to antagonism towards out-groups, particularly under threatening and/or other kinds of competitive conditions. Minority group status or diversity is often tied to intergroup tension, hostility, and conflict also, reflecting the manner in which ethnocentrism is present in any such situation.
