Why are some multiethnic countries more prone to civil violence than others? Dr Manuel Vogt’s new book, Mobilization and Conflict in Multiethnic States (2019), examines the occurrence and forms of conflict in multiethnic states. Focusing on the long-term legacies of European colonialism, the book presents two ideal-typical logics of ethnic group mobilization—one of violent competition and another of nonviolent emancipatory opposition.
Manuel introduces a theory that explains not only why ethnic groups rebel but also how they rebel. It shows that in extremely unequal societies, conflict typically occurs in non-violent forms because marginalized groups lack both the resources and the opportunities for violent revolt. In contrast, in more equal, but segmented multiethnic societies, violent conflict is more likely.
This exciting new work provides an empirical focus on both violent and non-violent conflict, combining statistical analyses with evidence from field research in four different countries, including over 150 in-depth interviews with key political and social actors.
Manuel is associate professor in the Department of Political Science at University College London (UCL). He is also the co-director in global security of UCL's Global Governance Institute and an affiliated researcher in the R4D project “Ethnic Power Relations and Conflict in Fragile States,” funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
