The policies of a country play an integral part in understanding the basic principles by which society is guided, as well as how a government determines courses of action for the population. The...Show moreThe policies of a country play an integral part in understanding the basic principles by which society is guided, as well as how a government determines courses of action for the population. The focus of this thesis falls on the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, and their relationship with the Chinese government and ethnic policies. Additionally, the way these policies specifically target the Uyghur minority and the effects they have on the group’s assimilation into the core Chinese society. This requires the analysis of three policies implemented by the Chinese government which directly influence the Uyghur population; language, education and child bearing policies.Show less
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, tensions between Estonians and ethnic Russians in Estonia have exacerbated due to the controversial language policy. Having Estonian as the only official...Show moreSince the collapse of the Soviet Union, tensions between Estonians and ethnic Russians in Estonia have exacerbated due to the controversial language policy. Having Estonian as the only official language is proven to be discriminatory towards Russians with low Estonian language skills. This manifests itself in employment and education outcomes that are vital for members of ethnic minorities to avoid being marginalised by society. This paper discusses the likeliehood of each of the pathways of segmented assimilation theory (upward, downward and upward mobility combined with biculturalism) occuring within different regions of Estonia.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
2017-08-01T00:00:00Z
Since the proliferation of democratizing countries in Africa, ethnic conflict has also increased. One of the explanations for this phenomenon is that ethnicity become politicized when democratic...Show moreSince the proliferation of democratizing countries in Africa, ethnic conflict has also increased. One of the explanations for this phenomenon is that ethnicity become politicized when democratic institutions are installed, and ethnic cleavages are widened, creating more conflict. In order to temper conflict and stabilize the democratization process it is sometimes needed to use undemocratic tools, such as party bans. While sometimes banning an ethnic party leads to less conflict, sometimes it also leads to more. This thesis will explain how a party ban will decrease conflict when it is based on old, existing law or regulation and accompanied by other institutional arrangements giving incentives for inter-ethnic cooperation and promote cross-cutting cleavages. Two cases of party bans in Mauritania and two cases in Nigeria are used to explain the mechanism of the causal effect between party ban and conflict level.Show less
