Ethnicity_Reflection Memo

In our last class we discussed the concept of ethnicity applied to a number of African conflicts. A very interesting question was raised about the real meaning of ethnicity as something given or not. My personal point of view on this is that it is considered normal that everybody should identify their own ethnicity as it is usually assumed as given at birth and fixed. However, ethnicity is different from race, as the latter refers only to physical characteristics, such as the colour of our skin, while ethnicity is also about the language we speak, the culture and religion we associated to, our ancestry and nationality. We can change the societal, cultural and religious factors we relate to over time, but we cannot do the same with our race as it is linked to biology. Therefore, I believe that even if it is indeed given at birth, it is fluid and can be transformed. Individuals may decide to identify themselves with something different from what their parents transmitted to them, or a person can have more than one ethnicity and struggle to fit in just one category, as for the case of inter-marriages that one of my classmates noted. It is composed of several features that are not mutually exclusive, but instead, mutually reinforcing. Thus, the concept of ethnicity can be understood only through the dynamics of its construction, or dissolution and subsequent reconstruction.

People may be incentivized to change their original ethnicity because of social stigmatisation or alienation. It is time and context dependent, earned or created, subjective and objective at the same time. In fact, I find very interesting how this subjective feature of the ethnic concept comes together with the objectivity of its historical and ancestral foundations, which cannot be changed. Ethnic groups might be constructed and mobile, but they are indeed real as they unite individuals in light of their shared identity, and mark categories through which others will identify them. They have a solid historical base, on which are further strengthened or transformed. The concept of ethnicity embodies values, aspirations and behaviours that reflect how we experience and see the world around us. We use the concept to categorize how we see others, to understand how others see us, and even to imagine what it is like to be someone else. It has implications on our identity formation and links our present to past generations and to a place. These associations affect how we think of others who identify with the same ethnicity: it provokes a positive feeling of membership and sharing for someone belonging to the same group, but suspiciousness and precaution towards those who we categorize as others. 

Thus, ethnicity matters for individuals and for the State as well. Not only it shapes individuals’ identity, but it also helps understand inequalities and injustices, and devise policies. This brings me to the second topic that I would find interesting to discuss: how is it possible to address ethnic conflicts if we deny ethnicity itself? In fact, it is surprising that those who consider ethnicity to be a problem and a causative factor of civil wars are also those who believe that it is something created and manipulated exclusively for personal interests, for example to acquire political legitimacy through the support of a specific ethnic group or by building solidarity across classes. However, creating an identity goes far beyond drawing boundaries to exclude from the group those who do not belong. Instead, it is about bringing together values, cultures, and traditions to make it easier for individuals to associate and relate to a group. It stems from the African colonial experience, when the population was deculturized in the attempt to weaken them and make them more vulnerable to the Europeans’ will. With this said, it is easy to conclude that ethnic groups are indeed real and even rational. In many African realities the population identifies more with a tribe rather than with the State, which is seen as something out of touch as it was brought from outside and imposed to them. For this reason, the concept of ethnicity is exploited for political purposes, hence more than a problem itself, it may be a problem for a specific someone.

Implicating that ethnicity itself is a source of instability for African states assumes that it is a negative force and the cause of underdevelopment in these countries. It was brought up in class that the least diverse states in Africa, such as Rwanda or Burundi, are among the most problematic ones, which leads to the conclusion that ethnic diversity is not a sufficient condition for civil war to occur. One can still prefer a member of their own ethnic group without having to mistreat outsiders. I agree with the idea that ethnic diversity is not a problem, but instead it is the State and the current narrative of African conflicts that are abusing the concept. It might be a constructed term, something that individuals can reject and change, but as it is indeed a key aspect of African identity, managing diversity should focus on the idea of positive self-development rather than self-denial, given how important it is for people to create an identity that does not translate into marginalisation or into a threat to others.