It is hard to avoid seeing ethnicity, race, or nationality wherever one looks. Differences in education, income, and health are often patterned along ethnic or racial lines. But how do we disentangle discrimmation and preferences for certain groups from the everyday working of labor markets and educational institutions or privileging family members or those with similar educational backgrounds? Drawing on a boundary-making perspective first championed by anthropologist Fredrick Barth, Andreas Wimmer introduces a new comparative theory of ethnicity. It explains precisely how and why ethnicity matters in certain societies and contexts but not in others, and why it is sometimes associated with inequality and exclusion, with political and public debate, with closely-held identity, while in other cases ethnicity, race and nationhood do not structure the allocation of resources, invite little political passion, and represent secondary aspects of individual identity. Wimmer argues that when ethnic and racial differences matter they matter because of institutional incentives, differences in power, and pre-existing social networks. Wimmer first provides a broad overview of different ethnic configurations around the world, outlines the new theory, and proposes a set of research designs based on non-ethnic units of observation. Next, he draws on these methods to demonstrate how the utility of the boundary-making approach through a qualitative study of immigrant ethnicity in Switzerland, a network analysis of racial and ethnic boundaries of U.S. college students on Facebook, and a statistical analysis of cultural values in the European Union.

Why did the nation-state emerge and proliferate across the globe? How is this process related to the wars fought in the modern era? Analyzing datasets that cover the entire world over long stretches of time, Andreas Wimmer focuses on changing configurations of power and legitimacy to answer these questions. The nationalist ideal of self-rule gradually diffused over the world and delegitimized empire after empire. Nationalists created nation-states wherever the power configuration favored them, often at the end of prolonged wars of secession. The elites of many of these new states were institutionally too weak for nation-building and favored their own ethnic communities. Ethnic rebels challenged such exclusionary power structures in violation of the principles of self-rule, and neighboring governments sometimes intervened into these struggles over the state. Waves of War demonstrates why nation-state formation and ethnic politics are crucial to understand the civil and international wars of the past 200 years.

It is hard to avoid seeing ethnicity, race, or nationality wherever one looks. Differences in education, income, and health are often patterned along ethnic or racial lines. But how do we disentangle discrimmation and preferences for certain groups from the everyday working of labor markets and educational institutions or privileging family members or those with similar educational backgrounds? Drawing on a boundary-making perspective first championed by anthropologist Fredrick Barth, Andreas Wimmer introduces a new comparative theory of ethnicity. It explains precisely how and why ethnicity matters in certain societies and contexts but not in others, and why it is sometimes associated with inequality and exclusion, with political and public debate, with closely-held identity, while in other cases ethnicity, race and nationhood do not structure the allocation of resources, invite little political passion, and represent secondary aspects of individual identity. Wimmer argues that when ethnic and racial differences matter they matter because of institutional incentives, differences in power, and pre-existing social networks. Wimmer first provides a broad overview of different ethnic configurations around the world, outlines the new theory, and proposes a set of research designs based on non-ethnic units of observation. Next, he draws on these methods to demonstrate how the utility of the boundary-making approach through a qualitative study of immigrant ethnicity in Switzerland, a network analysis of racial and ethnic boundaries of U.S. college students on Facebook, and a statistical analysis of cultural values in the European Union.

Nationalism and the prevalence of ethnic conflict are features of contemporary politics. Many commentators have viewed such conflicts as a return to some primitive impulse. Andreas Wimmer's book argues that nationalism is in fact characteristic of the modern world, deriving from the nature of the state. He argues that the nation-state rests on membership of a particular ethnic or national group, and the exclusion of non-members, creating the potential for conflict. Containing detailed studies of Mexico, Iraq and Switzerland, this is an original contribution to a topical debate.

Das Buch fuhrt einen neuen Begriff von Kultur als Prozess des Aushandelns von Bedeutungen ein und plausibilisiert diesen in einer Reihe von empirischen Studien."

Nationalism and the prevalence of ethnic conflict are features of contemporary politics. Many commentators have viewed such conflicts as a return to some primitive impulse. Andreas Wimmer's book argues that nationalism is in fact characteristic of the modern world, deriving from the nature of the state. He argues that the nation-state rests on membership of a particular ethnic or national group, and the exclusion of non-members, creating the potential for conflict. Containing detailed studies of Mexico, Iraq and Switzerland, this is an original contribution to a topical debate.

Why did the nation-state emerge and proliferate across the globe? How is this process related to the wars fought in the modern era? Analyzing datasets that cover the entire world over long stretches of time, Andreas Wimmer focuses on changing configurations of power and legitimacy to answer these questions. The nationalist ideal of self-rule gradually diffused over the world and delegitimized empire after empire. Nationalists created nation-states wherever the power configuration favored them, often at the end of prolonged wars of secession. The elites of many of these new states were institutionally too weak for nation-building and favored their own ethnic communities. Ethnic rebels challenged such exclusionary power structures in violation of the principles of self-rule, and neighboring governments sometimes intervened into these struggles over the state. Waves of War demonstrates why nation-state formation and ethnic politics are crucial to understand the civil and international wars of the past 200 years.

A new and comprehensive look at the reasons behind successful or failed nation building Nation Building presents bold new answers to an age-old question. Why is national integration achieved in some diverse countries, while others are destabilized by political inequality between ethnic groups, contentious politics, or even separatism and ethnic war? Traversing centuries and continents from early nineteenth-century Europe and Asia to Africa from the turn of the twenty-first century to today, Andreas Wimmer delves into the slow-moving forces that encourage political alliances to stretch across ethnic divides and build national unity. Using datasets that cover the entire world and three pairs of case studies, Wimmer's theory of nation building focuses on slow-moving, generational processes: the spread of civil society organizations, linguistic assimilation, and the states' capacity to provide public goods. Wimmer contrasts Switzerland and Belgium to demonstrate how the early development of voluntary organizations enhanced nation building; he examines Botswana and Somalia to illustrate how providing public goods can bring diverse political constituencies together; and he shows that the differences between China and Russia indicate how a shared linguistic space may help build political alliances across ethnic boundaries. Wimmer then reveals, based on the statistical analysis of large-scale datasets, that these mechanisms are at work around the world and explain nation building better than competing arguments such as democratic governance or colonial legacies. He also shows that when political alliances crosscut ethnic divides and when most ethnic communities are represented at the highest levels of government, the general populace will identify with the nation and its symbols, further deepening national political integration. Offering a long-term historical perspective and global outlook, Nation Building sheds important new light on the challenges of political integration in diverse countries.

Das Buch fuhrt einen neuen Begriff von Kultur als Prozess des Aushandelns von Bedeutungen ein und plausibilisiert diesen in einer Reihe von empirischen Studien.

Diplomarbeit aus dem Jahr 2008 im Fachbereich Pflegewissenschaften, Note: 1, Veranstaltung: Facharbeit, ''Kurs 71, Weiterbildung Intensivpflege," 13 Quellen im Literaturverzeichnis, Sprache: Deutsch, Anmerkungen: Zusatzlich wurde ein Nachtrag dazugefugt. die Arbeit wurde als "sehr gut" und uberdurchschnittlich lange fur eine Facharbeit in der CH, bewertet., Abstract: Beim jahrlichen Fluchtlingstag in Dornbirn/Osterreich war ich als Zuschauer anwesend. Es gab dort einen Tisch auf dem lauter Kartchen ausgelegt waren, auf denen Dinge aufgeschrieben standen wie: Schuhe, Geld, Ausweis, Kleidung, Familie, Haus, ...Ich wurde aufgefordert mir funf Dinge auszusuchen, die ich auf eine Flucht mitnehmen wurde. Zwei Kartchen musste ich sofort wieder zuruckgeben. Anschliessend musste ich durch einen Tunnel kriechen in dem unterschiedlichste Hindernisse zu uberwinden waren, wie ein Stacheldraht, Stuhle, Ecken. Danach kam ich in ein Schlauchboot und mir wurde ein Film prasentiert, wie ich zusammen mit 30 Schwarzafrikanern zusammengepfercht im Schlauchboot sitze und in Spanien nachts sofort von der Kustenpolizei aufgegriffen werde. Ich kam dann in ein Fluchtlingslager und fand mich vor einem Schreibtisch wieder. Hinter dem Schreibtisch waren Plakate aufgehangt in einer mir nicht bekanten Schrift und Sprache. Die Dame hinter dem Schreibtisch sprach wild, in einer fremden Sprache auf mich ein und das einzige was ich verstand war: your passport please ." Ewig lang wartete ich dann, dass es weitergehen wurde. Zum Gluck war fur mich alles nur ein Spiel und ich durfte weitergehen, fur MigrantInnen, die als Patienten in unseren Intensivstationen behandelt werden, konnte diese Fluchtgeschichte Realitat gewesen sein. In meiner schriftlichen Arbeit mochte ich mich mit MigrantInnen in der Intensivstation beschaftigen. Immer wieder habe ich beobachtet, dass es zu Missverstandnissen, Aggressionen und Vorurteilen im Umgang mit auslandischen Patienten kommt. Um hinter diese Missverstandnisse, Ag

Ethnic conflict is the major form of mass political violence in the world today, and it has been since World War II. Dramatic acts of terrorism and calculated responses to them may distract the attention of policymakers and the public, but ethnic and nationalist conflict continues to pose the greatest challenge to peace and security across the globe. Causes of such conflict and ideas about how to address it are hotly debated in the literature that has emerged over the past fifteen years. This volume offers a unique overview of research and policy approaches to ethnic conflicts. It is the first book to bring together experienced policymakers and key scholars from all disciplines. They debate how to best understand the rise and escalation of ethnic conflict, assess different strategies for peacemaking, mediation, and reconciliation, and evaluate the prospects for conflict management through institutional design. In contrast with a more enthusiastic assessment of the willingness and capacity to successfully intervene in ethnic conflict, this volume documents the new realism that has emerged over the past decade. It recognizes the complex and protracted nature of such conflicts and demands a multifaceted, case-by-case approach sustained by long-term political engagement. Published in co-operation with the Center for Development Research, University of Bonn.