Introduction: Government Policies and Ethnic Relations in Asia and the Pacific

Abstract

Ethnic problems are widespread in contemporary world affairs. They are troublesome at best; politically, economically, and socially disruptive as a general rule; and horrifyingly violent at worst. In this book, we seek to advance understanding of ethnic problems by analyzing government policies with respect to ethnic groups, ethnic issues, and ethnic conflicts in Asia and the Pacific. Our contention is that government policies almost always have a significant impact on the course and trajectory of ethnic relations in the country in question. Through neglect, by accident, and by design, they can push countries in the direction of instability, conflict, and inequity, on the one hand, or stability, harmony, and justice, on the other. However, the extent to which and the ways in which government policies can affect ethnic dynamics have not received much focused attention in research and scholarship on the subject, and government policies have not been examined from a broad comparative perspective.