An ethnic war is a war between ethnic groups often as a result of ethnic nationalism. They are of interest because of the apparent prevalence in the aftermath of the Cold War and because they frequently result in war crimes such as genocide. Ethnic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy from historical cultural or hereditary groupings (ethnicities); the underlying assumption is that ethnicities should be politically distinct. ... For the generic term for a high-tension struggle between countries, see cold war (war). ... A war crime is a punishable offense, under international (criminal) law, for violations of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... Look up Genocide in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Genocide is defined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) article 2 as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group...

Two controversial questions about ethnic wars is whether they have become more or less prevalent in the post-Cold War period and whether they are really about ethnicity at all. Actual research shows that the fall of Communism and the increase in the number of democratic states were accompanied by a sudden and dramatic decline in total warfare, interstate wars, ethnic wars, revolutionary wars, and the number of refugees and displaced persons [1]. Communism refers to a theoretical system of social organization and a political movement based on common ownership of the means of production. ... An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Revolutions. ... Power lines leading to a trash dump hover just overhead in El Carpio, a Nicaraguan refugee camp in Costa Rica Under international law, a refugee is a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her...

There are a number of political scientists who refer to the concept of ethnic wars as a myth because they argue that the root causes of ethnic conflict do not involve ethnicity but rather institutional, political, and economic factors. These political scientists argue that the concept of ethnic war is misleading because it leads to the conclusion that certain groups are doomed to fight each other when in fact the wars between them are the result of political decisions. Opposing groups may substitute ethnicity for the underlying factors to simplify identification of friend and foe.

A classic example of the reformulation of economic differences as ethnic differences is found in Rwanda. In a 1930s census, all people owning ten or more head of cattle were classified as Tutsi; everyone else was classified as Hutu.

See also: Identity politics, ethnic conflict in India, List of ethnic conflicts triggered by the U.K. Identity politics is the political activity of various social movements which represent and seek to advance the interests of particular groups in society, the members of which often share and unite around common experiences of actual or perceived social injustice. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... This is a list of ethnic, religious, or racial conflicts that have occurred in parts of the world that were once part of the British Empire. ...

Books

• Ethnic Groups in Conflict by Donald L. Horowitz, ISBN 0520227069

Journals

• Ethnopolitics (http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/17449057.asp)

Websites

• Ethnopolitics (http://www.ethnopolitics.org)
• European Centre for Minority Issues (http://www.ecmi.de)
• Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka (http://www.genocide.org.uk)