• DOI:10.1162/isec.21.2.108
• Corpus ID: 57559698

Spiraling to Ethnic War: Elites, Masses, and Moscow in Moldova's Civil War

@article{Kaufman1996SpiralingTE,
  title={Spiraling to Ethnic War: Elites, Masses, and Moscow in Moldova's Civil War},
  author={Stuart J. Kaufman},
  journal={International Security},
  year={1996},
  volume={21},
  pages={108-138}
}

• S. Kaufman
• Published 23 January 1996
• Political Science
• International Security

I T h e continuing spread of ethnic violence seems set to replace the spread of communism as the central security concern in western capitals. Ethnic wars in Bosnia, Rwanda, Chechnya, and elsewhere frequently dominate the attention of policymakers and publics worldwide, and when top American officials say that ”instability” is the major worldwide threat to American national security, ethnic wars are largely what they have in mind. The impression created by such rhetoric is that ethnic war can happen anywhere, an impression reinforced by the wide range of places where such wars have recently occurred, from Chiapas to Croatia, Iraqi Kurdistan to Sri Lanka. There have been numerous attempts to explain the causes of these ethnic wars. One approach focuses on the role of mass passions or ”ancient hatred” in driving ethnic violence.’ A second theory suggests that inter-ethnic security dilemmas may be the key cause of ethnic war.’ A third approach blames ethnic wars on manipulation by belligerent leaders. However, by focusing on only one cause of conflict-whether hostile masses, belligerent leaders, or the security dilemma-many of these arguments create the false impression that where that one factor is present, ethnic war threatens. They therefore exaggerate the threat of ethnic war.