Cooperation within multi-ethnic states

This chapter looks at a small slice of the issue, namely the question of promoting cooperation within multi-ethnic states and what can be done in practice to promote integration. Many inter-ethnic and even inter-state conflicts have been caused by violent attempts to impose the nation-state ideal on the multi-ethnic reality. Tension and even violent conflict are often created when one group wants to shape the state in its image or when a minority group wants to determine its own fate to the point of secession. A perception of insecurity within one ethnically defined community may fuel concern and create agitation in other communities within the state. The fragmentation of Yugoslavia in the 1990s illustrated the power of ethnicity and nationalism and the threat they pose to security and cooperation. In a democracy, majority opinions prevail. But that does not mean that one should discount the views of minorities.