Ethnic Movements and the Competition Model: Some Missing Links

The competition model of ethnic resurgence and the relevant evidence are critically examined. We note the absence of direct measures of competition in the research on ethnic movements and the mixed nature of the evidence it produced. More important, the model does not specify the links between competition and conflict. We offer a partial reformulation that stresses the necessary conditions under which ethnic competition leads to ethnic conflict: (1) competition must be perceived as unfair and (2) competitive relations must be relatively free from interdependence. The reformulation also stresses that the main objects of competition in recent ethnic movements have not been individual goods like jobs, but larger collective goods. As amended, the model is compatible with the internal colonial and the split labor market models, as well as with the so-called contact hypothesis. Some hypotheses from the model are tested using data on Québec's independence movement. Competition leads to mobilization only when competition is perceived as unfair and it occurs in a context of low ethnic interdependence. We then explore the relevance of these findings for other situations.