Ethnic Conflict as a Social Phenomenon - Reasons and Anatomy of Conflict

Abstract

The world today is characterized by multi-ethnic states: 82% of all independent countries in the world have two or more ethnic groups in their national composition. Most notably, the hallmark of the countries from Eastern and Southeastern Europe is their ethnic and cultural heterogeneity. Complex historical processes that took place in the past in these regions created states with ethnic diversity in their national structure. These processes resulted in intense inter-ethnic mixing.