The Political Economy of Ethnic Mobilization: Comparing the Emergence, Consolidation and Radicalization of Ethnic Parties in Post-Colonial Sri Lanka and Malaysia

Abstract

By focusing on the emergence, consolidation, and radicalization of ethnic parties in Sri Lanka and Malaysia, I show that the degree of inter-ethnic violence in the political mobilization of ethnic minorities in these post-colonial democracies results from the strategic interaction between ethnic group political leaders and individual ethnic members subject to existing organisational constraints and the existence of tangible and material selective incentives. Put differently, ethnic parties will radicalize their strategies and turn to violence when their mobilization drives have been captured by critical masses of supporters whose economic well-being depends on control over the state and the material resources it can allocate.

Keywords: ethnic party, mobilization, ethnic conflict, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, nationalism, political economy

JEL Classification: d72, d74, p16