| Abstract: | Scholars such as Walker Conner have argued that ethnically based nationalism is likely to reinforce trends toward political fragmentation, particularly in the Third World, even as the momentum of integration and interdependence continue apace. There has been little or no discussion of the implications this sort of fragmentation poses for multi‐national states threatened with such disintegration. This article examines the problem from the vantage point of multi‐ethnic societies and from the perspective of the government's extractive capability vis‐a‐vis society. The exploratory data analysis suggests that ethnic cleavages alone may not constitute serious separatist potential without the presence of substantial systematic political discrimination. |
