Reexamining Instrumentalist Approaches to Ethnic Identification within a Comparative Context:.

Competition over scarce resources is frequently argued to lie at the heart of ethnic mobilization. Often embedded in this assertion is the belief that increased competition alters the instrumentality of group membership and can strengthen identification within an ethnic group when individuals perceive the group as an effective means for accessing goods. Collective identification then provides the solidarity necessary for its organization and mobilization. Despite the prevalence of instrumentalist approaches in the literature on ethnicity, little analytic attention has focused on whether, in fact, perceptions of group instrumentality do influence ethnic identifications. Using survey data from the multiethnic country of Mauritius, I address this issue by examining the relationship between political and economic instrumentalism and ethnic identification across ethnic groups. I find limited support for an instrumentalist approach as this approach explains only a modest amount of variance in ethnic identification. Moreover, significant differences emerge in forms and extent to which instrumentalism affects ethnic identification across ethnic groups. These results suggest a number of deficiencies in instrumentalist approaches to ethnicity and in approaches to ethnic mobilization that build on an instrumentalist premise. Possible amendments that may address these deficiencies and advance understanding of ethnic identification are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]