Ethnic inequalities and public sector governance

Using empirical data and a typology that divides countries according to their levels of ethnic polarization, the book discusses the links between ethnicity, inequality and governance. Its findings suggest that it is not the existence of diversity per se, but the types of diversity that explain potentials for conflict or cohesion in multiethnic societies. Relative equality has been achieved in the public sectors of countries that are highly fragmented or those with ethnicity-sensitive policies, but not in those with ethnicity-blind policies. The book is critical of approaches to conflict management that underplay background conditions in shaping choices. Ethnic Inequalities and Public Sector Governance will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and students in the field of ethnic conflict, public policies, development studies, governance and politics. Practitioners concerned with ethnic diversity and conflict management will also find the book useful.