Examining the Role of Language in Ethnic Group Mobilization for Violent Contestation
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Civil Tongues: Examining the Role of Language in Ethnic Group Mobilization for Violent Contestation A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Department of Politics Eva R. Bellin, Advisor In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Maria Smerkovich May 2021 This dissertation, directed and approved by Maria Smerkovich’s Committee, has been accepted and approved by the Faculty of Brandeis University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of: DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Eric Chasalow, Dean Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Committee: Eva R. Bellin, Department of Politics Alejandro Trelles, Department of Politics Chandler R. Rosenberger, Department of Sociology Copyright by Maria Smerkovich 2021 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Eva Bellin, for poking at all the soft spots in my argument, offering reassurance and critique in equal measure, and for agreeing to see me through to the end. I am grateful to my committee members, Alejandro Trelles and Chandler Rosenberger, for engaging with my work in a meaningful way and offering insights where my own understanding was lacking. I would also like to thank Margarita Corral for her guidance and patience as I fumbled my way through the statistical analysis, as well as Rosanne Colocouris for her help, humor, and lifeline of snacks. Most of all, however, I thank my Director of Graduate Studies, Jill Greenlee, who picked up the can that her predecessors had kicked down the road and showed up for me. She cheered me on, advocated on my behalf, and nudged me in the direction of progress, always with kindness and no-nonsense honesty. Jill, I could not have done it without you. I am beyond grateful to those who loved and supported me through this process. To my parents, who never saw the point of this PhD but are proud of me anyway. To Marcel, who kept a roof over my head, made me laugh every day, and assured me that I could, in fact, do it. Thank you for loving me through all the whining. To Valerie, for being my life raft and partner in every endeavor, however ill-advised. To my Arad, RCNUWC, and Wheaton people for always feeling like home. Finally, to my undergraduate mentors, Jeanne Wilson and Darlene Boroviak, whose support and encouragement led me to graduate school in the first place. Thank you for believing in me. Pursuing this degree was soul-crushing in every way. Somehow, impossibly, mercifully it is done, and I am free. iv ABSTRACT Civil Tongues: Examining the Role of Language in Ethnic Group Mobilization for Violent Contestation A dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts By Maria Smerkovich How does language as an ethnic trait affect group mobilization for contestation against the state? Are linguistic groups less likely to engage in violence, and if so, why? Existing studies have shown religious groups to be particularly conflict-prone, owing to characteristics that stem from their distinguishing trait. Their insights have implications for linguistic groups. Unlike religion, language is adaptable; it is additive rather than substitutive, and amenable to change, so that group boundaries are less rigid, and members are able to traverse them. Additionally, groups marked by language lack the structure and normative content associated with religion. These characteristics limit their capacity for collective action. Consequently, organizations that operate within linguistic groups are expected to struggle with mobilization, particularly when looking to challenge the state using violent means. The dissertation adopts an integrative, mixed-method approach and proceeds in two parts. Part I looks to ascertain whether linguistic groups partake in violent and non-violent contestation at lower levels than racial and religious groups, and accomplishes this through quantitative analysis using the new AMAR dataset. Part II relies on qualitative tools and case studies to explain why linguistic groups are less likely to be violent. This portion of the dissertation considers how groups that are historically distinguished by language vary in terms of the centrality of language in their group identity, and the impact of said variation on their mobilization for violence. More v specifically, Part II analyzes the role of language in the frames of identity that organizations in linguistic groups use to appeal to fellow group members and rally them against the state. According to the proposed theory of language adaptability, violent organizations in language-centric groups are unable to argue that the state poses an existential threat to them because their ethnic trait is adaptable. As a result, they have a difficult time convincing co-ethnics to support their violent campaigns. Linguistic groups for whom language is a peripheral attribute are more hospitable environments for such campaigns, seeing as violent organizations in this context can anchor their identity frames in something 'stickier' than language and better approximate the appeals of their racial and religious counterparts. Part II of the dissertation consists of three case studies of linguistic groups that operate vis- a-vis the Spanish state: the Catalans, Basques, and Galicians. It examines violent organizations claiming to represent these groups during the Francoist dictatorship and through the democratic transition, and analyzes their experiences with mobilization for violence, paying close attention to their identity framing. The Catalan case serves as an example of a language-centric group that mobilized for non-violent contestation in pursuit of linguistic and cultural accommodation while rejecting violence. The Basque case demonstrates how a violent organization in a language- peripheral group can gain traction by reframing identity to exclude the language. The Galician case is an intermediate one, wherein the role of language in group identity is ambivalent; the gap between group proficiency and member attitudes towards the language resulted in little support for both violent and non-violent initiatives. These cases demonstrate the limited utility of the theory of language adaptability and identify avenues for further study. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 1.1 Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................................2 1.2 The Argument ......................................................................................................................7 1.3 Contributions and Implications ............................................................................................9 1.4 Dissertation Overview .......................................................................................................12 Chapter 2. Insights from the Literature on Ethnicity and Conflict ................................................17 2.1 The Nature of Ethnicity .....................................................................................................18 2.2 Ethnic Cleavages and Conflict ...........................................................................................22 2.3 Comparing Conflict Potential by Ethnic Trait ...................................................................26 Chapter 3. Theorizing the Effects of Language on Contestation ...................................................29 3.1 The Theory of Language Adaptability ...............................................................................31 3.1.1 Characteristics of Agency .........................................................................................33 3.1.2 Characteristics of Structure .......................................................................................35 3.1.3 The Normative Content of Identity ...........................................................................37 3.1.4 Implications for Contestation ....................................................................................39 3.2 The Centrality of Language ...............................................................................................46 3.2.1 The Centrality of Language in Identity Frames ........................................................49 3.2.2 The Mechanism .........................................................................................................51 3.3 Summary of Hypotheses ....................................................................................................59 vii PART I. Establishing the Trend: A Quantitative Study of Group Contestation by Ethnic Trait ...60 Chapter 4. Testing the Effects of Ethnic Traits on Violent and Non-Violent Contestation ..........60 4.1 Universe of Cases ..............................................................................................................61 4.2 Variables, Controls, and Methods ......................................................................................63 4.2.1 Dependent Variables .................................................................................................63 4.2.2 Independent Variables ..............................................................................................66 4.2.3 Control Variables ......................................................................................................71