At a time when states, armed insurgent movements, and ethnic and nationalist political parties make claims based on the defence of communal interests and political and religious ideologies – with often deadly consequences – it is important to understand the discourses and actions that are used to legitimize these claims. This book argues that competing moral economies – the beliefs and practices that normatively regulate and legitimize the distribution of wealth, power, and status in a society – play an important role in ethnic and nationalist conflict.

Bringing together international experts on the politics of ethnicity and nationalism, this final volume in the prestigious EDG series investigates how moral economies have been challenged in identity-based communities in ways that precipitate or exacerbate conflicts. The combination of theoretical chapters and case studies ranging from Africa and Asia to North America provides compelling evidence for the value of moral economy analysis in understanding problems associated with ethnic and nationalist mobilization and conflict.

Bruce J. Berman's profile page

André Laliberté's profile page

Stephen J. Larin's profile page

Bruce J. Berman is a professor emeritus of political studies at Queen’s University and was director and principal investigator of the Ethnicity and Democratic Governance Project, 2006-12.

André Laliberté is a professor of political studies at the University of Ottawa.

Stephen J. Larin is a senior researcher with the Institute for Minority Rights at the European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano (EURAC), Italy.

Contributors: Yasmeen Abu-Laban, Leslie Doucet, Oded Haklai, Lotte Hughes, Emma Hunter, Manuel Litalien, Gabrielle Lynch