Competition or colonialism?, an analysis of two theories of ethnic collective action

grantor: University of TorontoThe internal colonialism and ethnic competition theories provide contrasting predictions about the effect of cultural and economic characteristics on ethnic group collective action. Studies comparing the two theories have considered political mobilization by the Quebecois, the Flemish, the Basques, the Irish, the Scottish, and the Welsh. This dissertation re-examines these theories by using First Nation people's political mobilization at the band level in Canada from 1981-2000 as cases of ethnic collective action. To date, no study of these theories has used political mobilization by indigenous/Native peoples as cases. This study extends previous work on the internal colonialism and ethnic competition models in three important ways. First measures of the wider regional context (provincial location) within which the bands are located are included as variables. Second, in addition to cultural and economic characteristics, this study also includes socio-demographic characteristics of the bands. Third, this study measures the economic, cultural, and socio-demographic characteristics at the group level rather than at the regional level. Results from a series of negative binomial equations demonstrate that the most important predictors of band-level collective action between 1981 and 2000 are band population size, unemployment, previous events, and regional context. Some support is provided for the ethnic competition theory. Future studies of ethnic collective action should give greater consideration to socio-demographic factors, the time period, and the regional context within which political mobilization takes place.Ph.D