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Review Essay: Review Essay: Montserrat Guibernau and John Rex (eds), The
Ethnicity Reader. Nationalism, Multiculturalism and Migration. Cambridge: Polity
Press, 2010 (2nd edn), 348 pp. Steve Fenton, Ethnicity. Cambridge: Polity Press,
2010 (2nd edn), 248 pp
Mette Andersson
Acta Sociologica 2011 54: 195
DOI: 10.1177/0001699311403112

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Review Essay
Acta Sociologica
54(2) 195–198
Review Essay ª The Author(s) 2011
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DOI: 10.1177/0001699311403112
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Montserrat Guibernau and John Rex (eds), The Ethnicity Reader. Nationalism, Multiculturalism and Migration.
Cambridge: Polity Press, 2010 (2nd edn), 348 pp.
Steve Fenton, Ethnicity. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2010 (2nd edn), 248 pp.

Reviewed by: Mette Andersson, University of Bergen, Norway

Polity Press published two second-edition volumes on ethnicity last year. One – a reader – has 33
chapters with original text essays, a general introduction and short introductions to eight main sections;
the other is an introduction to studies of ethnicity in sociological research and theorizing. I begin by
commenting on the reader before turning to the textbook.
The Ethnicity Reader is organized in two parts: part I on ethnicity and nationalism and part II on
multiculturalism, migration and racism. In the editors’ general introduction to the reader, the debt to
Max Weber, as the first sociologist taking ethnicity and nationalism seriously as sociological concepts,
is central. Weber’s ideas of the historical constitution of ethnic groups and his focus on ethnic groups as
political communities are emphasized. The reader’s main concepts and debates on their definitions are
introduced and related to the present-day challenges of migration and multiculturalism.
The first section of The Ethnicity Reader addresses the concept of ethnicity. Here, key texts from
Max Weber, Anthony D. Smith, Rogers Brubaker and Thomas Hylland Eriksen are introduced. The
selection of texts is good and representative of both older and newer perspectives and of a specific
sociological take on ethnicity. The second section, ‘Ethnicity and Nationalism’, includes texts from
nationalism theorists Benedict Anderson, Ernest Gellner and Eric Hobsbawm. These are essential
contributions in a section on nationalism, but it would have been more interesting if they had been
supplemented with a chapter written from a more specific sociological perspective. Section three
focuses on ethnicity and violence, and here more complex taxonomies and empirical cases illustrate
the theoretical chapters. The spatial and historical contexts of ethnic wars and ethnic violence are
stressed and illustrated in two contributions. The chapter on state collapse and the rise of identity pol-
itics in Iraq, by Toby Dodge, shows how it was the state collapse in Iraq that led to sectarianism and
not the other way round. The chapter on Somaliland by Mark Bradbury is also interesting, explaining
why Somaliland, compared to the chaotic situation in Somalia, succeeded in becoming an indepen-
dent state in 1991.
The final section of part I contains six chapters on ethnicity and self-determination from different
parts of the world: Catalonia, Scotland, Quebec, Galicia, first nations in the USA and Kurds in Iraq and
Iran. Although all cases are relevant for the theme of self-determination of nationality or ethnicity
groups, some of the chapters suffer from too descriptive analysis. Among the best chapters in this section
are those on Galicia by Ramon Maı́s and on first nations in the USA by France Wilmer. Both chapters
give a historical and contextual analysis of the interplay between ascriptive identification/political force
from the central state and self-identification and political mobilization in ethnic groups/nations.
The second main part of the reader, ‘Multiculturalism, Migration and Racism’, contains five main
sections – the first entitled ‘Multicultural and Plural Societies’. In a chapter on the concept of a multi-
cultural society, John Rex asks what multiculturalism means compared to similar concepts such as

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196 Acta Sociologica 54(2)

equality in anti-racist politics and the concept of ‘plural society’ as used by anthropologists to define
colonial societies (where the private/communal dimension was separated from the market place, and
where one group was dominated by another). Rex argues that appeals to differential treatment in the pub-
lic domain might move away from what he sees as the multiculturalism ideal: that no individual should
have any more/less right than another or a greater/lesser capacity to operate in this world of conflict on
the grounds of his/her ethnic category. According to Rex, differential treatment of minority groups in the
public domain may lead to conditions similar to those characterizing the colonialist plural society. The
next chapter, by anthropologist Leo Kuper, deals with the concept of plural societies and introduces two
models – an equilibrium model and a conflict model. Bhikhu Parekh, a political scientist, introduces
three theses that he considers pivotal for multiculturalism as a perspective and way of viewing human
life: (1) human beings are culturally embedded; (2) cultural plurality is inescapable and desirable; and
(3) each culture is plurally constituted. Parekh argues that in order to reach this (normative) type of mul-
ticultural society, political and social rights for ethnic and religious minority groups must be gained. The
fourth and last chapter in the concept section, written by Tariq Modood, focuses on the situation for
British Muslims. Modood’s main argument is that Muslims nowadays are using the same political means
that Blacks and women have used earlier but that are seen differently by the authorities. Whereas
Blacks and women were seen as challenging existing power structures (and feminists the private–public
distinction) in secular society, Muslims are seen as a challenge to Western secularism itself.
Section 6, on citizenship, assimilation and multiculturalism, has five chapters, three on the USA,
one on Germany and one on China. Will Kymlicka’s chapter is a modern ‘classic’ in this field and
a necessary contribution in any reader on citizenship and multiculturalism. Samuel Huntington’s arti-
cle on the Hispanic challenge to American identity is a more debatable inclusion. Yet, given the lively
debate following Huntington’s earlier ‘clash of civilization’ thesis, the editors should be commended
for including works representing a much criticized contribution to the field. Richard Alba and Victor
Nee are well-established migration and ethnicity scholars, and their contribution about the need to
rethink assimilation theory is apt. The final two chapters in this section are more empirical, focusing
on Germany and China. Both are interesting, and add important contextualization to the often general
Western debate on multiculturalism.
In section 7, on migration in the global age, the first article introduces different theories on causes of
migration in a condensed form. An article by Douglas Massey and his co-writers giving a multi-level and
updated overview of the main theories in the field is an excellent introduction for newcomers in this
research field. The chapter by James Clifford on Diasporas is important in another sense, i.e. as a critique
of taxonomic definitions of Diasporas and as an original comparison between immigrant minority groups
and autochthonist groups/first nations when it comes to the transnational dimension. The last chapter of
the section, by Li Minghuan, deals with the history of international migration from China with a specific
view on migrant brokers. Minghuan brings life to the historical changes by providing fieldwork data
from migrants’ home villages.
The last section of The Ethnicity Reader addresses racism and xenophobia and has three chapters, all
by well-known scholars of race and racism. Michel Wieviorka’s chapter on racism in Europe starts by
distinguishing between four positions in the debate about the relationship between modernity and
racism. In the contemporary (1990s) European context, he argues that two main levels of racism are
operative: (1) weak, inarticulate forms where opinions and prejudice are more xenophobic populist than
racist; and (2) political racism as witnessed in the growth of extreme right populist parties. Stephen
Steinberg’s chapter on the relationship between liberals and race issues in the USA since the 1960s con-
tains an historical analysis of the turn from race to class in what he calls the liberal camp. The Moynihan
report (first published in 1965), blaming the Black family for its own position, started a longer trend
where liberal scholars and politicians refused to see race, what Steinberg describes as ‘the willful color
blindness of the liberal camp’. In the final chapter in the section, Etienne Balibar takes another position
on the relationship between race and class. Whereas Steinberg, based in the American context, argues
that race and racism must be seen as related to white hegemony, and not just to class structure, Balibar
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states that racism has class bases both historically and in the present. He argues that racist representations
of history from the outset stand in relation to the class struggle, and that class racism in the first part of
the nineteenth century was transformed into nationalist racism. Taking issue with those who too readily
put the blame on the working class for present-day racism, Balibar argues that there are constant rela-
tions of reciprocal determination between nationalism and racism and between class racism and ethnic
racism. He concludes that nationalism necessarily takes the form of racism.
Briefly, The Ethnicity Reader is a well-balanced introduction to some of the main scholars and the-
ories of ethnicity, nationalism, ethnic violence, multiculturalism and racism. The book makes it easier
for sociology students to grasp theoretical positions within their own discipline, although there are some
flaws. Unfortunately, some of the examples in the general introduction are not sufficiently updated.
German citizenship, for example, is described as based on the principle of jus sanguine. Although his-
torically correct for the last century, Germany actually changed its citizenship laws in 1999 to become
one of the very few European states allowing double citizenship. Moreover, since most of the empirical
articles are on a macro-level and written by anthropologists and political scientists, some empirical chap-
ters by sociologists – covering micro- and meso-level analyses of ethnicity, multiculturalism and/or
nationalism – would have improved the reader for a sociological audience. One definite improvement
for the next edition would be the inclusion of an alphabetical list of contributing authors. I would also
suggest that each article contained a reference to when the article or book excerpt was published orig-
inally. As of now, the ‘thanks to publishers’ list has to be scrutinized to find this important information.
Steve Fenton’s Ethnicity, a textbook aimed at students of ethnicity, covers theories and empirical case
studies from the fields of ethnicity, nationalism and race, and includes an introductory chapter and nine
chapters on specific themes. Many of the chapters draw on research and theories from the USA, but
European and Asian contexts (specifically Malaysia, where Fenton himself has done fieldwork) are
included. Central sociological themes and methodologies, terminology and intersections between the con-
cepts and theories of ethnicity, nationalism and race are discussed in the introductory chapter and in the
first ordinary chapter. In chapter 2, ‘The Demise of Race: the Emergence of Ethnic’, a historical perspec-
tive is employed covering changes in terminology in sociological and anthropological debates on minority
and migrant groups. In the next chapter, Fenton introduces and criticizes the so-called ‘primordialism’
debate in ethnicity studies for being based on strawman argumentation (against Clifford Geertz) and a mis-
understanding of the original meaning of the term ‘primordial’ as first introduced by Edward Shils. This
chapter argues convincingly against any simplistic distinction between rationality and emotions. Chapter 5,
introducing the debate on competition theory in the US, illustrates the fruitful method of using debates as
learning material for students. Throughout Ethnicity we are introduced to central and updated theoretical
debates in ethnicity studies, illustrated by well-chosen empirical cases presented and discussed in regard to
the debates. In the chapter on migration, for instance, Fenton presents newer studies and theoretical
arguments countering the simple assimilation model often used in earlier research on the integration of
second-generation immigrants. Other chapters include discussion on the relationship between a global
economy, precarious states and ethnic conflict, and on ethnic majorities and nationalism in Europe.
In my opinion, the book has two main ordering principles, both relating to Fenton’s inspiration from
the pioneering work of Max Weber (an inspiration shared by The Ethnicity Reader editors). One of these,
which he outlines more clearly in the concluding chapter, is that any development of ‘a unitary theory of
ethnicity is a mirage, as is the search for an ultimately precise definition of ethnicity and ethnic groups’.
Ethnicity formation, ethnic conflict and exclusion, in other words, must always be researched in their
historical and spatial contexts. The other ordering principle of the book is Fenton’s position in the recent
debate on realism and constructivism in sociology.
Thus the emphasis on what has been called ‘constructionism’ in the sociology of ethnicity is nothing
more than the good application of a standard sociological theorem: what is seen to be natural by actors is
understood by sociologists as socially construed (p. 85). In arguing that constructionism is a standard
procedure in sociology as a discipline, Fenton takes issue with those (‘realists’) who seem to argue that
constructionism is to be understood as a specific post-modern or post-structural invention. But he also
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198 Acta Sociologica 54(2)

kicks in the other direction, criticizing researchers who dismiss any claims to truth and reality as false.
He therefore takes a middle position in a debate that has been central in a contemporary sociological
climate inclined to take issue with the different post-isms, and flirts with the realism proposed by the
natural sciences. The great achievement of this book is that Fenton, apart from introducing students
to central debates in ethnicity studies, also manages to locate distinctions between ethnicity theories
to more general sociological debates. One example is his take on the already mentioned ‘primordialism’
debate, where he argues that throughout the history of sociology there has been a conceptual opposition
between the idea of rationality and calculation and an idea of affect, sentiment and emotion.
Both The Ethnicity Reader and Ethnicity are valuable teaching tools for undergraduate students,
and the more so if they, or a similar combination of a reader and an introductory textbook, are used
together. In the Scandinavian context, where ethnicity, race and nationalism are themes seldom taught
in obligatory courses in sociology departments, Fenton’s book is especially valuable because it links
these themes to wider and well-known sociological debates. However, the overweight of empirical
chapters and discussions of cases from the North-American context in both books needs to be supple-
mented with teaching texts based on the Northern European context.
As early as in 1936, Louis Wirth noted that nationalism research had attracted a great body of scholars
and produced an enormous amount of literature, but that no general sociological study of nationalism
existed. Seventy-five years later the situation remains the same. In the present world climate, where
migration, multiculturalism and religion are on everybody’s lips, it is crucial for sociology students
to be aware of how these themes are linked to previous and contemporary nationalisms. These two books
are relevant and welcome contributions in such efforts.

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