Global survey of state policies on ethnic and religious diversity
The project REGIMES OF ETHNICITY (Regimes of ethnicity: A global database of ethnic demography and survey of state policies on ethnicity) endeavoured to gauge the relationship between ethnicity and nationality as reflected in state policies. Data collection involved administering a survey involving 15 specific policy areas to country experts. A total of 2 663 experts on ethnic politics were identified for 173 countries (population above 250 000), and 485 surveys were completed covering 172 of these countries. Swaziland was the only country that did not submit an expert survey by project end. The research team compiled ethnic demographic information from five authoritative sources for the 173 countries, producing 865 country-specific ethnic demographic data tables. The completed surveys contained 7 275 policy-specific data points, which were tabulated into a master Excel sheet. A review of each country's related constitutional provisions helped in the evaluation of state policies toward ethnic diversity and religion. Two books have been published: 'Regimes of Ethnicity and Nationhood in Germany, Russia, and Turkey' (in English) and 'Turkey's Identities: Religion, Language, Ethnicity, Nation, State, and Civilization' (in Turkish). A proposal for a third book, 'The Handbook of State Policies toward Ethnic and Religious Diversity: A Global Survey', is currently under review. Work involved detailing the varied responses of different experts on state policies toward ethnic and religious diversity in six countries, including at least one from Africa, America, Asia and Europe. Six sample country reports were prepared that evaluate the totality of state policies toward ethnic and religious diversity in each country. REGIMES OF ETHNICITY has made a significant contribution to the comparative study of state policies toward ethnic and religious diversity in Turkey (the project's host country). The work also enabled important knowledge transfer between Turkey and other countries in the European Research Area (ERA) as well as non-associated third countries.
Keywords
State policies, religious diversity, ethnic demography, ethnicity, ethnic diversity
