| Public policy impact depends not simply on policy implementation, but on the interaction between policy and society. A clear example of the centrality of the policy/society interaction can be seen when examining the effect of ethnic preference policies on ethnic conflict.; Ethnic preference policies grant economic, cultural or political preferences to individuals based on their ethnicity. There is considerable debate over whether such policies inhibit or exacerbate ethnic conflict. This study demonstrates that how ethnic preference policies affect ethnic conflict is contingent upon whether policy content, ethnic group nature and societal values have similar goals.; Ecological theories of conflict assert that competition between ethnic groups stimulates ethnic conflict and reducing ethnic competition mitigates ethnic conflict. Reduction of competition can be accomplished through either integration or separation of groups. Integration eliminates ethnic differences through assimilation, and separation reduces interactions between groups which frame ethnic competition.; Ethnic preference policies can mitigate ethnic conflict by facilitating the integration of ethnic groups into dominant society, or through separation by affirming and enhancing group identities and boundaries. Policy impact varies depending on which type of policy is applied toward which type of ethnic group. Higher or lower conflict levels are the result of interactions between different types of preference policies, multicultural or assimilationist, different types of ethnic groups, primordial or instrumental and the group or individual orientation of society.; I examine six countries and nineteen ethnic groups in a comparative case study methodology leading to qualified confirmation of the hypotheses and demonstrating how policy/society interaction determines policy impact. |
