Abstract: Of the models of political organization of states the most basic distinction is made between authoritarian and democratic regimes. The political conditions under which ethnic groups conduct their affairs in these two types of systems vary greatly. In democracies, ethnic groups participate along with other social groups in governing the country. In authoritarian politics, ethnic groups may hold the reins of power to the exclusion of other groups, they may be excluded completely from governance, or they may share in the governance of the country with other social groups. It is democracies, however, that provide the domain for the study of ethnic politics in this book...
