THE DISCOURSE OF ETHNICITY IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The importance of ethnicity as a force shaping human affairs, as a phenomenon to be understood can no longer be denied. Ethnicity is in the center of politics in almost every country, a potent source of challenges, conflicts and international tension. Nevertheless, we are only at the early stages of understanding this complex phenomenon. For some of us, ethnicity is a sense of belonging or attachment to a particular kind of group. For others, ethnicity is a social construct or a rational personal choice. One recent view treats ethnicity above all as a cognitive process. Therefore, the aim of our paper is to analyze the discourse of ethnicity in different social theories of international relations. Using as main research methods content analysis and comparative methods, we try to examine how different theories explain the force of ethnic discourse and the major role of ethnicity on the contemporary international stage. Likewise, we try to predict the main specific features of ethnic discourse in the 21st century. Thus, ethnicity and ethnic discourse have become a magnet for researchers and elites who try to explain and understand world affairs.