L'approche constructiviste de l'ethnicité et ses ambiguïtés

Abstract

In the second half of the 20th century, the constructivist approach gradually became the dominant paradigm for the analysis of ethnic phenomenon. This approach is opposed to a so-called “primordialist” approach of ethnic groups, and critique of the latter has become a mandatory step for studies in the field. In fact, most researchers comply with understanding ethnicity as the work of creating groups and maintaining borders between Us and Them. However a number of ambiguities and misunderstandings remain despite this consensus. The paper tries to shed light on these ambiguities by relying on the text of F. Barth (Introduction to Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, 1969), often quoted as the foundational moment of a constructivist approach, which is not, in itself, devoid of ambiguities.

Keywords

• Ethnicity
• constructivism
• Barth