ETHNONATIONAL REBELLIONS AND VIABLE CONSTITUTIONALISM

Pioneering work by Karl Deutsch on the dynamics of nationalism, rooted in its evolution as a modern European phenomenon, helped to pave the way for an understanding of the post-imperial development of ethnonati onalist movements in contemporary states of the Second and Third World s. The eruption of such movements in multi-ethnic societies is a moder n and growing phenomenon. It reflects both the widespread acceptance o f self-determination as a democratic ideal and the availability of con temporary communications technology, organizational skills, and weapon s of mass violence. The brutal realities of authoritarianism and anarc hy in many countries contradict the hopes raised by modern dreams of d emocracy and economic prosperity. In this context, we need to understa nd that viable systems of constitutional government-where power is exe rcised responsibly and effectively-offer the only hope that ethnonatio nal violence can be replaced by the nonviolent politics of ethnic comp etition. External interventions designed to resolve violent communal c onflicts are less likely to succeed than are systemic transformations that replace authoritarianism with constitutional governance-but both pose a huge challenge to the will and capabilities of the more advance d industrial democracies.