Novel Methods to Compare the Condition of Minorities and Inter-Group Relations across Countries

Comparative politics has long grappled with the challenge of developing models and standards for good governance, particularly in the context of diverse demographic features such as age structure and communal heterogeneity. A significant gap in this field is the lack of comprehensive measures for comparing the relative empowerment of communal groups across different societies. While the field of heterogeneity research has developed several fractionalization and polarization indexes, as well as lists of communal groups, there remains a need for more nuanced measures of communal self-determination and co-determination. Notable projects like the Minorities at Risk and the Ethnic Power Relations have made strides in cataloguing minority groups and assessing their power-sharing positions, yet the aspect of self-determination, particularly non-territorial autonomies, has been insufficiently quantified. Current efforts have primarily focused on qualitative analyses, leaving a gap in quantitative measures that could provide a more comprehensive understanding of inter-group relations and the political strength of communal groups.

This Research Topic aims to develop and refine measures of communal self-determination and co-determination, with a focus on both territorial and non-territorial autonomies. The objective is to create new datasets and enhance existing ones to better capture the complexity of minority representation and inter-group relations. Specific questions include how to quantify non-territorial autonomies and assess the satisfaction of communal groups with their societal conditions. Additionally, the research seeks to explore the impact of external support on domestic communal groups and the role of minority representation in regional and local governments. By addressing these questions, the research aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of diversity governance and the sustainability of peaceful inter-group relations.

To gather further insights in the comparative analysis of minority conditions and inter-group relations across countries, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Development of typologies and quantitative measures for non-territorial autonomies
• Utilization of opinion surveys to assess group satisfaction and peacefulness of inter-group relations
• Comparing communal groups’ statuses through examination of objective indicators such as life expectancy, social mobility, and equality
• Analysis of minority representation in regional and local governments as measures of self-determination
• Exploration of the impact of external support, including kinstate and religious group support, on communal groups
• Comparative studies on diversity governance policies, their effectiveness, and their generalizability across different contexts
• Lists of international minority protection documents signed by the countries, revealing what values/policies have they committed to
• Levels/types of nationalism prevalent in countries.

Keywords: Comparative Politics, heterogeneity, communal groups, communal self-determination, co-determination

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.