Field:
    Comparative Politics and Methods (Comparative Ethnicity)

Dissertation Title:
    Ethnicity and Institution-Building in Africa

Committee:
    Thomas Schwartz (Chair), Kathleen Bawn, and Deepak Lal (Economics)

Date of Completion:
    June 2007

Contact Information:
    Jean G. Tompihé
    UCLA Political Science Department
    4289 Bunche Hall
    Los Angeles, California 90095-1472
    Phone: 310-825-4331
    Fax: 310-825-0778

Curriculum Vitae:
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Dissertation Summary:
    My dissertation, Ethnicity and Institution-Building in Africa, observes that the state’s author­ity is undergoing a historic transformation in many parts of Africa. Some states are struggling to overcome internal conflicts based on ethnic divisions. But Africa’s pre-colonial past reflected relatively harmonious coexistence between most tribes. What has caused the historic condition of comity to break down? Competing explanations for the political importance of ethnicity on the continent have ranged from deep cultural history to instrumentalism linked to the structural components of ethnic networks. My dissertation examines instead how the difference in degrees of institutionalization of postcolonial bureaucratic rule affects choice of identity and the extent to which the intensity of ethnic feelings is shaped. I argue that African states fraught with political authority based on selective patronage are more likely to generate ethnic conflict than those which had more institutionalized, bureaucratic rules. I test my argument, first, by process tracing the overlooked postcolonial bureaucratic rule in which nation-building was often superimposed on selective patronage. I then use a tripartite research methodology, in which statistical, formal, and narrative accounts are mutually supportive to investigate the interplay among preferences, strategies, institutions, and the political outcomes of ethnicity.

Research Interests:
    As ethnicity is increasingly influencing the developmental paths of many societies, domestically as well as within inter-nation relations, I have extended my research agenda and teaching interests to Ethnicity in an International Context, broadly embracing statehood, nationalism, and religious fanaticism embedding terrorism, with special emphasis on Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. My research agenda emphasizes the rule of law, more precisely the bureaucracy by exploring conditions under which the discretionary power of bureaucratic institutions could shape identity choice or mitigate its importance for political decision-making.

Teaching Interests:
    Comparative Ethnicity and Nationalism, Ethnic Conflicts, Contemporary African Politics, Institutional Dynamics and Behavior, Political Economy of Development, New Democracies Formal Theory, Quantitative Methods.