Dr. Nahrain Bet Younadam is the President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Arizona. She will give a talk titled "Regional Autonomy and Ethnic Protests: Consequences of Autonomy on Regional Ethnic Minority Protests" as part of the Social Sceince and Global Studies Research Colloquium Series.

Abstract: Do regional ethnic minorities protest under systems with autonomy arrangements? Current research finds non-violent ethnic movements increase under autonomy arrangements, but the literature makes assumptions about which ethnic groups protest. Almost every region with some degree of autonomy has regional ethnic minorities not formally recognized, represented, or empowered. Exclusion of regional ethnic minorities from regional-level government may create grievances that mobilize ethnic protests. To test whether autonomy arrangements increase ethnic protests by regional ethnic minorities I use data on 186 regional ethnic minority groups across 83 countries between 1985-2006. My research finds autonomy arrangements and decentralized governance increased political grievances, economic grievances, and protests by regional ethnic minority groups. The findings highlight important nuances to the regional autonomy project: while autonomy arrangements increase access to power for regional ethnic majorities, they may simultaneously increase political challenges for regional ethnic minority groups.

Questions can be directed to Dr. Sharon Young at sharon.young@usm.edu.