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Nationalities Papers
The Journal of Nationalism and Ethnicity
Volume 31, 2003 - Issue 2
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Original Articles

Ethnic Social Distance in Kyrgyzstan: Evidence from a Nationwide Opinion Survey

Pages 177-210 | Published online: 19 Aug 2010

References

  • Dobson , Richard . 1995 . "Kyrgyzstan in a Time of Change," . Central Asia Monitor , : 19 – 27 . For an in-depth discussion, see
  • Akiner , Shirin . 1997 . Central Asia: Conflict or Stability and Development , 23 – 28 . London : Minority Rights Group .
  • Richard Dobson, ibid.
  • Elebayeva , A. , Omuraliev , N. and Abazov , R. 2000 . "The Shifting Identities and Loyalties in Kyrgyzstan: The Evidence from the Field," . Nationalities Papers , 28 ( 2 ) : 343 – 349 . For details on this important research conducted in Bishkek, see
  • 1999 . Social Realities of South Kyrgyzstan , Bishkek : Institute of Regional Studies .
  • Pettigrew , T. F. and Meertens , R. W. 1995 . "Subtle and Blatant Prejudice in Western Europe," . European Journal of Social Psychology , 25 : 57 – 75 . In our view, these prejudices regarding ethnic outgroups may be subtle or blatant prejudices depending on the specific measurements used within a given societal context. For example, Professors Pettigrew and Meertens argue that "blatant prejudice involves opposition to intimate contact with the outgroup. This anti-intimacy component focuses upon an emotional resistance against any intergroup sexual contact or intermarriage." See However, their conceptual viewpoint focuses on the negative notion of opposition rather than the positive notion of acceptance. In the latter case, it seems to us that failure to accept or to endorse a close relationship is perhaps a more subtle form of prejudice.
  • Huskey , E. 1992 . "Kyrgyzstan: The Politics of Economic and Demographic Frustration," ” . In Nations and Politics in the Soviet Successor States , Edited by: Bremmer , I. and Taras , R. New York : Cambridge University Press . The urban--rural dynamic in Kyrgyzstan is possibly more important in shaping views of social status than in influencing ethnic relations. As Eugene Huskey noted, "Potentially the most serious division among the Kyrgyz runs along urban-rural lines. The urbanized quarter of the ethnic Kyrgyz population has appropriated the language and at least some of the cultural values of the Russians," while among the rural Kyrgyz there has been a rise of atavistic nationalism and pride in traditional Kyrgyz values. See However, in our research, urbanicity has no systematic, statistically significant impact on how Kyrgyz view Uzbeks.
  • McIntosh , Mary E. , MacIver , Martha Abele , Abele , Daniel G. and Nolle , David B. 1996 . "Minority Rights and Majority Rule: Ethnic Tolerance in Romania and Bulgaria," ” . In Ethnic Conflict in the Post-Soviet World: Case Studies and Analysis , Edited by: Drobizheva , Leokadia , Gottemoeller , Rose , Kelleher , Catherine McArdle and Walker , Lee . 36 – 66 . Armonk , NY : M. E. Sharpe . As Mary Mclntosh et al suggest, there are competing arguments about the link between ethnic composition of a community and ethnic relations within that community. One camp argues essentially that familiarity breeds contempt, or "the greater the density of a minority population in a certain area, the higher the degree of prejudice." The other camp posits that close proximity of ethnic groups fosters understanding among those groups. In other words, "majority group members who live in close proximity … with minority group members are less prejudiced than those who are without this kind of contact." Initially, it seemed the latter case held truer in Kyrgyzstan. For a more detailed discussion, see
  • Olcott , Martha Brill . 2001 . "Revisiting the Twelve Myths of Central Asia," . Working Paper of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Russian and Eurasian Program , September
  • Billiet , J. , Scheepers , P. and Eisinga , R. 1995 . "Ethnocentrism in the Low Countries: Opinions on Own' and Other' People in The Netherlands and Flanders" . paper presented at the Second Conference of the European Sociological Association . August 31 1995 , Budapest . For details, see
  • Rose , Richard and Maley , William . 1994 . Nationalities in the Baltic States: A Survey Study , Glasgow : Center for the Study of Public Policy, University of Strathclyde . For an empirical overview of the situation in the Baltic states in the mid-1990s, see
  • Bogardus , E. S. 1959 . Social Distance , Yellow Springs , OH : Antioch Press .
  • Robinson , J. P. , Shaver , P. R. and Wrightsman , L. S. , eds. 1999 . Measures of Political Attitudes (Vol. 2 of Measures of Social Psychological Attitudes) , 335 – 343 . New York : Academic Press . For a recent review of the copious literature on this scale, see
  • McCutcheon , A. L. 1987 . Latent Class Analysis , 45 Newbury Park , CA : Sage .
  • Clogg , C. C. and Sawyer , D. O. 1981 . "A Comparison of Alternative Models for Analyzing the Scalability of Response Patterns," ” . In Sociological Methodology 1981 , Edited by: Leinhardt , S. 240 – 280 . San Franciso : Jossey-Bass . All of the Guttman scale models used in this paper were derived from latent class analyses estimated by using C. C. Clogg's computer program called Maximum Likelihood Latent Structure Analysis (MLLSA), which was incorporated into the Categorical Data Analysis System (Version 3.50) developed by S. R. Eliason in 1990. All of the computations were based on a series of cross-tabulations involving the weighted frequencies in the eight cells of a three-way cross-tabulation of the three items (marriage, neighbor, friend) referring to a specific ethnic outgroup (for example, Uzbeks) within each ethnic group (for example, Kyrgyz). The statistical basis for the development of the models was taken from two seminal articles:
  • Clogg , C. C. and Goodman , L. A. 1986 . "On Scaling Models Applied to Data from Several Groups," . Psychometrika , 51 ( 1 ) : 123 – 135 .
  • Brewer , M. B. 1968 . "Determinants of Social Distance among East African Tribal Groups," . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 10 ( 3 ) : 279 – 289 . M. B. Brewer's early work on social distance in Africa provides the best example of the need to check the scalability of various points on a social distance scale when one applies this sort of scale in a different cultural context. Her initial assumption that sharing a meal with a member of an ethnic outgroup was a more intimate social relationship than having an outgroup member as a neighbor was completely undermined by a crude Guttman scale analysis which revealed the exact opposite. She concluded that this result was not surprising "if it is realized that, traditionally, visiting strangers were treated to meals and that such hospitality was an important factor in a tribe's prestige." For details, see

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