Mobilization and the Marginalized

This chapter explores how, given an electoral opportunity in a multiethnic democracy, a marginalized group comes to be mobilized by ethnic parties in some cases and by multiethnic parties in others. It outlines the prerequisites for the mobilization of a marginalized group. It then describes how marginalization influences the process of mobilization by multiethnic and ethnic political parties. The chapter clarifies the relationship between two common forms of mobilization—social movements and political parties—and discusses the effects of the sequenced appearance of social mobilization of a marginalized ethnic group and its ethnic party.