Re-making the majority? Ethnic New Zealanders in the 2006 census

Abstract

The national census is often seen as a site of struggle for minorities seeking recognition and equality. Much less is known about the conditions under which ethnic majorities are galvanized to stake identity claims in the census. This article examines recent trends in New Zealand where an increasing number of people from the dominant New Zealand European group are redefining themselves as ethnic New Zealanders. Drawing from the literature on ethnic boundaries, we theorize the factors underlying the surge in New Zealander identification, and present census data to demonstrate its selective appeal. We also review patterns of national naming in North America and Australia to show that the New Zealander phenomenon reflects a broader shift by settler state majorities to reimagine their identities. The implications for ethnic counting in other contexts are briefly considered.     

The uncounted: Citizenship and exclusion in the Israeli census of 1948

Previous research on official statistics, and the national census, has established the role of these practices in the construction of modern political institutions, particularly the state and citizenship. Studies have described the use of statistics in transforming a territorial population into a citizenry, but have not examined the role of the census in the exclusion that is an essential element in the constitution of citizenship. Based on a case study of the Israeli national census and registration of 1948, we discuss the use of this census to legitimate an ethnic/national exclusion at the heart of Israeli citizenship. It is this task that explains the peculiar features of our case: a census carried out in wartime, under a 7-hour general curfew.     

The failure of the importation of ethno-racial statistics in Europe: debates and controversies

The 2010 census round has shown a significant growth in the number of countries collecting ethnic and racial data as a consequence of the increasing consciousness of their internal ethnic diversity and to implement more active equality policies addressing ethno-racial discrimination. However, Europe is not part of this dynamic: almost nothing has changed on the ethnic statistics’ frontline in between the two census rounds. This article addresses some of the justification for the enduring resistance of “statistical blindness” to ethno-racial diversity in Europe, locating it mainly in the strategy to erase race from the public sphere as a leverage to combat racism. The limits of this strategy in the context of mass migration from former colonial empires where racial subordination and classification have been produced and developed are discussed. Europe should ultimately face its past domination (rebranded but still active today) without silencing its consequences.     

Collecting ethnic group data for inpatients: is it useful?

Since April last year British hospitals have had to collect data on the ethnic group of every patient. Patients must categorise their own ethnic group using the categories of the 1991 census. Claire Hilton argues that such data collection is unhelpful and will not meet its stated aim of helping to provide equitable access to NHS services for all ethnic groups. Self categorisation is unreliable, and the number of ethnic groups available is inadequate, in particular for the white population. Additional data on the size of each ethnic group in the local population and on rates of illness in particular groups are necessary to assess whether services are being provided equitably. Moreover, ethnicity is a multidimensional concept, and information on patients'' language and cultural and religious practices, as well as their place of origin, is necessary if services are to be culturally sensitive.     

Core values and cultural identity

This article examines racial classifications on United States population census schedules between 1890 and 1990 to provide insights on the changing meanings of race in US society. The analysis uses a sociology of knowledge perspective which assumes that race is an ideological concept that can be interpreted most productively by relating its definition and measurement to the larger social and political context. Four themes are identified and discussed: (i) the historical and continuing importance of skin colour, usually dichotomized into white and non‐white, in defining race and counting racial groups; (ii) a belief in ‘pure’ races that is reflected in a preoccupation with categorizing people into a single or ‘pure’ race; (iii) the role of census categories in creating pan‐ethnic racial groups; and, (iv) the confusing of race and ethnicity in census racial classifications. Each theme demonstrates the potential or actual role of official statistics, exemplified by census racial data, in reflecting and guiding changes to the meaning and social perceptions of race. A detailed examination of racial classifications from the 1980 and 1990 Censuses shows that the influence of political interests on racial statistics is particularly important. The article concludes with a discussion of whether official statistical recorders such as population censuses should categorize and measure race, given the political motivations and non‐scientific character of the classifications used.     

Warlords,priests and the politics of ethnic cleansing: a case-study from rural Bosnia Hercegovina

There is a tendency among social scientists and others to interpret the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia Hercegovina as the result of a political policy carefully orchestrated from above and systematically carried out. Whatever eruptions of war violence might deviate from this interpretation are generally viewed as primitive balkanism, pointless acts, banditism or mental aberrations. Terms of this kind reflect an uncritical acceptance of a central or national leader perspective, dismissing as deviant everything that fails to go according to plan, and denying the significance of specific local and regional circumstances or failing at any rate to problematize and examine them. This article describes a process the final result of which can be seen as the ethnic homogenization of a region, but only part of its dynamics can be attributed to a policy implemented from above. Rather, its course can largely be traced back to local vendettas and a long-standing conflict between Franciscan friars and diocesan priests. The case illustrates that a systematic study "from below" is crucial to a better understanding of the dynamics and the developmental logic of the processes of ethnic cleansing. The article concludes with some theoretical thoughts which fit into the current debate on civilizing and decivilizing processes.     

云南玉溪地区人口的性比

对云南玉溪地区1982年人口普查时的性比(男:女100)进行了分析,发现:(1)玉溪地区总人口的性比(99.22)比全国的(106.3)低,0—4岁与5—9岁儿童的性比(103.45与102.9)也比全国的(107.15与106.24)低。(2)傣族的性比特别低,其0—14岁儿童的性比为98.54;回族的性比也较低,其0—14岁儿童的性比为101.22;汉族0—14岁儿童性比则为104.16。(3)“大跃进”与“国民经济暂时困难”时期出生的人(20—24岁)性比特别低,仅为92.30,而且按民族,县,及城、乡分别统计时均有同样趋势。这一情况在全国人口性比统计中也得到证实。作者估计,这可能是当时自然流产增多造成的。(4)玉溪地区解放以来总人口性比不断增高,1953年为88.70,1964年为94.94,1982年则为99.22。(5)城镇人口的性比(156.48)比农村的(95.86)高得多,这与全国各地区相同。     

Identity change in Bashkortostan: Tatars into Bashkirs and back

Students of ethnic identity have recently begun to recognize the role of the state in causing identity shift. Constructivists, in particular, focus on the importance of state institutions and policies in creating new identities and transforming old ones. This article focuses on identity creation and change in Bashkortostan, an ethnic region within the Russian Federation. It shows how, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Russian/Soviet state created new ethnic identities from pre-existing regional, estate-based and religious identities. It also shows how later changes in state institutions and policies played a crucial role in determining the direction of identity change among a mixed population, straddling the geographical and cultural boundaries between the Tatar and Bashkir ethnic groups. By tracing the impact of the state on one ethnic group over an extended time-period, this article shows that state actions can lead to both instrumental and culturally-based shifts in ethnic identity.     

Long term monitoring of mammal populations in the Serengeti: census of non-migratory ungulates, 1971*

Long term parallel studies on animal populations can give information on problems concerning population regulation, competition and predation. So far only two populations in the Serengeti have been studied in this way. To initiate long term studies on several ungulate species an aerial transect census was carried out in 1971. The methods of counting and the statistical analysis are described in detail so that future workers can repeat the census. The results are presented for impala, topi, kongoni, giraffe, waterbuck, eland and buffalo male groups. Based upon the confidence limits of the samples, it is suggested that the next census be carried out in June 1974.     

Plants in Starter Culture for Brewing Traditional Liquor of Miao Ethnic Group in Leigongshan Mountain,Guizhou

For many years, traditional knowledge, techniques and know how have been applied in the process of fermentation of traditional liquor and also in the process of making its starter culture by Miao ethnic group who lives in Leigongshan Mountain, Southwest China. To protect liquor culture of Miao people, and in order to document and transmit it from generation to generation, we have conducted a series of surveys on the techniques and the process of brewing traditional liquor and making starter culture; and we have documented the plants which have been used for starter culture via ethnobotanical and taxonomical approaches, such as key informants interview, participatory rural appraisal, and ethnobotanical inventory. It has been demonstrated that the traditional liquor in Miao communities resembles other Xiaoqu alcoholic in terms of both the producing process and techniques. Thirty five species of plants used in starter culture, which belong to 19 families and 28 genera, were identified and inventoried. Piloselloides hirsuta (Asteraceae) and Indigofera bungeana (Fabaceae) are the most frequently employed ones among all of the plants. Fresh and tender stems, leaves, or shoots of the plants are parts of plants which are used to make distiller’s yeast; while the whole plant is barely used. The traditional knowledge associated with starter culture would fail to be handed down in a few decades, due to erosion of modernization and losses of young (female) labor and the ethnic language as well. More researche should be carried out as soon as possible to promote liquor culture of Miao people, e.g. census on plants in starter culture and valuation of its biological activities.     

Trends in migrant and ethnic minority voting in Australia: findings from the Australian election study

A review of the research literature on migrant voting in Australia shows that the “ethnic vote” has almost disappeared now that migrants tend to vote in a similar way to the rest of the population according to traditional class cleavages. In addition, it is argued that migrants in Australia predominantly reside in safe Labor seats that are represented by cabinet or shadow cabinet ministers. As such their group-based interests are often neglected by the major parties. Using findings from the ABS census and the 1993–2013 AES, this article re-examines whether there is a migrant vote, and if so, the extent to which migrant voting patterns have changed since the 1990s when the migrant and ethnic vote reached its peak. This study reveals patterns of migrant voting among certain birthplace subgroups that are more volatile than in previous decades but at the same time distinctive.     

Parental transmission of ethnic identification in mixed couples in Latin America: the Mapuche case

This study analyses the ethnic identification of children of mixed couples among the Mapuche ethnic group in Chile using census data. The Mapuche are characterized by high exogamy, providing an extreme case of the Latin American pattern of tolerance towards intermarriage. We find that ethnic identification of children of mixed couples is high although it tends to weaken outside the native homeland. Furthermore, education does not increase the classification of children of mixed couples outside of the ethnic group. These findings contravene not only the Brazilian pattern of whitening but also predictions by assimilation theories, and suggest a process of indigenous awareness for families outside the native homeland.     

Declining racial disadvantage in the British labour market

The recruitment of black and Asian migrant workers in the 1950s and 1960s to the least desirable sectors of the British labour market arguably ‐ for some commentators ‐ set in motion a cycle of cumulative disadvantage, with the disadvantage experienced by migrant workers inhibiting the opportunities of their sons and daughters. While some of the more recent commentators have concentrated on the persistence of disadvantage, others have begun to indicate the progress made by the minority ethnic groups relative to whites. This article evaluates the character of that progress for the period 1966–1991, through a secondary analysis of published data from the decennial census and the Labour Force Survey. Despite the disadvantaged start for the black and Asian minority ethnic groups, and despite the persistence of discrimination, they have made considerable progress over this time‐span relative to whites in terms of their membership of the Registrar General's socio‐economic groups. The decline in differentials has occurred in the context of upward collective social mobility for each of the three main minority ethnic groups during the period. However, substantial gender differences continue to characterize the labour market distribution of each of the groups and, on the whole, they are more substantial than ethnic group differences.     

Accidents in the home among children under 5: ethnic differences or social disadvantage?

Accidents in the home to children under 5 in a multiracial population with a high level of social disadvantage were studied by interviewing at home the parents of 402 children attending the accident department of a west London hospital during one year. The parents'' country of birth, whether they were employed, and their housing conditions were recorded using the definitions of the 1981 census. Four ethnic groups (British (183 children), Asian (127), Caribbean (61), and other (31)) were identified. Though attendance rates based on the populations of electoral wards at the census and standardised for distance from the hospital showed no significant differences among the ethnic groups, there was a strong gradient by social class and strong associations with unemployment of the mother (although not of the father), overcrowding, and tenure of housing.Social disadvantage seems to be more important than ethnicity as a determinant of accidents to children in the home.     

Neighborhood context and ethnicity differences in body mass index: a multilevel analysis using the NHANES III survey (1988-1994).

A growing body of literature has documented a link between neighborhood context and health outcomes. However, little is known about the relationship between neighborhood context and body mass index (BMI) or whether the association between neighborhood context and BMI differs by ethnicity. This paper investigates several neighborhood characteristics as potential explanatory factors for the variation of BMI across the United States; further, this paper explores to what extent segregation and the concentration of disadvantage across neighborhoods help explain ethnic disparities in BMI. Using data geo-coded at the census tract-level and linked with individual-level data from the Third National Health and Examination Survey in the United States (U.S.), we find significant variation in BMI across U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, neighborhood characteristics have a significant association with body mass and partially explain ethnic disparities in BMI, net of individual-level adjustments. These data also reveal evidence that ethnic enclaves are not in fact advantageous for the body mass index of Hispanics-a relationship counter to what has been documented for other health outcomes.     

Local extinction and recolonization, species effective population size, and modern human origins

A primary objection from a population genetics perspective to a multiregional model of modern human origins is that the model posits a large census size, whereas genetic data suggest a small effective population size. The relationship between census size and effective size is complex, but arguments based on an island model of migration show that if the effective population size reflects the number of breeding individuals and the effects of population subdivision, then an effective population size of 10,000 is inconsistent with the census size of 500,000 to 1,000,000 that has been suggested by archeological evidence. However, these models have ignored the effects of population extinction and recolonization, which increase the expected variance among demes and reduce the inbreeding effective population size. Using models developed for population extinction and recolonization, we show that a large census size consistent with the multiregional model can be reconciled with an effective population size of 10,000, but genetic variation among demes must be high, reflecting low interdeme migration rates and a colonization process that involves a small number of colonists or kin-structured colonization. Ethnographic and archeological evidence is insufficient to determine whether such demographic conditions existed among Pleistocene human populations, and further work needs to be done. More realistic models that incorporate isolation by distance and heterogeneity in extinction rates and effective deme sizes also need to be developed. However, if true, a process of population extinction and recolonization has interesting implications for human demographic history.     

Injury mortality in New Mexico's American Indians,Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites, 1958 to 1982.

New Mexico has extraordinarily high injury mortality rates. To better characterize the injury problem in New Mexico, we calculated proportionate injury mortality and age-adjusted and age-specific injury mortality rates for the state''s 3 major ethnic groups--American Indians, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites. According to death certificate data collected from 1958 to 1982 and US population census figures, age-adjusted mortality rates for total external causes varied widely between the sexes and among the ethnic groups. Males in each ethnic group consistently had higher average annual age-adjusted external mortality rates than females. Injury mortality rates for American Indians of both sexes were 2 to 3 times higher than those for the other New Mexico ethnic groups. Motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death from injury for all 3 groups. Homicide accounted for twice the proportion of injury death in Hispanic compared with non-Hispanic white males (12.5% and 6.1%, respectively), while the proportion of males dying of suicide was highest in non-Hispanic whites. Deaths from excessive cold and exposure were leading causes of injury mortality for American Indians, but these causes were not among the leading causes of injury mortality for Hispanics or non-Hispanic whites. We conclude that the minority populations in New Mexico are at high risk for injury-related death and that the major causes of injury mortality vary substantially in the state''s predominant ethnic populations.     

Vertical and horizontal approaches to the making of racial statistics in Britain

The release of data from the 2011 census fuelled a media storm over Britain's ethnic and immigrant composition, while at the same time a much less visible series of public debates developed over the scope, organization and purpose of government information-gathering centred on how the existing census could be replaced with ‘Big data’. It is therefore particularly timely to explore the political choices, ontological shifts and statistical challenges shaping the array of enumeration projects that have developed in contemporary Britain to identify, classify, and count immigrants and their descendants. This article analyses the relationships between holistic (horizontal) and single-purpose (vertical) approaches to racial statistics, and how these were affected by the standardizations of classification in 1962 and 1991. A range of state archives and contemporary accounts are used to examine the material practices and organizational tensions that fuelled the divergence, transfer and interaction of these attempts at racial legibility.     

UNO … . What happened to autonomy? Politics and ethnicity on Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast

Current debates surrounding the ethnic mobilization of indigenous groups are explored with reference to Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast region. The Autonomy Project, promoted under the revolutionary government of the 1980s, inspired new forms of regional multi‐ethnic forms of mobilization and, in so doing, eschewed nationalistic claims associated with the resurgence of ethnicity elsewhere. The fate of the principle of ethnic autonomy is subsequently examined in the wake of the defeat of the Sandinistas in the elections held in 1990. Evidence suggests that domestic political conditions as well as international political and economic pressure have been crucial in undermining the autonomy process. This, in turn, has had important consequences for ethnic identity formation in the region, since a combination of pressure from international agencies, the United States government and multinational companies in conjunction with the UNO alliance have undermined educational and employment as well as political initiatives built around old and new ethnic groupings. Examples of bilingualism and initiatives to control and protect the region's resources are shown to have suffered directly as a result of the increased activity of multinationals, the privatization programmes of the Chomorro government and efforts to bypass local political structures. A local radio station, which also played a role in promoting multi‐ethnicity in the region, was similarly under threat. In conclusion, and drawing on wider debates, it is argued that Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast provides an important example of the interpenetration of local and global pressures in the development of ethnic politics. The analysis of changes on the Atlantic Coast during the period of the revolution and after the defeat of the Sandinistas in 1990 allows us to assess their impact on changing forms of cultural and ethnic identity in the region. The article argues that the scope for ethnic autonomy, including new and empowering forms of regional multi‐ethnic identity, is seen to be profoundly contingent on political circumstances which themselves cannot be considered independently of wider international and economic conditions.