Ethnic minorities, ethnic conflict, and confidence in the UN across the world

Abstract

This study investigates to what extent ethnic minorities differ from majorities in the degree of confidence in the UN and the scope conditions. Emphasizing the impact of the UN’s involvement, it argues that minorities are predisposed to hold a higher degree of confidence in the UN in countries where ethnic conflict has taken place and this difference is further complicated by the nature of the countries’ political regimes. Utilizing the World Value Surveys for the period 1981–2012, we find robust evidence for our arguments. We also find that minorities probably increase in such trust as ethnic conflict persists longer.