Malaysia-Singapore: Two Kinds of Ethnic Transformations

Abstract

This commentary on a special journal issue (see abstracts of related articles) on ethnic identity in Malaysia & Singapore focuses on two developments in the scholarly literature that have possible consequences for understanding ethnic formation. The first development is confirmation of the popular opinion that ethnic & national identities may be negotiated contingent on the circumstances of the group or community. The second revives the less popular view that explains identity formation with essentialist interpretations of specific cultures & religions. Both viewpoints are discussed in relation to the ethnographic studies in the current issue. The general outlook of all but one of the articles is deemed optimistic in terms of how the two nations approach their ethnic mix, showing some possibility that they will not fall into the nation-statism that has plagued many European countries. J. Lindroth.