Editing Society (section)

===Ethnicity===
{{main|Ethnicity}}
Human ethnic groups are a social category that [[Identity (social science)|identify]] together as a group based on shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. These shared attributes can be a common set of traditions, [[ancestry]], [[language]], history, society, culture, nation, religion, or social treatment within their residing area.<ref name=":04">{{cite book |last=Chandra |first=Kanchan |author-link=Kanchan Chandra |year=2012 |chapter=What is Ethnic Identity? A Minimalist Definition |title=Constructivist Theories of Ethnic Politics |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=69–70 |isbn=978-0-19-989315-7 |lccn=2012006989 |oclc=779097212}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Peoples |first1=James |last2=Bailey |first2=Garrick |year=2012 |title=Humanity: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology |publisher=Wadsworth, Cengage Learning |edition=9th |page=389 |isbn=978-1-111-34956-1 |lccn=2010936947 |oclc=698482450 |quote="In essence, an ethnic group is a named social category of people based on perceptions of shared social experience or one's ancestors' experiences. Members of the ethnic group see themselves as sharing cultural traditions and history that distinguish them from other groups."}}</ref> There is no generally accepted definition of what constitutes an ethnic group,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Chandra |first=Kanchan |author-link=Kanchan Chandra |date=15 June 2006 |title=What is Ethnic Identity and Does It Matter? |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |language=en |volume=9 |pages=397–424 |doi=10.1146/annurev.polisci.9.062404.170715 |doi-access=free |issn=1094-2939 |lccn=98643699 |oclc=37047805}}</ref> and humans have evolved the ability to change affiliation with social groups relatively easily, including leaving groups with previously strong alliances, if doing so is seen as providing personal advantages.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cronk |first1=Lee |last2=Leech |first2=Beth L. |url=https://www.sapiens.org/evolution/human-evolution-politics/ |date=20 September 2017 |title=How Did Humans Get So Good at Politics? |website=Sapiens Anthropology Magazine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807003627/https://www.sapiens.org/evolution/human-evolution-politics/ |archive-date=7 August 2020 |access-date=11 January 2024}}</ref> Ethnicity is separate from the concept of [[Race (human categorization)|race]], which is based on physical characteristics, although both are [[Social constructionism|socially constructed]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Blackmore |first=Erin |date=22 February 2019 |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/topics/reference/race-ethnicity/ |title=Race and ethnicity: How are they different? |website=[[National Geographic]] |language=en |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022013516/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/topics/reference/race-ethnicity/ |archive-date=22 October 2020 |access-date=7 January 2024}}</ref> Assigning ethnicity to a certain population is complicated, as even within common ethnic designations there can be a diverse range of subgroups, and the makeup of these ethnic groups can change over time at both the collective and individual level.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=((Race, Ethnicity, and Genetics Working Group)) |title=The Use of Racial, Ethnic, and Ancestral Categories in Human Genetics Research |journal=[[American Journal of Human Genetics]] |volume=77 |issue=4 |pages=519–532 |date=October 2005 |doi=10.1086/491747 |pmc=1275602 |pmid=16175499}}</ref> Ethnic groupings can play a powerful role in the [[social identity]] and [[solidarity]] of ethnopolitical units. Ethnic identity has been closely tied to the rise of the [[nation state]] as the predominant form of political organization in the 19th and 20th centuries.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Anthony D. |year=1999 |title=Myths and Memories of the Nation |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=4–7 |isbn=978-0-19-829534-1 |oclc=41641377}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Banton |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Banton |date=24 January 2007 |title=Max Weber on 'ethnic communities': a critique |journal=[[Nations and Nationalism (journal)|Nations and Nationalism]] |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=19–35 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-8129.2007.00271.x}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Anthony D. |editor-last1=Delanty |editor-first1=Gerard |editor1-link=Gerard Delanty |editor-last2=Kumar |editor-first2=Krishan |editor2-link=Krishan Kumar (sociologist) |year=2006 |chapter=Ethnicity and Nationalism |title=The SAGE Handbook of Nations and Nationalism |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |publication-place=London |page=171 |isbn=1-4129-0101-4 |lccn=2005936296 |oclc=64555613}}</ref>