Explane difference between ethnic identity and civic identity. How do you understand national identity?

Definitions of ethnic identity vary according to the underlying theory embraced by researchers’ and scholars’ intent on resolving its conceptual meanings. The fact that there is no widely agreed upon definition of ethnic identity is indicative of the confusion surrounding the topic. Typically, ethnic identity is an affiliative construct, where an individual is viewed by themselves and by others as belonging to a particular ethnic or cultural group. An individual can choose to associate with a group especially if other choices are available (i.e., the person is of mixed ethnic or racial heritage). Affiliation can be influenced by racial, natal, symbolic, and cultural factors (Cheung, 1993). Racial factors involve the use of physiognomic and physical characteristics, natal factors refer to "homeland" (ancestral home) or origins of individuals, their parents and kin, and symbolic factors include those factors that typify or exemplify an ethnic group (e.g., holidays, foods, clothing, artifacts, etc.). Symbolic ethnic identity usually implies that individuals choose their identity, however to some extent the cultural elements of the ethnic or racial group have a modest influence on their behavior. Ethnic identity is usually contextual and situational because it derives from social negotiations where one declares an ethnic identity and then demonstrates acceptable and acknowledged ethnic group markers to others. One’s ethnic declaration often is open to the scrutiny of others who may validate or invalidate the declaration. Ethnic declarations embody an ethnic consciousness that is closely aligned with the cultural elements of the ethnic group with which they affiliate. The ultimate form of one’s ethnic consciousness is the genuine association of one’s personal identification with a communal one. Thus it is logical to assume that a concordance would exist between personal identity and an outsider's sense of identity where the importance is placed on one's own categories and intention of self-identification. To promote the union between self and other, individuals often will use ethnological speech patterns and gestures to promote the authenticity of their claim. If outward physical appearances do not mesh with the standard physical criteria or there is the sense that others doubt the identity claim ethnic actors will tend to exaggerate and give emphasis to mannerisms and speech idiosyncrasies known to be particular and specific to the reference group. This ritual or stylistic emphasis frequently occurs, too, when ethnic group members meet or gather in geographic areas that differ from their homelands or communities of common origin. The distinctive ritual is a prime example of situational ethnicity and situated ethnic identity.

Nationality refers to our citizenship -- in other words, the nation we are a member of.

· Ethnicity, or ethnic identity, refers to membership in a particular cultural group. It is defined by shared cultural practises, including but not limited to holidays, food, language, and customs.

· People can share the same nationality but have different ethnic groups. For example, citizens of the United States are of many different ethnic backgrounds.

· People who share an ethnic identity can be of different nationalities. Turkish citizens of Turkey and Turkish citizens in Germany share an ethnic identity but are of different nationalities.

Ethnic identity is basically about what culture your ancestors came from. Do you consider yourself English, Irish, Italian, German, Mexican, Chinese or other. Ethnic identity is about food, music, sometimes religion. Do you observe Dio de los Muertos or Hanukkah - or both? Does your grandmother make dim sum or ravioli? Civic identityis your citizenship and the nation in which you now live. Do you participate in school activities or charitable ventures? Are you aware of what's going on in government? Do you plan to register to vote? Do you plan to join the military? What does it mean to you to be American (or whichever nationality you are). Ethnicity is about culture. Civic identity is about how you see yourself in the world

The understanding of ethnicity as primordial has prevailed among the people of the former Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav identification was always present as a more "broader" identification for those who wanted to escape the narrow ethnic identification. The main argument of the article is that with the dissolution of the Yugoslav state the new functional equivalent to the Yugoslav identification is emerging in the form of the "civic identity". This new civic identification allows people to express their distance from the narrow ethnic identification and the intense ethnic revival characterizing the first post-communist phase. In order to empirically substantiate the argument we used the 1995 World Value Survey data from Croatia.

National identity is the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status.

National identity is not an inborn trait; various studies have shown that a person's national identity is a direct result of the presence of elements from the "common points" in people's daily lives: national symbols, language, national colours, the nation's history, national consciousness, blood ties, culture, music, cuisine, radio, television, etc.^{[ citation needed ]}

The national identity of most citizens of one state or one nation tends to strengthen when the country or the nation is threatened militarily. The sense of belonging to the nation is essential as an external threat becomes clearer when individuals seek to unite with fellow countrymen to protect themselves and fight against the common threat

What is the difference between self government and local government?

Self-government is the rule of a state, community or other group by its members, government of a group by the action of its own members, as in electing representatives to make its laws, government under the control and direction of the inhabitants of a political unit rather than by an outside authority; broadly: control of one's own affairs

Local government

An administrative body for a small geographic area, such as a city, town, county, or state. A local government will typically only have control over their specific geographical region, and can not pass or enforce laws that will affect a wider area. Local governments can elect officials, enacttaxes, and do many other things that a national government would do, just on a smaller scale.

Local government is a form of public administration which in a majority of contexts, exists as the lowest tier of administration within a given state. The term is used to contrast with offices atstate level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or (where appropriate) federal government and also to supranational government which deals with governing institutions between states. Local governments generally act within powers delegated to them by legislation or directives of the higher level of government. In federal states, local government generally comprises the third (or sometimes fourth) tier of government, whereas in unitary states, local government usually occupies the second or third tier of government, often with greater powers than higher-level administrative divisions.

Local Govt is a small and lower scale institution,with limited authority,lake of decision making,answerable to central govt.While Local Self Govt is free in decision making and decentralized,on the upper level of local government.

What is the diference between federation and confederation?

By definition the difference between a confederation and a federation is that the membership of the member states in a confederation is voluntary, while the membership in a federation is not.

Sometimes confederation is erroneously used in the place of federation. Some nations which started out as confederations retained the word in their titles after officially becoming federations, such as Switzerland. The United States of America was at first a confederation before becoming a federation with the ratification of the current US constitution in 1789.

Comparison chart

	Confederation	Federation
Sovereignty:	Held by the member states. In a Confederation, the federal government is accountable to the member states, who are the ultimate authority.	Held by the federal government. In a Federation, the federal government will hold the ultimate authority and the member states will be subordinate to it.
Central Authority:	The central authority of a confederation is usually a weak body appointed by the member states.	The central authority of a federation is a federal government which governs the member states.
Powers of the Central Authority:	Usually will focus on joint foreign policy and defense matters, but rarely will have the power to domuch more than that.	Determined by the constitution of the federation, but will generally have rights to exercise control over the diplomatic, military, economic, and legal spheres of the member states.

federation is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal") government. In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of the central government.

The form of government or constitutional structure found in a federation is known as federalism (see also federalism as a political philosophy). It can be considered the opposite of another system, the unitary state. The government of Germany with sixteen federated länder is an example of a federation, whereas neighboring Austria and its Bundesländer is a unitary state with administrative divisions that became federated, and neighboring France is by contrast fully unitary, though its subnational entities appear similar to states of a federation government.

Federations may be multi-ethnic, or cover a large area of territory, although neither is necessarily the case. Federations are often founded on an original agreement between a number of sovereign states.

A confederation is an association of sovereign states or communities, usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution. Confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues, such as defense, foreign affairs, foreign trade, and a common currency, with the central government being required to provide support for all members. A confederation, in modern political terms, is usually limited to a permanent union of sovereign states for common action in relation to other states.[1]

The nature of the relationship between the entities constituting a confederation varies considerably. Likewise, the relationship between the member states and the central government, and the distribution of powers among them, is highly variable. Some looser confederations are similar to international organizations, while tighter confederations may resemble federations.