Interest in the study of ethnic conflict has soared over the past decade, partly due to the ethnic conflicts that have erupted violently, especially in central and Eastern Europe after the collapse of communism, but also in other parts of the world, such as in Somalia, Rwanda or Indonesia. Simultaneously, Western Europe has remained the site of violent ethnic conflicts in Northern Ireland, Corsica and the Spanish part of the Basque Country, while Canada is still threatened in its territorial and societal integrity by the problems surrounding Quebec.