Ethnicity is a well-established concept in sociology and social anthropology. But have authors and researchers developed its full potential? Do established usages and applications of the concept call for a thorough-going reassessment?This book makes the case for rethinking ethnicity by critically developing and expanding the anthropological model of ethnicity. Richard Jenkins proposes that power and social categorization must be situated alongside group formation, as necessary and interrelated aspects of the process of ethnic identification. He suggests that a major weakness of established usages is that they fail to take serious account of the local, cultural content of ethnic identity. In as much as it is socially constructed, ethnicity is imagined. However, its effects are far from imaginary in the lives and experiences of individuals. The theoretical discussion is illustrated with a wide range of examples that demonstrate the interrelationship between the imaginary construct of ethnicity and its consequences on peopleÆs lives. The author also develops the discussion by locating the concept of ethnicity in the context of the discourse on plural society and postmodern notions of difference; the relationship between ethnicity, "race," and nationalism; ideology; language, violence, and religion; and the everyday social construction of national identity.The result is a compact, refreshing, and stimulating inquiry into an indispensable concept for making sense of the contemporary world. The book will be required reading for students of sociology, social anthropology, and political science.