title: Sarawak

text: Sarawak is abundant in natural resources, and primary industries such as mining, agriculture, and forestry accounted for 32.8% of its economy in 2013. It also specialises in the manufacture of food and beverages, wood-based and rattan products, basic metal products, and petrochemicals, as well as cargo and air services and tourism.


title: Sarawak

text: The state's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 40.5% per year on average from 2010 to 2021, but became very more volatile later on, ranging from −3.0% in 2009 to 35.0% in 2021. Sarawak contributed 19.5% of Malaysia's GDP in the nine years leading up to 2020, making it the third largest contributor after Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. From 2015 to 2021, the oil and gas industry accounted for 55.2% of the Sarawak government's revenue. It attracted RM 80 billion (US$ 17.85 billion) in foreign investments, with 95% going to the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), the second largest economic corridor in Malaysia.


title: Sarawak

text: As of 2021, Sarawak is producing 2,800,000 barrel of oil equivalent every day in 150 oil and gas producing fields. However, the export-oriented economy is dominated by liquefied natural gas (LNG), which accounts for more than half of total exports. Crude petroleum accounts for 45.1%, while palm oil, sawlogs, and sawn timber account for 12.0% collectively. The state receives a 15% royalty from Petronas over oil explorations in its territorial waters. Most of the oil and gas deposits are located offshore next to Bintulu and Miri at Balingian basin, Baram basin, and around Luconia Shoals.


title: Sarawak

text: Sarawak is one of the world's largest exporters of tropical hardwood timber, constituting 65% of the total Malaysian log exports in 2000. The last United Nations statistics in 2001 estimated Sarawak's sawlog exports at an average of per year between 1996 and 2000.


title: Sarawak

text: In 1955, OCBC became the first foreign bank to operate in Sarawak, with other overseas banks following suit. Other notable Sarawak-based companies include Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad, Naim Holdings, and Rimbunan Hijau.


title: Sarawak

text: Electricity in Sarawak, supplied by the state-owned Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB), is primarily sourced from traditional coal fired power plants and thermal power stations using LNG, but diesel based sources and hydroelectricity are also utilised. There are 3 hydroelectric dams at Batang Ai, Bakun, and Murum, with several others under consideration. In early 2016, SEB signed Malaysia's first energy export deal to supply electricity to neighbouring West Kalimantan in Indonesia.


title: Sarawak

text: In 2008, SCORE was established as a framework to develop the energy sector in the state, specifically the Murum, Baram, and Baleh Dams as well as potential coal-based power plants, and 10high priority industries out to 2030. The Regional Corridor Development Authority is the government agency responsible for managing SCORE. The entire central region of Sarawak is covered under SCORE, including areas such as Samalaju (near Bintulu), Tanjung Manis, and Mukah. Samalaju will be developed as an industrial park, with Tanjung Manis as a halal food hub, and Mukah as the administrative centre for SCORE with a focus on resource-based research and development.


title: Sarawak

text: Tourism plays a major role in the economy of Sarawak and contributed 7.9% of the state's GDP in 2016.


title: Sarawak

text: Foreign visitors to Sarawak are predominantly from Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Australia, Belgium, South Korea, and United Kingdom. A number of different organisations, both state and private, are involved in the promotion of tourism in Sarawak: the Sarawak Tourism Board is the state body responsible for tourism promotion in the state, various private tourism groups are united under the Sarawak Tourism Federation, and the Sarawak Convention Bureau is responsible for attracting conventions, conferences, and corporate events which are held in the Borneo Convention Centre in Kuching. The public and private bodies in Sarawak hold a biannual event to award the Sarawak Hornbill Tourism Award, an award for achievements within various categories, to recognise businesses and individuals for their efforts in the development of tourism within the state.


title: Sarawak

text: The Rainforest World Music Festival is the region's primary musical event, attracting more than 50,000 people annually. Other events that are held regularly in Sarawak are the Anugerah Seri Angkasa (ASA), ASEAN International Film Festival, Borneo Music Festival Live, Borneo Jazz Festival, Borneo Cultural Festival, and Borneo International Kite Festival. Major shopping complexes in Sarawak include The Spring, Boulevard, VivaCity, Plaza Merdeka, and City One shopping malls in Kuching, and Bintang Megamall, Boulevard, Imperial Mall, and Miri Plaza shopping malls in Miri.


title: Sarawak

text: Infrastructure development in Sarawak is overseen by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Transportation, successor to the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Communications (MIDCom) after it was renamed in 2016. Despite this ministerial oversight, infrastructure in Sarawak remains relatively underdeveloped compared to Peninsular Malaysia.


title: Sarawak

text: In 2009, 94% of urban Sarawak was supplied with electricity, but only 67% of rural areas had electricity. However, this had increased to 91% by 2014. According to a 2015 article, household internet penetration in Sarawak was lower than Malaysian national average, 41.2% versus 58.6%, with 58.5% of internet use being in urban areas and 29.9% in rural areas. In comparison, mobile telecommunication uptake in Sarawak was comparable to the national average, 93.3% against a national average of 94.2%, and on par with neighbouring Sabah. Mobile telecommunication infrastructure, specifically broadcast towers, are built and managed by SacofaSdnBhd (Sacofa Private Limited), which enjoys a monopoly in Sarawak after the company was granted a 20-year exclusivity deal on the provision, maintenance and leasing of towers in the state.


title: Sarawak

text: A number of different bodies manage the supply of water depending on their region of responsibility, including the Kuching Water Board (KWB), Sibu Water Board (SWB), and LAKU Management SdnBhd, which handle water supply in Miri, Bintulu, and Limbang respectively, and the Rural Water Supply Department managing the water supply for the remaining areas. , 82% of the rural areas have a fresh water supply.


title: Sarawak

text: Sarawak launched its radio service on 7 June 1954, which became a part of Radio Malaysia in 1963 upon joining Malaysia and later part of the bigger Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) in 1969 when the nation's radio and television operations merged. It did not have television service until 30 August 1975, when RTM TV1 was made available for East Malaysian viewers. RTM has six branches in the state - a main office in capital city Kuching and five other offices in Sri Aman, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri and Limbang. The main office produces news and shows for RTM's television channels and operates four state radio channels, namely Sarawak FM, Red FM and Wai FM Iban and Bidayuh networks, whereas five other offices operate district radio channels such as Sri Aman FM, Sibu FM, Bintulu FM, Miri FM and Limbang FM. On 7 April 1998, NTV7 was launched by Sarawakian businessman Mohd Effendi Norwawi under the ownership of Natseven TV Sdn Bhd. Before its acquisition by Media Prima Berhad in 2005, it had a studio in the state capital. However, Sarawak didn't have its own true TV station until 10 October 2020, when it launched TVS, thus becoming the first region in Malaysia to own its TV station. It is currently available in Astro, Astro NJOI and myFreeview (MYTV Broadcasting) and available in 4 languages: Malay, English, Iban and Chinese (Mandarin). It aims to overcome the low priority and coverage of Peninsular-based media and to solidify the representation of Sarawak, and generally of East Malaysia. Commercial radio channels based in the state include Cats FM and TEA FM.


title: Sarawak

text: Much like many former British territories, Sarawak uses a dual carriageway with the left-hand traffic rule. As of 2013, Sarawak had a total of of connected roadways, with being paved state routes, of dirt tracks, of gravel roads, and of paved federal highway. The primary route in Sarawak is the Pan Borneo Highway, which runs from Sematan, Sarawak, through Brunei to Tawau, Sabah. Despite being a major highway, the condition of the road is poor leading to numerous accidents and fatalities. 16 billion ringgit worth of contracts were awarded to a number of local companies in December 2016 to add new vehicle and pedestrian bridges, interchanges and bus shelters to the highway as part of a multi-phase project.


title: Sarawak

text: A railway line existed before the war, but the last remnants of the line were dismantled in 1959. A rail project was announced in 2008 to be in line with the transport needs of SCORE, but as yet no construction work has begun despite an anticipated completion date in 2015. In 2017, the Sarawak government proposed a light rail system (Kuching Line) connecting Kuching, Samarahan and Serian divisions with anticipated completion in 2020. Currently, buses are the primary mode of public transportation in Sarawak with interstate services connecting the state to Sabah, Brunei, and Pontianak (Indonesia).


title: Sarawak

text: Sarawak is served by a number of airports with Kuching International Airport, located south west of Kuching, being the largest. Flights from Kuching are mainly to Kuala Lumpur but also to Johor Bahru, Penang, Sabah, Kelantan, Singapore and Pontianak, Indonesia. A second airport at Miri serves flights primarily to other Malaysian states as well as services to Singapore. Other smaller airports such as Sibu Airport, Bintulu Airport, Mukah Airport, Marudi Airport, Mulu Airport, and Limbang Airport provide domestic services within Malaysia. There are also a number of remote airstrips serving rural communities in the state. Three airlines serve flights in Sarawak, Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia, and MASwings all of which use Kuching Airport as their main hub. The state owned Hornbill Skyways is an aviation company that largely provides private chartered flights and flight services for public servants.


title: Sarawak

text: Sarawak has four primary ports located at Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, and Miri. The busiest seaport at Bintulu is under the jurisdiction of the Malaysian federal government and mainly handles LNG products and regular cargo. The remaining ports are under the respective state port authorities. The combined throughput of the four primary ports was 61.04million freight weight tonnes (FWT) in 2013. Sarawak has 55 navigable river networks with a combined length of . For centuries, the rivers of Sarawak have been a primary means of transport as well as a route for timber and other agricultural goods moving downriver for export at the country's major ports. Sibu port, located from the river's mouth, is the main hub along the Rajang River mainly handling timber products. However, the throughput of Sibu port has declined over the years after Tanjung Manis Industrial Port (TIMP) began operating further downriver.


title: Sarawak

text: Health care in provided by three major government hospitals, Sarawak General Hospital, Sibu Hospital, and Miri Hospital, as well as numerous district hospitals, public health clinics, 1Malaysia clinics, and rural clinics. Besides government-owned hospitals and clinics, there are several private hospitals in Sarawak such as the Normah Medical Specialists Centre, Timberland Medical Specialists Centre, and Sibu Specialist Medical Centre. Hospitals in Sarawak typically provide the full gamut of health care options, from triage to palliative care for the terminally ill. In 1994, Sarawak General Hospital Department of Radiotherapy, Oncology & Palliative Care instituted an at-home care, or hospice care, program for cancer patients. The non profit Sarawak Hospice Society was established in 1998 to promote this program.


title: Sarawak

text: In comparison to the number of other medical facilities, mental health is only serviced by a single facility, Hospital Sentosa. This abundance of medical services has made Sarawak a medical tourism destination for visitors from neighbouring Brunei and Indonesia.


title: Sarawak

text: In comparison to the prevalence of health services in urban regions, much of rural Sarawak is only accessible by river transport, which limits access. Remote rural areas that are beyond the operating areas of health clinics, about , and inaccessible by land or river are serviced by a monthly flying doctor service, which was established in 1973.


title: Sarawak

text: A village health promoter program, where volunteers are provided with basic medical training, was established in 1981 but difficulty in providing medical supplies to remote villages, as well as a lack of incentive, resulted in a decline of the program. A variety of traditional medicine practices are still being used by the various communities in Sarawak to supplement modern medical practices but this practice is also declining. However, since 2004, there has been a resurgence in traditional medicine in Malaysia resulting in the establishment of a traditional medicine division within the Ministry of Health. A 2006 government program to have integrated hospitals led to numerous universities starting programs to teach traditional medicine and major hospitals, including Sarawak General Hospital, providing traditional therapies.


title: Sarawak

text: Education in Malaysia falls under the remit of two federal ministries; the Malaysian Ministry of Education is responsible for primary and secondary education, while the Ministry of Higher Education has oversight over public universities, polytechnic and community colleges. Early childhood education is not directly controlled by the Ministry of Education as it does with primary and secondary education. However, the ministry does oversee the licensing of private kindergartens, the main form of early childhood education, in accordance with the National Pre-School Quality Standard, which was launched in 2013.


title: Sarawak

text: Around the time of Federation, overall literacy in Sarawak was quite low. In 1960, the overall literacy rate was 25%, with a heavy slant in the literacy rate towards the Chinese population, 53%, compared with that of indigenous peoples which was substantially lower, only 17%. By 2007, overall literacy in adults aged 15 and over had significantly increased to 92.3% and in 2012, this had climbed to 96%.


title: Sarawak

text: There were 1480 schools in Sarawak in 2014, of which 1271 were primary, 202 were secondary and 7 were vocational/technical secondary schools. Among these are a number of schools that date from the Brooke era, including St. Thomas's School Kuching (1848), St Mary's School Kuching (1848), and St Joseph's School Kuching (1882). As well as government schools, there are four international schools: Tunku Putra School, a primary and secondary school offering national and Cambridge curricula, Lodge International School, which is also open to local students and uses both the British National and Cambridge systems, Kidurong International School, which is owned by Shell and offers primary education mainly to children of employees but local children may enter depending on space availability, and Tenby International School, which opened in 2014 and is open to both local and expatriate children. There are also 14 Chinese independent secondary schools in Sarawak that teach in Chinese rather than English or Malay. Previously, only Chinese students were enrolled in these schools, but mobility of the workforce has led to increasing turnover of students as parents move to other areas for employment. This has led to an increasing number of Bumiputera students being enrolled in Chinese schools.


title: Sarawak

text: Sarawak is home to three public universities – Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Universiti Teknologi Mara at Kota Samarahan, and Universiti Putra Malaysia – as well as the private Curtin University, Malaysia and Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus. The latter two are satellite campuses of Curtin University in Perth and Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia.


title: Sarawak

text: With the establishment of SCORE and the associated potential of 1.6 million more jobs by 2030, the state government allocated RM1 billion from 2016 to 2020 to a Skills Development Fund for vocational education. In 2015, Petronas provided vocational scholarships to 150 underprivileged Sarawak students as part of its Vocational Institution Sponsorship and Training Assistance program, although it had been criticised for under-representing local students in its previous allocations; the company also provided support to other Sarawak vocational education centres.


title: Sarawak

text: The 2021 census of Malaysia reported a population of 2,453,000 in Sarawak, making it the third most populous state. However, this population is distributed over a large area resulting in Sarawak having the lowest population density in the country with only 20people per km. The average population growth rate of 1.8%, from 2000 to 2010, is very close to the national average of 2.0%. In 2014, 58% of the population resided in urban areas with the remainder in rural areas, but over the next 10 years it is predicted that the urban population would rise to 65%. , the crude birth rate in Sarawak was 16.3 per 1000 individuals, the crude death rate was 4.3 per 1000 population, and the infant mortality rate was 6.5 per 1000 live births.


title: Sarawak

text: Urban populations consist predominantly of Malays, Melanaus, Chinese, and a small population of urban Ibans and Bidayuhs who migrated from their home villages seeking employment. The latter two are among the more than 40 sub-ethnic groups of Sarawak, many of whom still inhabit remote areas and are referred to as Orang Asal. The Orang Asal, and Malays, of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah are referred to collectively as Bumiputera (son of the soil). This classification grants them special privileges in education, jobs, finance, and political positions.


title: Sarawak

text: The registration for, and issuing of, national identity cards, a legally required document for accessing various services, to these remote tribes has been problematic for many years, and in the past had even resulted in a large number of people from the Penan ethnic group being rendered effectively stateless. In recent years, this issue has seen progressive improvement with the implementation of systems such as mobile registration units.


title: Sarawak

text: Sarawak has a large immigrant work force with as many as 150,000 registered foreign migrant workers working as domestic workers or in plantation, manufacturing, construction, services and agriculture. However, this population of legally registered workers is overshadowed by a large population of between 320,000 and 350,000 illegal workers.


title: Sarawak

text: Sarawak has six major ethnic groups, Iban, Chinese, Malay, Bidayuh, Melanau, and Orang Ulu, as well as a number of ethnic groups with smaller but still substantial populations, such as the Kedayan, Javanese, Bugis, Murut, and Indian. In 2015, the Bidayuh and Iban, both indigenous ethnic groups of Sarawak, were officially recognised by the government of Malaysia as comprising the Dayak people. There are more than 50 tribes still existing or extinct in Sarawak but only the major tribes are listed in the Malaysian Federal Constitution.


title: Sarawak

text: The population of 1,280,154 of the Iban people in Sarawak, based on 2021 statistics, makes it the largest ethnic group in the state. The Iban were, in the past, a society that paid particular attention to social status, especially to those who displayed martial prowess as well as to those who demonstrated expertise in various fields such as farming and oratory. Specific terms were used to refer to those who belonged to particular social strata, such as the "raja berani" (rich and the brave), "orang mayuh" (ordinary people), and "ulun" (slaves). Despite modern influences, Iban still observe many of their traditional rituals such as Gawai Antu (festival of the dead) and Gawai Dayak (Harvest Festival).


title: Sarawak

text: Although the presence of Chinese in Sarawak dates back to the 6th century AD when traders first came to the state, the Chinese population today largely consists of communities originating from immigrants during the Brooke era. This migration was driven by the employment opportunities at gold mines in Bau.


title: Sarawak

text: Sarawak Chinese are primarily Buddhist and Christian, and speak a multitude of dialects: Cantonese, Foochow, Hakka, Hokkien, Teochew, and Henghua (Putian people). They celebrate major cultural festivals such as Hungry Ghost Festival and the Chinese New Year much as their ancestors did. Chinese settlers in Sarawak were not limited to any one area. Those who settled in Kuching did so near the Sarawak River in an area that is now referred to as Chinatown. Foochow immigrants from Fuzhou, Fujian, led by Wong Nai Siong in 1901, settled along the Rajang River in what is now Sibu , as due to Boxer Rebellion, while those who arrived in Miri sought work in the coal mines and oilfields.


title: Sarawak

text: During the Brooke era, Sarawak Malays were predominantly fishermen, leading to their villages being concentrated along river banks. However, with the advent of urban development, many Malays have migrated to seek employment in public and private sectors. Traditionally, they are known for their silver and brass crafts, wood carvings, and textiles.


title: Sarawak

text: The Melanau are a native people of Sarawak that lived in areas primarily around the modern city of Mukah, where they worked as fishermen and craftsmen as well renowned boatbuilders. Historically the Melanau practised Animism, a belief that spirits inhabited objects in their environment, and while this is still practised today, most Melanau have since been converted to Christianity and Islam.


title: Sarawak

text: The Bidayuh are a southern Sarawak people, that were referred to by early European settlers as Land Dayaks because they traditionally live on steep limestone mountains. They account for 8.4 per cent of the population of Sarawak and are the second most numerous of the indigenous Dayak people, after the Iban. The Bidayuh are indigenous to the areas that comprise the modern day divisions of Kuching and Serian. Although considered one people, their language is regionally distinct resulting in dialects that are unintelligible to Bidayuh from outside the immediate locale, resulting in English and Malay being the lingua franca. Like many other indigenous peoples, the majority of the Bidayuh have been converted to Christianity,


title: Sarawak

text: but still live in villages consisting of longhouses, with the addition of the distinctive round "baruk" where communal gatherings were held.


title: Sarawak

text: The numerous tribes who reside in Sarawak's interior such as the Kenyah, Kayan, Lun Bawang, Kelabit, Penan, Bisaya, and Berawan are collectively referred to as Orang Ulu. In the Iban language, this name means "Upriver People," reflecting the location these tribes settled in; most of them reside near the drainage basin of the Baram River. Both woodworking and artistry are highly visible aspects of Orang Ulu culture exemplified by mural covered longhouses, carved wooden boats, and tattooing. Well-known musical instruments from the Orang Ulu are the Kayans' sapeh and Kenyah's sampe' and Lun Bawang's bamboo band. The Kelabit and Lun Bawang people are known for their production of fragrant rice. As with the many other indigenous peoples of Sarawak, the majority of Orang Ulu are Christians.


title: Sarawak

text: The Indians, predominantly the Tamils were brought by the British Government to work in estates as labourers and clerks. Besides, the Malayalee community too exist in the cities in Sarawak. Today, many among the Indians are known to be employed as professionals (mainly doctors) in Sarawak.


title: Sarawak

text: English was the official language of Sarawak from 1963 to 1974 due to opposition from First Chief Minister of Sarawak Stephen Kalong Ningkan to the use of the Malaysian language in Sarawak. In 1974, the new Chief Minister Abdul Rahman Ya'kub recognised Malay alongside English as an official language of Sarawak. This new status given to the Malay language was further reinforced by new education standards transitioning curriculum to Malay. In 1985 English lost the status of an official language, leaving only Malay. Despite official policy, Sarawak opposition members argue that English remained the "de facto" official language of Sarawak. English is still spoken in the legal courts, and state legislative assembly. In 2015, Chief Minister Adenan Satem reinstated English as an official language. Sarawak's language autonomy does not extend to the educational system, with the language syllabus controlled by the federal government.


title: Sarawak

text: Although the official form of Malay, Bahasa Malaysia, is spoken by the government administration, it is used infrequently in colloquial conversation. The local dialect of "Bahasa Sarawak" (Sarawak Malay) dominates the vernacular. Bahasa Sarawak is the most common language of Sarawak Malays and other indigenous tribes. The Iban language, which has minor regional variations, is the most widely spoken native language, with 60 per cent of the Sarawak population speaking it as a first language. The Bidayuh language, with six major dialects, is spoken by 10 per cent of the population. The Orang Ulu have about 30 different language dialects. While the ethnic Chinese originate from a variety of backgrounds and speak many different dialects such as Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, Fuzhou, and Teochew, they also converse in Malaysian Mandarin. Tamil language is spoken by the Indians in Sarawak.


title: Sarawak

text: Christianity is the largest religion in Sarawak, representing 50.1% of the total population according to the 2021 census. This makes Sarawak the only Malaysian state with a Christian majority. The earliest Christian missionaries in Sarawak were Church of England (Anglicans) in 1848, followed by Roman Catholics a few years later, and Methodists in 1903. Evangelization first took place among the Chinese immigrants before spreading to indigenous animists. Other Christian denominations in Sarawak are Borneo Evangelical Mission (or Sidang Injil Borneo), and Baptists. Indigenous people such as the Iban, Bidayuh, and Orang Ulu have adopted Christianity, although they do retain some of their traditional religious rites. Many Muslims come from the Malay and Melanau. Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion are predominantly practised by Chinese Malaysians. Other minor religions in Sarawak are the Baháʼí Faith, Hinduism, Sikhism, and animism.


title: Sarawak

text: Although Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, Sarawak has no official state religion. However, during the chieftainship of Abdul Rahman Ya'kub, the Constitution of Sarawak was amended to make the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the head of Islam in Sarawak and empower the state assembly to pass laws regarding Islamic affairs. With such provisions, Islamic policies can be formulated in Sarawak and the establishment of Islamic state agencies is possible. The 1978 Majlis Islam Bill enabled the setting up of Syariah Courts in Sarawak with jurisdictions over matrimonial, child custody, betrothal, inheritance, and criminal cases in the state. An appeals court and Courts of Kadi were also formed.


title: Sarawak

text: The location and history of Sarawak has resulted in a broad diversity of ethnicity, culture and languages. Among the indigenous peoples of Sarawak, outside influences have led to many changes over time. The Iban tribal culture in Sarawak centred on the concept of the warrior and the ability to take heads from other tribes in battle. This practice, central as it was to the Iban people, was made illegal under James Brooke's rule and ultimately faded away although reminders of the practice are still seen in some long houses. Two other tribal peoples of the Sarawak Highlands, the Kelabit and Lun Bawang, have seen fundamental changes to their ethnic identities as a direct result of their conversion to Christianity. One major change was the shift in the focal point of their social interactions from the traditional long house to the local church. Their religious devotion has also helped shape their worldview outside of their village, particularly in response to change. For the Penan people, one of the last tribes to still be practising a nomadic lifestyle within the jungle, outside influence, particularly education, has resulted in a significant decline in the population that practice the nomadic lifestyle. Others settle down after intermixing with members of different tribes, such as the Orang Ulu. One direct result of this diversity in cultures, engendered by a policy of tolerance to all races, is the increasing numbers of tribal peoples marrying not only other Sarawakian tribes, but also to Chinese, Malays as well as citizens of European or American descent.


title: Sarawak

text: The indigenous tribes of Sarawak traditionally used oratory to pass on their culture from one generation to the next; examples of these traditional practices include the Iban's Ngajat dances, "Renong" (Iban vocal repertory), "Ensera" (Iban oral narratives), and epic storytelling by the Kayan and Kenyah.


title: Sarawak

text: In the years before federation, the colonial government recognised that British education and indigenous culture was influencing a new generation of Iban teachers. Thus, on 15 September 1958, the Borneo Literature Bureau was inaugurated with a charter to nurture and encourage local literature while also supporting the government in its release of documentation, particularly in technical and instructional manuscripts that were to be distributed to the indigenous peoples of Sarawak and Sabah. As well as indigenous languages, documents would also be published in English, Chinese and Malay. In 1977, the bureau came under the authority of the federal government language planning and development agency, the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), which advocated publication only in Malay ultimately causing the demise of fledgling indigenous literature.


title: Sarawak

text: It was a number of decades before print media began to appear in Sarawak. The "Sarawak Gazette", published by the Brooke government, recorded a variety of news relating to economics, agriculture, anthropology, archaeology, began circulation in 1870 and continues in modern times.


title: Sarawak

text: However, in the decades following federation, restrictive laws and connections to businesses have meant that the media is a largely state-owned enterprise. One of the earliest known text publications in Borneo, "Hikayat Panglima Nikosa" (Story of Nikosa the Warrior), was first printed in Kuching, 1876.


title: Sarawak

text: There are a number of museums in Sarawak that preserve and maintain artefacts of Sarawak's culture. At the foot of Mount Santubong, Kuching, is Sarawak Cultural Village, a "living museum" that showcases the various ethnic groups carrying out traditional activities in their respective traditional houses. The Sarawak State Museum houses a collection of artefacts such as pottery, textiles, and woodcarving tools from various ethnic tribes in Sarawak, as well as ethnographic materials of local cultures. Orang Ulu's Sapeh (a dug-out guitar) is the best known traditional musical instrument in Sarawak and was played for Queen Elizabeth II during her official visit to Sarawak in 1972.


title: Sarawak

text: Sarawak being home to diverse communities, has a variety of ethnically influenced cuisines and cooking styles rarely found elsewhere in Malaysia. Notable dishes in the state include Sarawak laksa, kolo mee, and ayam pansuh. The state is also known for its Sarawak layer cake dessert.


title: Sarawak

text: Several international films had made Sarawak as a principal photography location namely, Farewell to the King (1989), The Sleeping Dictionary (2003), and Edge of the World (2021).


title: Sarawak

text: Sarawakians observe a number of holidays and festivals throughout the year. Apart from national Independence Day and Malaysia Day celebrations, the state also celebrates its Independence Day on 22 July and the State Governor's birthday. Ethnic groups also celebrate their own festivals. The open house tradition allows other ethnic groups to join in the celebrations. Sarawak is the only state in Malaysia to declare the Gawai Dayak celebration a public holiday.


title: Sarawak

text: Sarawak sent its own teams to participate in the 1958 and 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, and 1962 Asian Games; after 1963, Sarawakians competed as part of the Malaysian team. Sarawak hosted the Malaysian SUKMA Games in 1990 and 2016, and was overall champion in the 1990, 1992, and 1994 SUKMA games. It also hosted the Para SUKMA Games in 1996 and 2016, and was overall champion for 13 consecutive editions from 1994 until 2018. In 2019, both Sabah and Sarawak Sports Ministries work together to establish the East Malaysia Sports Commission to facilitate the organisation of more sports programmes in the two territories including other places in the Borneo islands. The Sarawak government also plans to make Sarawak an e-sports hub in the region.


title: Carmen Ejogo

text: Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo (; born 22 October 1973) is a British actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in such films as "Metro" (1997), "Love's Labour's Lost" (2000), "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" (2001), "Boycott" (2001), "Away We Go" (2009), "Sparkle" (2012), "Alex Cross" (2012), "" (2014), "Selma" (2014), "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (2016), "It Comes at Night" (2017), "" (2017), and "" (2018).


title: Carmen Ejogo

text: Ejogo also starred in the NBC crime drama series "Kidnapped" (2006–2007), the ABC thriller series "Zero Hour" (2013), the Starz anthology drama series "The Girlfriend Experience" (2017), the HBO anthology crime series "True Detective" (2019), the Netflix limited series "Self Made" (2020) and Showtime series "Your Honor" (2021) opposite Bryan Cranston.


title: Carmen Ejogo

text: Ejogo was born on 22 October 1973 in Kensington, London, England. She is the daughter of a Scottish mother, Elizabeth (née Douglas), and a Nigerian father, Charles Ejogo. Ejogo remembers her mother as having been "a bit of a hippie" during her childhood. She attended the Oratory Roman Catholic Primary School and Glendower Preparatory School, and was then educated at Godolphin and Latymer School.


title: Carmen Ejogo

text: She began her career as host of the "Saturday Disney" morning show from 1993 to 1995. Her film credits include "Love's Labour's Lost" (2000), "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" (2001), "Away We Go" (2009), "Sparkle" (2012), "Alex Cross" (2012), "" (2014), "It Comes at Night" (2017), and "" (2017). She is also known for her role as Seraphina Picquery in the "Fantastic Beasts" film series. She plays Amelia Reardon in the HBO series "True Detective" (2019).


title: Carmen Ejogo

text: Ejogo has appeared as civil rights activist Coretta Scott King in two films: "Boycott" (2001) and "Selma" (2014). While preparing for the role in "Boycott", she met with King and was given King's blessing for her portrayal.


title: Carmen Ejogo

text: Ejogo has been involved in the music industry, having collaborated with several artists since the 1990s. She presented "The Carmen Ejogo Video Show", her own video show on BSB's Power Station channel.


title: Carmen Ejogo

text: She wrote and sang lead vocals on the song "Candles" by English drum 'n' bass DJ Alex Reece—she appeared in the music video and is listed in the production credits as "Carmen". Ejogo also sang vocals and duets with ex-husband Tricky on a song called "Slowly". She sang vocals for the film "Love's Labour's Lost" (2000).


title: Carmen Ejogo

text: Aside from "Candles", Ejogo appears on four songs of the "" original soundtrack album from the movie of the same name, singing lead on "Yes I Do" (as a solo), and lead vocals with Jordin Sparks and Tika Sumpter singing backup on "Jump", "Hooked on Your Love" and "Something He Can Feel". She also starred as Rose Angelina in "Catherine Cookson's Colour Blind".


title: Carmen Ejogo

text: Ejogo was briefly married to trip-hop artist Tricky. In 2000, she married American actor Jeffrey Wright, whom she met while making the HBO film "Boycott". They have a son, Elijah (born on June 8, 1999), and a daughter, Juno (born on April 14, 2004). Ejogo and Wright have since divorced.


title: Nation state

text: A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.


title: Nation state

text: A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may include a diaspora or refugees who live outside the nation state; some nations of this sense do not have a state where that ethnicity predominates. In a more general sense, a nation state is simply a large, politically sovereign country or administrative territory. A nation state may be contrasted with:


title: Nation state

text: This article mainly discusses the more specific definition of a nation-state as a typically sovereign country dominated by a particular ethnicity.


title: Nation state

text: The relationship between a nation (in the ethnic sense) and a state can be complex. The presence of a state can encourage ethnogenesis, and a group with a pre-existing ethnic identity can influence the drawing of territorial boundaries or argue for political legitimacy.


title: Nation state

text: This definition of a "nation-state" is not universally accepted. "All attempts to develop terminological consensus around "nation" resulted in failure", concludes academic Valery Tishkov.


title: Nation state

text: Walker Connor discusses the impressions surrounding the characters of "nation", "(sovereign) state", "nation state", and "nationalism". Connor, who gave the term "ethnonationalism" wide currency, also discusses the tendency to confuse nation and state and the treatment of all states as if nation states.


title: Nation state

text: The origins and early history of nation states are disputed. A major theoretical question is: "Which came first, the nation or the nation state?" Scholars such as Steven Weber, David Woodward, Michel Foucault and Jeremy Black have advanced the hypothesis that the nation state did not arise out of political ingenuity or an unknown undetermined source, nor was it a political invention; but is an inadvertent byproduct of 15th-century intellectual discoveries in political economy, capitalism, mercantilism, political geography, and geography combined with cartography and advances in map-making technologies. It was with these intellectual discoveries and technological advances that the nation state arose. For others, the nation existed first, then nationalist movements arose for sovereignty, and the nation state was created to meet that demand. Some "modernization theories" of nationalism see it as a product of government policies to unify and modernize an already existing state. Most theories see the nation state as a 19th-century European phenomenon, facilitated by developments such as state-mandated education, mass literacy and mass media. However, historians also note the early emergence of a relatively unified state and identity in Portugal and the Dutch Republic.


title: Nation state

text: In France, Eric Hobsbawm argues, the French state preceded the formation of the French people. Hobsbawm considers that the state made the French nation, not French nationalism, which emerged at the end of the 19th century, the time of the Dreyfus Affair. At the time of the 1789 French Revolution, only half of the French people spoke some French, and 12–13% spoke the version of it that was to be found in literature and in educational facilities, according to Hobsbawm.


title: Nation state

text: During the Italian unification, the number of people speaking the Italian language was even lower. The French state promoted the replacement of various regional dialects and languages by a centralised French language, and so did, and still does, Italy. The introduction of conscription and the Third Republic's 1880s laws on public instruction facilitated the creation of a national identity under this theory.


title: Nation state

text: Some nation states, such as Germany and Italy, came into existence at least partly as a result of political campaigns by nationalists, during the 19th century. In both cases, the territory was previously divided among other states, some of them very small. The sense of common identity was at first a cultural movement, such as in the "Völkisch movement" in German-speaking states, which rapidly acquired a political significance. In these cases, the nationalist sentiment and the nationalist movement clearly precede the unification of the German and Italian nation states.


title: Nation state

text: Historians Hans Kohn, Liah Greenfeld, Philip White and others have classified nations such as Germany or Italy, where cultural unification preceded state unification, as "ethnic nations" or "ethnic nationalities". However, "state-driven" national unifications, such as in France, England or China, are more likely to flourish in multiethnic societies, producing a traditional national heritage of "civic nations", or "territory-based nationalities".


title: Nation state

text: The idea of a nation state was and is associated with the rise of the modern system of states, often called the "Westphalian system" in reference to the Treaty of Westphalia (1648). The balance of power, which characterized that system, depended on its effectiveness upon clearly defined, centrally controlled, independent entities, whether empires or nation states, which recognize each other's sovereignty and territory. The Westphalian system did not create the nation state, but the nation state meets the criteria for its component states (by assuming that there is no disputed territory). Before the Westphalian system, the closest geopolitical system was the "Chanyuan system" established in East Asia in 1005 through the Treaty of Chanyuan, which, like the Westphalian peace treaties, designated national borders between the independent regimes of China's Song dynasty and the nomadic Liao dynasty. This system was copied and developed in East Asia in the following centuries until the establishment of the pan-Eurasian Mongol Empire in the 13th century.


title: Nation state

text: The nation state received a philosophical underpinning in the era of Romanticism, at first as the "natural" expression of the individual peoples (romantic nationalism: see Johann Gottlieb Fichte's conception of the "Volk", later opposed by Ernest Renan). The increasing emphasis during the 19th century on the ethnic and racial origins of the nation, led to a redefinition of the nation state in these terms. Racism, which in Boulainvilliers's theories was inherently antipatriotic and antinationalist, joined itself with colonialist imperialism and "continental imperialism", most notably in pan-Germanic and pan-Slavic movements.


title: Nation state

text: The relation between racism and ethnic nationalism reached its height in the 20th century fascism and Nazism. The specific combination of "nation" ("people") and "state" expressed in such terms as the "Völkische Staat" and implemented in laws such as the 1935 Nuremberg laws made fascist states such as early Nazi Germany qualitatively different from non-fascist nation states. Minorities were not considered part of the people ("Volk"), and were consequently denied to have an authentic or legitimate role in such a state. In Germany, neither Jews nor the Roma were considered part of the people and both were specifically targeted for persecution. German nationality law defined "German" on the basis of German ancestry, excluding "all" non-Germans from the people.


title: Nation state

text: In recent years, a nation state's claim to absolute sovereignty within its borders has been criticized. A global political system based on international agreements and supra-national blocs characterized the post-war era. Non-state actors, such as international corporations and non-governmental organizations, are widely seen as eroding the economic and political power of nation states.


title: Nation state

text: According to Andreas Wimmer and Yuval Feinstein, nation-states tended to emerge when power shifts allowed nationalists to overthrow existing regimes or absorb existing administrative units. Xue Li and Alexander Hicks links the frequency of nation-state creation to processes of diffusion that emanate from international organizations.


title: Nation state

text: In Europe, during the 18th century, the classic non-national states were the "multiethnic" empires, the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of France (and its empire), the Kingdom of Hungary, the Russian Empire, the Portuguese Empire, the Spanish Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, the Dutch Empire and smaller nations at what would now be called sub-state level. The multi-ethnic empire was an absolute monarchy ruled by a king, emperor or sultan. The population belonged to many ethnic groups, and they spoke many languages. The empire was dominated by one ethnic group, and their language was usually the language of public administration. The ruling dynasty was usually, but not always, from that group.


title: Nation state

text: This type of state is not specifically European: such empires existed in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Chinese dynasties, such as the Tang dynasty, the Ming dynasty, and the Qing dynasty, were all multiethnic regimes governed by a ruling ethnic group. In the three examples, their ruling ethnic groups were the Han-Chinese, and the Manchus. In the Muslim world, immediately after Muhammad's death in 632, Caliphates were established. Caliphates were Islamic states under the leadership of a political-religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. These polities developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires. The Ottoman sultan, Selim I (1512–1520) reclaimed the title of caliph, which had been in dispute and asserted by a diversity of rulers and "shadow caliphs" in the centuries of the Abbasid-Mamluk Caliphate since the Mongols' sacking of Baghdad and the killing of the last Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad, Iraq 1258.


title: Nation state

text: The Ottoman Caliphate as an office of the Ottoman Empire was abolished under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1924 as part of Atatürk's Reforms.


title: Nation state

text: Some of the smaller European states were not so ethnically diverse, but were also dynastic states, ruled by a royal house. Their territory could expand by royal intermarriage or merge with another state when the dynasty merged. In some parts of Europe, notably Germany, very small territorial units existed. They were recognized by their neighbors as independent, and had their own government and laws. Some were ruled by princes or other hereditary rulers, some were governed by bishops or abbots. Because they were so small, however, they had no separate language or culture: the inhabitants shared the language of the surrounding region.


title: Nation state

text: In some cases, these states were simply overthrown by nationalist uprisings in the 19th century. Liberal ideas of free trade played a role in German unification, which was preceded by a customs union, the Zollverein. However, the Austro-Prussian War, and the German alliances in the Franco-Prussian War, were decisive in the unification. The Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire broke up after the First World War, and the Russian Empire became the Soviet Union after the Russian Civil War.


title: Nation state

text: A few of the smaller states survived: the independent principalities of Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, and the republic of San Marino. (Vatican City is a special case. All of the larger Papal States save the Vatican itself were occupied and absorbed by Italy by 1870. The resulting Roman Question was resolved with the rise of the modern state under the 1929 Lateran treaties between Italy and the Holy See.)


title: Nation state

text: "Legitimate states that govern effectively and dynamic industrial economies are widely regarded today as the defining characteristics of a modern nation-state."


title: Nation state

text: Nation states have their own characteristics, differing from those of the pre-national states. For a start, they have a different attitude to their territory when compared with dynastic monarchies: it is semisacred and nontransferable. No nation would swap territory with other states simply, for example, because the king's daughter married. They have a different type of border, in principle defined only by the area of settlement of the national group, although many nation states also sought natural borders (rivers, mountain ranges). They are constantly changing in population size and power because of the limited restrictions of their borders.


title: Nation state

text: The most noticeable characteristic is the degree to which nation states use the state as an instrument of national unity, in economic, social and cultural life.


title: Nation state

text: The nation state promoted economic unity, by abolishing internal customs and tolls. In Germany, that process, the creation of the Zollverein, preceded formal national unity. Nation states typically have a policy to create and maintain a national transportation infrastructure, facilitating trade and travel. In 19th-century Europe, the expansion of the rail transport networks was at first largely a matter for private railway companies, but gradually came under control of the national governments. The French rail network, with its main lines radiating from Paris to all corners of France, is often seen as a reflection of the centralised French nation state, which directed its construction. Nation states continue to build, for instance, specifically national motorway networks. Specifically transnational infrastructure programmes, such as the Trans-European Networks, are a recent innovation.


title: Nation state

text: The nation states typically had a more centralised and uniform public administration than its imperial predecessors: they were smaller, and the population less diverse. (The internal diversity of the Ottoman Empire, for instance, was very great.) After the 19th-century triumph of the nation state in Europe, regional identity was subordinate to national identity, in regions such as Alsace-Lorraine, Catalonia, Brittany and Corsica. In many cases, the regional administration was also subordinated to central (national) government. This process was partially reversed from the 1970s onward, with the introduction of various forms of regional autonomy, in formerly centralised states such as Spain or Italy.


title: Nation state

text: The most obvious impact of the nation state, as compared to its non-national predecessors, is the creation of a uniform national culture, through state policy. The model of the nation state implies that its population constitutes a nation, united by a common descent, a common language and many forms of shared culture. When the implied unity was absent, the nation state often tried to create it. It promoted a uniform national language, through language policy. The creation of national systems of compulsory primary education and a relatively uniform curriculum in secondary schools, was the most effective instrument in the spread of the national languages. The schools also taught the national history, often in a propagandistic and mythologised version, and (especially during conflicts) some nation states still teach this kind of history.


title: Nation state

text: Language and cultural policy was sometimes negative, aimed at the suppression of non-national elements. Language prohibitions were sometimes used to accelerate the adoption of national languages and the decline of minority languages (see examples: Anglicisation, Bulgarization, Croatization, Czechization, Dutchification, Francisation, Germanisation, Hellenization, Hispanicization, Italianization, Lithuanization, Magyarisation, Polonisation, Russification, Serbization, Slovakisation, Swedification, Turkification).


title: Nation state

text: In some cases, these policies triggered bitter conflicts and further ethnic separatism. But where it worked, the cultural uniformity and homogeneity of the population increased. Conversely, the cultural divergence at the border became sharper: in theory, a uniform French identity extends from the Atlantic coast to the Rhine, and on the other bank of the Rhine, a uniform German identity begins. To enforce that model, both sides have divergent language policy and educational systems.


title: Nation state

text: The notion of a unifying "national identity" also extends to countries that host multiple ethnic or language groups, such as India. For example, Switzerland is constitutionally a confederation of cantons, and has four official languages, but it has also a "Swiss" national identity, a national history and a classic national hero, Wilhelm Tell.


title: Nation state

text: Innumerable conflicts have arisen where political boundaries did not correspond with ethnic or cultural boundaries.


title: Nation state

text: After World War II in the Josip Broz Tito era, nationalism was appealed to for uniting South Slav peoples. Later in the 20th century, after the break-up of the Soviet Union, leaders appealed to ancient ethnic feuds or tensions that ignited conflict between the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, as well as Bosniaks, Montenegrins and Macedonians, eventually breaking up the long collaboration of peoples. Ethnic cleansing was carried out in the Balkans, resulting in the destruction of the formerly socialist republic and producing the civil wars in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992–95, resulting in mass population displacements and segregation that radically altered what was once a highly diverse and intermixed ethnic makeup of the region. These conflicts were largely about creating a new political framework of states, each of which would be ethnically and politically homogeneous. Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks insisted they were ethnically distinct although many communities had a long history of intermarriage. Presently Croatia (90,42%), Slovenia (83,1-88%) and Serbia (83,3% Serb) could be classified as monoethnic states, whereas North Macedonia (66% Macedonian), Montenegro (42% Montenegrin) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (50.1% Bosniak) are multiethnic states.


title: Nation state

text: Belgium is a classic example of a state that is not a nation state. The state was formed by secession from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1830, whose neutrality and integrity was protected by the Treaty of London 1839; thus it served as a buffer state after the Napoleonic Wars between the European powers France, Prussia (after 1871 the German Empire) and the United Kingdom until World War I, when its neutrality was breached by the Germans. Currently, Belgium is divided between the Flemings in the north, the French-speaking population in the south, and the German-speaking population in the east. The Flemish population in the north speaks Dutch, the Walloon population in the south speaks either French or, in the east of Liège Province, German. The Brussels population speaks French or Dutch.


title: Nation state

text: The Flemish identity is also cultural, and there is a strong separatist movement espoused by the political parties, the right-wing Vlaams Belang and the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie. The Francophone Walloon identity of Belgium is linguistically distinct and regionalist. There is also unitary Belgian nationalism, several versions of a Greater Netherlands ideal, and a German-speaking community of Belgium annexed from Germany in 1920, and re-annexed by Germany in 1940–1944. However, these ideologies are all very marginal and politically insignificant during elections.


title: Nation state

text: China covers a large geographic area and uses the concept of "Zhonghua minzu" or Chinese nationality, in the sense of ethnic groups, but it also officially recognizes the majority Han ethnic group which accounts for over 90% of the population, and no fewer than 55 ethnic national minorities.


title: Nation state

text: According to Philip G. Roeder, Moldova is an example of a Soviet era "segment-state" (Moldavian SSR), where the "nation-state project of the segment-state trumped the nation-state project of prior statehood. In Moldova, despite strong agitation from university faculty and students for reunification with Romania, the nation-state project forged within the Moldavian SSR trumped the project for a return to the interwar nation-state project of Greater Romania." See Controversy over linguistic and ethnic identity in Moldova for further details.


title: Nation state

text: Israel was founded as a Jewish state in 1948. Its "Basic Laws" describe it as both a Jewish and a democratic state. The (2018) explicitly specifies the nature of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 75.7% of Israel's population are Jews. Arabs, who make up 20.4% of the population, are the largest ethnic minority in Israel. Israel also has very small communities of Armenians, Circassians, Assyrians, Samaritans. There are also some non-Jewish spouses of Israeli Jews. However, these communities are very small, and usually number only in the hundreds or thousands.


title: Nation state

text: The Kingdom of the Netherlands presents an unusual example in which one kingdom represents four distinct countries. The four countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are:


title: Nation state

text: Each is expressly designated as a "land" in Dutch law by the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Unlike the German and the Austrian , is consistently translated as "countries" by the Dutch government.


title: Nation state

text: While historical monarchies often brought together different kingdoms/territories/ethnic groups under the same crown, in modern nation states political elites seek a uniformity of the population, leading to state nationalism. In the case of the Christian territories of the future Spain, neighboring Al-Andalus, there was an early perception of ethnicity, faith and shared territory in the Middle Ages (13th-14th centuries), as documented by the Chronicle of Muntaner in the proposal of the Castilian king to the other Christian kings of the peninsula: "..."if these four Kings of Spain whom he named, who are of one flesh and blood, held together, little need they fear all the other powers of the world."..". After the dynastic union of the Catholic Monarchs in the 15th century, the Spanish Monarchy ruled over different kingdoms, each with its own cultural, linguistic and political particularities, and the kings had to swear by the Laws of each territory before the respective Parliaments.


title: Nation state

text: After the War of the Spanish Succession, rooted in the political position of the Count-Duke of Olivares and the absolutism of Philip V, the assimilation of the Crown of Aragon by the Castilian Crown through the Decrees of Nova planta was the first step in the creation of the Spanish nation-state. As in other contemporary European states, political union was the first step in the creation of the Spanish nation-state, in this case not on a uniform ethnic basis, but through the imposition of the political and cultural characteristics of the dominant ethnic group, in this case the Castilians, over those of other ethnic groups, who became national minorities to be assimilated. In fact, since the political unification of 1714, Spanish assimilation policies towards Catalan-speaking territories (Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, part of Aragon) and other national minorities, as basques and galicians, have been a historical constant.


title: Nation state

text: The process of assimilation began with secret instructions to the corregidores of the Catalan territory: they "will take the utmost care to introduce the Castilian language, for which purpose he will give the most temperate and disguised measures so that the effect is achieved, without the care being noticed." From there, actions in the service of assimilation, discreet or aggressive, were continued, and reached to the last detail, such as, in 1799, the Royal Certificate forbidding anyone to "represent, sing and dance pieces that were not in Spanish." These nationalist policies, sometimes very aggressive, and still in force, have been, and still are, the seed of repeated territorial conflicts within the State.


title: Nation state

text: The nationalization process accelerated in the 19th century, in parallel to the origin of Spanish nationalism, the social, political and ideological movement that tried to shape a Spanish national identity based on the Castilian model, in conflict with the other historical nations of the State. Politicians of the time were aware that despite the aggressive policies pursued up to that time, the uniform and monocultural "Spanish nation" did not exist, as indicated in 1835 by Antonio Alcalà Galiano, when in the Cortes del Estatuto Real he defended the effort "To make the Spanish nation a nation that neither is nor has been until now." In 1906, the Catalanist party Solidaritat Catalana was founded to try to mitigate the economically and culturally oppressive treatment of Spain towards the Catalans. One of the responses of Spanish nationalism came from the military state with statements such as that of the publication La Correspondencia militar: "The Catalan problem is not solved, well, by freedom, but by restriction; not by palliatives and pacts, but by iron and fire". Another came from important Spanish intellectuals, such Pio Baroja and Blasco Ibañez, calling the Catalans "Jews", considered a serious insult at that time when racism was gaining strength.


title: Nation state

text: Building the nation (as in France, it was the state that created the nation, and not the opposite process) is an ideal that the Spanish elites constantly reiterated, and, one hundred years later than Alcalá Galiano, for example, we can also find it in the mouth of the fascist José Pemartín, who admired the German and Italian modeling policies:"There is an intimate and decisive dualism, both in Italian fascism and in German National Socialism. On the one hand the Hegelian doctrine of the absolutism of the state is felt. The State originates in the Nation, educates and shapes the mentality of the individual; is, in Mussolini's words, the soul of the soul » The turn of the 20th century, and the first half of that century, have seen the most ethnic violence, coinciding with a racism that even came to identify states with races; in the case of Spain, with a supposed Spanish race sublimated in Castilian, of which national minorities were degenerate forms, and the first of those that needed to be exterminated.


title: Nation state

text: In this sense, one can find discourses on the alienation of Catalan speakers, such as, for example, an article entitled «Cataluña bilingüe», by Menéndez Pidal, in which he defends the Romanones decree against the Catalan language, published in El Imparcial, on 15 December 1902:«… There they will see that the Courts of the Catalan-Aragonese Confederation never had Catalan as their official language; that the kings of Aragon, even those of the Catalan dynasty, used Catalan only in Catalonia, and used Spanish not only in the Cortes of Aragon, but also in foreign relations, the same with Castile or Navarre as with the infidel kings of Granada , from Africa or Asia, because even in the most important days of Catalonia, Spanish prevailed as the language of the Aragonese kingdom and Catalan was reserved for the peculiar affairs of the Catalan county..."or the article "Los Catalanes. A las Cortes Constituyentes », appeared in several newspapers, among others: El Dia de Alicante, June 23, 1931, El Porvenir Castellano and El Noticiero de Soria, July 2, 1931, in the Heraldo de Almeria on June 4, 1931, sent by the "Pro-Justice Committee", with a post office box in Madrid:"The Catalanists have recently declared that they are not Spanish, nor do they want to be, nor can they be. They have also been saying for a long time that they are an oppressed, enslaved, exploited people. It is imperative to do them justice... That they return to Phenicia or that they go wherever they want to admit them. When the Catalan tribes saw Spain and settled in the Spanish territory that is now occupied by the provinces of Barcelona, Gerona, Lérida and Tarragona, how little they imagined that the case of the captivity of the tribes of Israel in Egypt would be repeated there! !... Let us respect his most holy will. They are eternally inadaptable... Their cowardice and selfishness leaves them no room for fraternity... So, we propose to the Constituent Cortes the expulsion of the Catalanists... You are free! The Republic opens wide the doors of Spain, your prison. go away Get out of here. Go back to Phenicia, or go wherever you want, how big is the world."The main scapegoat of Spanish nationalism is the non-Spanish languages, which over the last three hundred years have been tried to be replaced by Spanish with hundreds of laws and regulations, but also with acts of great violence, such as during the civil war. For example, the statements of Queipo de Llano can be found in the article entitled "Against Catalonia, the Israel of the Modern World", published in the Diario Palentino on November 26, 1936, where it is dropped that in America Catalans are considered a race of Jews, because they use the same procedures that the Hebrews perform in all the nations of the Globe. And considering the Catalans as Hebrews and considering his anti-Semitism "Our struggle is not a civil war, but a war for Western civilization against the Jewish world," it is not surprising that Queipo de Llano expressed his anti-Catalan intentions: "When the war is over, Pompeu Fabra and his works will be dragged along the Ramblas" (it was not talk to talk, the house of Pompeu Fabra, the standardizer of Catalan language, was raided and his huge personal library burned in the middle of the street. Pompeu Fabra was able to escape into exile).


title: Nation state

text: Another example of fascist aggression towards the Catalan language is pointed out by Paul Preston in "The Spanish Holocaust", given that during the civil war it practically led to an ethnic conflict:"In the days following the occupation of Lleida (…), the republican prisoners identified as Catalans were executed without trial. Anyone who heard them speak Catalan was very likely to be arrested. The arbitrary brutality of the anti-Catalan repression reached such a point that Franco himself had to issue an order ordering that mistakes that could later be regretted be avoided ".


title: Nation state

text: "There are examples of the murder of peasants for no other apparent reason than that of speaking Catalan"After a possible attempt at ethnic cleansing, the biopolitical imposition of Spanish during the Franco dictatorship, to the point of being considered an attempt at cultural genocide, democracy consolidated an apparent asymmetric regime of bilingualism of sorts, wherein the Spanish government has employed a system of laws that favored Spanish over Cataln, which becomes the weaker of the two languages, and therefore, in the absence of other states where it is spoken, is doomed to extinction in the medium or short term. In the same vein, its use in the Spanish Congress is prevented, and it is prevented from achieving official status Europe, unlike less spoken languages such as Gaelic. In other institutional areas, such as justice, Plataforma per la Llengua has denounced Catalanophobia. The association Soberania i Justícia have also denounced it in an act in the European Parliament. It also takes the form of linguistic secessionism, originally advocated by the Spanish extreme right and which has finally been adopted by the Spanish government itself and state bodies.


title: Nation state

text: In November 2005, Omnium Cultural organized a meeting of Catalan and Madrid intellectuals in the Círculo de bellas artes in Madrid to show support for ongoing reform of Catalan Statute of Autonomy, which sought to resolve territorial tensions, and among other things better protect the Catalan language. On the Catalan side, a flight was made with one hundred representatives of the cultural, civic, intellectual, artistic and sporting world of Catalonia, but on the Spanish side, except Santiago Carrillo, a politician from the Second Republic, did not attend any more. The subsequent failure of the statutory reform with respect to its objectives opened the door to the growth of Catalan sovereignty.


title: Nation state

text: Apart from language discrimination by public officials, e.g. in the hospitals, the current prohibition of using the Catalan language in state institutions such as Court, despite being the former Crown of Aragon, with three Catalan-speaking territories, one of the co-founders of the current Spanish state, is nothing more than the continuation of the foreignization of Catalan-speaking people from the first third of the 20th century, in full swing of state racism and fascism. It also can be pointed the linguistic secessionism, originally advocated by the Spanish far right and which has finally been adopted by the Spanish government itself and state bodies. By fragmenting Catalan language into as many languages as territories, it becomes inoperative, economically suffocated, and becomes a political toy in the hands of territorial politicians.


title: Nation state

text: Susceptible to be classified as an ethnic democracy, the Spanish State currently only recognizes the gypsies as a national minority, excluding Catalans (and, of course, Valencians and Balearic), Basques and Galicians. However, it is evident to any external observer that there are social diversities within the Spanish State that qualify as manifestations of national minorities, such as, for example, the existence of the main three linguistic minorities in their ancestral territories.


title: Nation state

text: The United Kingdom is an unusual example of a nation state due to its "countries within a country". The United Kingdom is formed by the union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but it is a unitary state formed initially by the merger of two independent kingdoms, the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland, but the Treaty of Union (1707) that set out the agreed terms has ensured the continuation of distinct features of each state, including separate legal systems and separate national churches.


title: Nation state

text: In 2003, the British Government described the United Kingdom as "countries within a country". While the Office for National Statistics and others describe the United Kingdom as a "nation state", others, including a then Prime Minister, describe it as a "multinational state", and the term Home Nations is used to describe the four national teams that represent the four nations of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales). Some refer to it as a "Union State".


title: Nation state

text: There has been academic debate over whether the United Kingdom can be legally dissolved, as it is recognized internationally as a single nation state. English law jurist A.V. Dicey wrote from an English legal perspective that the question is based on whether the legislation giving rise to the union (the Union with Scotland Act), one of the two pieces of legislation which created the state, can be repealed. Dicey claimed because the Law of England does not acknowledge the word "unconstitutional", as a matter of English law it can be repealed. He also stated any tampering with the Acts of Union 1707 would be political madness.


title: Nation state

text: The most obvious deviation from the ideal of "one nation, one state" is the presence of minorities, especially ethnic minorities, which are clearly not members of the majority nation. An ethnic nationalist definition of a nation is necessarily exclusive: ethnic nations typically do not have open membership. In most cases, there is a clear idea that surrounding nations are different, and that includes members of those nations who live on the "wrong side" of the border. Historical examples of groups who have been specifically singled out as "outsiders" are the Roma and Jews in Europe.


title: Nation state

text: Negative responses to minorities within the nation state have ranged from cultural assimilation enforced by the state, to expulsion, persecution, violence, and extermination. The assimilation policies are usually enforced by the state, but violence against minorities is not always state-initiated: it can occur in the form of mob violence such as lynching or pogroms. Nation states are responsible for some of the worst historical examples of violence against minorities not considered part of the nation.


title: Nation state

text: However, many nation states accept specific minorities as being part of the nation, and the term "national minority" is often used in this sense. The Sorbs in Germany are an example: for centuries they have lived in German-speaking states, surrounded by a much larger ethnic German population, and they have no other historical territory. They are now generally considered to be part of the German nation and are accepted as such by the Federal Republic of Germany, which constitutionally guarantees their cultural rights. Of the thousands of ethnic and cultural minorities in nation states across the world, only a few have this level of acceptance and protection.


title: Nation state

text: Multiculturalism is an official policy in some states, establishing the ideal of coexisting existence among multiple and separate ethnic, cultural, and linguistic groups. Other states preffer the interculturalism (or "melting pot" approach) alternative to multiculturalism, citing problems with latter as promoting self-segregation tendencies among minority groups, challenging national cohesion, polarizing society in groups that can't relate to one another, generating problems in regard to minorities and immigrants' fluency in the national language of use and integration with the rest of society (generating hate and persecution against them from the "otherness" they would generate in such a case according to its adherants), without minorities having to give up certain parts of their culture before being absorbed into a now changed majority culture by their contribution. Many nations have laws protecting minority rights.


title: Nation state

text: When national boundaries that do not match ethnic boundaries are drawn, such as in the Balkans and Central Asia, ethnic tension, massacres and even genocide, sometimes has occurred historically (see Bosnian genocide and 2010 South Kyrgyzstan ethnic clashes).


title: Nation state

text: In principle, the border of a nation state would extend far enough to include all the members of the nation, and all of the national homeland. Again, in practice, some of them always live on the 'wrong side' of the border. Part of the national homeland may be there too, and it may be governed by the 'wrong' nation. The response to the non-inclusion of territory and population may take the form of irredentism: demands to annex "unredeemed" territory and incorporate it into the nation state.


title: Nation state

text: Irredentist claims are usually based on the fact that an identifiable part of the national group lives across the border. However, they can include claims to territory where no members of that nation live at present, because they lived there in the past, the national language is spoken in that region, the national culture has influenced it, geographical unity with the existing territory, or a wide variety of other reasons. Past grievances are usually involved and can cause revanchism.


title: Nation state

text: It is sometimes difficult to distinguish irredentism from pan-nationalism, since both claim that all members of an ethnic and cultural nation belong in one specific state. Pan-nationalism is less likely to specify the nation ethnically. For instance, variants of Pan-Germanism have different ideas about what constituted Greater Germany, including the confusing term "Grossdeutschland", which, in fact, implied the inclusion of huge Slavic minorities from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.


title: Nation state

text: Typically, irredentist demands are at first made by members of non-state nationalist movements. When they are adopted by a state, they typically result in tensions, and actual attempts at annexation are always considered a "casus belli", a cause for war. In many cases, such claims result in long-term hostile relations between neighbouring states. Irredentist movements typically circulate maps of the claimed national territory, the "greater" nation state. That territory, which is often much larger than the existing state, plays a central role in their propaganda.


title: Nation state

text: Irredentism should not be confused with claims to overseas colonies, which are not generally considered part of the national homeland. Some French overseas colonies would be an exception: French rule in Algeria unsuccessfully treated the colony as a "département" of France.


title: Nation state

text: It has been speculated by both proponents of globalization and various science fiction writers that the concept of a nation state may disappear with the ever-increasing interconnectedness of the world. Such ideas are sometimes expressed around concepts of a world government. Another possibility is a societal collapse and move into communal anarchy or zero world government, in which nation states no longer exist.


title: Nation state

text: The theory of the clash of civilizations lies in direct contrast to cosmopolitan theories about an ever more connected world that no longer requires nation states. According to political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post–Cold War world.


title: Nation state

text: The theory was originally formulated in a 1992 lecture at the American Enterprise Institute, which was then developed in a 1993 "Foreign Affairs" article titled "The Clash of Civilizations?", in response to Francis Fukuyama's 1992 book, "The End of History and the Last Man". Huntington later expanded his thesis in a 1996 book "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order".


title: Nation state

text: Huntington began his thinking by surveying the diverse theories about the nature of global politics in the post–Cold War period. Some theorists and writers argued that human rights, liberal democracy and capitalist free market economics had become the only remaining ideological alternative for nations in the post–Cold War world. Specifically, Francis Fukuyama, in "The End of History and the Last Man", argued that the world had reached a Hegelian "end of history".


title: Nation state

text: Huntington believed that while the age of ideology had ended, the world had reverted only to a normal state of affairs characterized by cultural conflict. In his thesis, he argued that the primary axis of conflict in the future will be along cultural and religious lines.


title: Nation state

text: As an extension, he posits that the concept of different civilizations, as the highest rank of cultural identity, will become increasingly useful in analyzing the potential for conflict.


title: Nation state

text: Sandra Joireman suggests that Huntington may be characterised as a neo-primordialist, as, while he sees people as having strong ties to their ethnicity, he does not believe that these ties have always existed.


title: Nation state

text: Historians often look to the past to find the origins of a particular nation state. Indeed, they often put so much emphasis on the importance of the nation state in modern times, that they distort the history of earlier periods in order to emphasize the question of origins. Lansing and English argue that much of the medieval history of Europe was structured to follow the historical winners—especially the nation states that emerged around Paris and London. Important developments that did not directly lead to a nation state get neglected, they argue:


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Mafia, also known as Werewolf, is a social deduction game, created by Dimitry Davidoff in 1986. The game models a conflict between two groups: an informed minority (the mafiosi or the werewolves), and an uninformed majority (the villagers). At the start of the game, each player is secretly assigned a role affiliated with one of these teams. The game has two alternating phases: first, a night role, during which those with night killing powers may covertly kill other players, and second, a day role, in which surviving players debate the identities of players and vote to eliminate a suspect. The game continues until a faction achieves its win condition; for the village, this usually means eliminating the evil minority, while for the minority this usually means reaching numerical parity with the village and eliminating any rival evil groups.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Dimitry Davidoff (, "Dmitry Davydov") is generally acknowledged as the game's creator. He dates the first game of "Mafia" to spring 1987 at the Psychology Department of Moscow State University, from where it spread to the classrooms, dorms, and summer camps of Moscow University. "Wired" attributes the creation to Davidoff and also dates the first game to 1987. He developed the game to combine psychology research with his duties teaching high school students. It became popular in other Soviet colleges and schools, often associated with hugely popular TV series La Piovra, which first ran in 1986. In the 1990s it began to be played in other parts of Europe (in some countries under the name "City of Palermo") and then the United States. By the mid 1990s a version of the game became a Latvian television series (with a parliamentary setting, and played by Latvian celebrities).


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Andrew Plotkin gave the rules a werewolf theme in 1997, arguing that the mafia had less cultural resonance, and that the werewolf concept fit the idea of a hidden enemy who looked normal during the daytime. Mafia and a variant called Thing have been played at science fiction writers' workshops since 1998, and have become an integral part of the annual Clarion and Viable Paradise workshops. The Werewolf variant of Mafia became widespread at major tech events, including the Game Developers Conference, ETech, Foo Camps, and South By Southwest. In 1998 the Kaliningrad Higher school of the Internal Affairs Ministry published the methodical textbook "Nonverbal communications. Developing role-playing games 'Mafia' and 'Murderer"' for a course on Visual psychodiagnostics, to teach reading body language and nonverbal signals. In September 1998 Mafia was introduced to the Graduate College at Princeton University, where a number of variants were developed. The werewolf theme was also incorporated in the French adaption of Mafia, The Werewolves of Millers Hollow.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In August 2000, a user under the alias "mithrandir" of The Grey Labyrinth, a website devoted to puzzles and puzzle solving, ran a game of Mafia adapted for play on a forum board. Both The Grey Labyrinth and sister site MafiaScum claim that this was the first game of Mafia run on a forum board. From there, Mafia has spread to numerous online communities.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In March 2006 Ernest Fedorov was running a Mafia Club in Kyiv, using his own patented variation of the rules. The club organizes games, rates players, and awards prizes (including a Sicily trip for their tournament-series champion).


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In June 2006 a Rockingham school inquiry was launched after parents complained of the traumatic effects classroom Mafia was having on their fifth-grade children. Davidoff responded to the reports, saying that as a parent who had studied child psychology for 25 years, he felt that the game could "teach kids to distinguish right from wrong", and that the positive message of being honest could overcome the negative effects of an "evil narrator" moderating the game as if it were a scary story.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Mafia is one of the 50 most historically and culturally significant tabletop games since 1800 according to about.com.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In its simplest form, Werewolf is played by two teams: the werewolves and the villagers. Live games require a moderator who does not participate as a player, and identities are assigned by handing out cards, or by other non-verbal methods such as physically tapping players. At the start of the game, every werewolf is given the identities of their teammates, whereas the innocents only receive the number of werewolves in the game, and do not know which players are werewolves and which are villagers.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In an open setup, the numbers of each power role (e.g. militia) present in the game is known to the players, while in a closed setup, this information is not revealed, and in a semi-open setup, only limited or tentative information about the power roles is revealed. Thus, in an open or semi-open setup, if it is revealed that no militia are present in the game, it will not be possible for a werewolf to plausibly claim a militia role.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: There are two phases: "night" and "day". At night, certain players secretly perform special actions; during day, players discuss and vote to eliminate one player. These phases alternate with each other until all werewolves have been eliminated or they reach numerical parity with the innocents.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Andrew Plotkin recommends having exactly two mafiosi, whereas the original Davidoff rules suggest a third of the players (rounding to the nearest whole number) be mafiosi. Davidoff's original game does not include roles with special abilities. In his rules for "Werewolf", Plotkin recommends that the first phase be night and that there be an odd number of players (including the moderator). These specifications avoid a tie votes for eliminations and ensure that the game will end dramatically on an elimination rather than anticlimactically with murder as a foregone conclusion.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: All players close their eyes. The moderator then instructs all werewolves to open their eyes and acknowledge their accomplices. The werewolves pick a "victim" by silently gesturing to indicate their target and to show unanimity then close their eyes again.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: A similar process occurs for other roles with nightly actions. In the case of the seer, the moderator may indicate the target's innocence or guilt by using gestures such as nodding or head shaking.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: The moderator instructs players to open their eyes and announces who "died" the previous night. Discussion ensues among the living players. At any point, a player may accuse someone of being a werewolf and prompt others to vote to eliminate them. If over half of the players do so, the accused person is eliminated and night begins. Otherwise, the phase continues until an elimination occurs.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: According to some rules, the role of dead players should not be revealed; according to others, for example, if the protector dies, nobody should know that. In both cases, dead players are not permitted to attempt to influence the remainder of the game.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Mafia is a complicated game to model, so most analyses of optimal play have assumed both (a) that there are only townsfolk and Mafiosi and (b) that the townsfolk never have a probability of identifying the Mafia that is better than chance. Early treatment of the game concentrated on simulation, while more recent studies have tried to derive closed-form equilibrium solutions for perfect play.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In 2006, the computer scientists Braverman, Etesami and Mossel proved that without detectives and with perfect players the randomized strategy is optimal for both citizens and mafia. When there is a large enough number of players to give both groups similar probability of winning, they showed that the initial number of mafiosi "m" needs to be proportional to the square root of the total number of players "P", that is formula_1. With a simulation, they confirmed that 50 mafiosi would have almost a 50% chance to win among 10,000. The Mafia's chance of victory is


title: Mafia (party game)

text: which is a good approximation when the right hand side is below 40%. If any detectives are added to the game, Braverman et al. proved that the number of Mafiosi must remain at a fixed proportion of the total number of players for their chance of winning to remain constant.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In 2008, Erlin Yao derived specific analytical bounds for the mafia's win probability when there are no detectives.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In a paper from 2010, the exact formula for the probability that the mafia wins was found. Moreover, it was shown that the parity of the initial number of players plays an important role. In particular, when the number of mafiosi is fixed and an odd player is added to the game (and ties are resolved by coin flips), the mafia-winning chance do not drop but rise by a factor of approx. formula_3 (equality in the limit of the infinite number of players).


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In live (or videoconference) real-time play, the innocents typically win more often than game theory suggests. Several reasons for this have been advanced:


title: Mafia (party game)

text: But, the Mafia "can" win in live play; their best chance of winning occurs when mafioso bond with their innocent neighbours and convince those neighbours to value that bond over dispassionate analysis. The game designers Salen and Zimmerman have written that the deep emergent social game play in Mafia (combined with the fear of elimination) create ideal conditions for this.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: These additional roles are named differently in the many versions of Mafia, for thematic flavor, or historical reasons. Also, the same role-name can have differing functions across different versions of the game. What follows is a general list of role "types" found in Mafia variants; since the specific names vary by milieu it must be non-exhaustive.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Players with these roles use their own night-phase to discover something about other players. Though the standard game now includes the basic Detective, these roles are optional, and games can exclude them entirely (such as the stool pigeon variant, or Davidoff's original rules).


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Additional variations exist, sometimes with even more specialized or complicated abilities. There are many special roles, and many moderators design novel roles for each game. Some commercial variants ship with blank cards to allow this customization. For example, neutral factions such as the serial killer could exist (the serial killer would have to kill everyone, innocent or mafia, to win).


title: Mafia (party game)

text: The naming of various roles, factions, and other elements of play is theme-dependent and has limitless variation. Common alternative themes restyle the mafia as werewolves, cultists, assassins, or witches, with other roles being renamed appropriately.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Over the years, players have created Mafia variants that include additional rules. Some of these are listed here.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: If there are as many mafiosi as innocents in the day-phase then a mafia victory is declared immediately, under the original Mafia rules. With the ability to deny a majority at an elimination vote, remaining mafiosi cannot be eliminated unless innocent/neutral killing roles exist. Other variants suspend this rule, and only declare the game after every member of one faction has been eliminated: this makes the game easier to explain, and to run.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Nominees for elimination may be allowed to make a speech in their own defense. Usually, each player must vote, can only vote once and cannot vote for themselves. But some variants have a more complicated process of selecting players to be executed. Davidoff's original 'Mafia' allowed multiple day-time executions (per day), each needing only a plurality to action.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Voting variants abound, but any elimination usually requires an absolute majority of the electorate, or votes cast. So the voting is usually not by secret ballot for multiple candidates with the highest vote count eliminated; it is more usual for the voting to be openly resolved either by:


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Deadlocked elections can be resolved by lot or by killing the player with the scapegoat special role.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: The special case of one mafioso and one innocent remaining can be decided randomly or be ruled a Mafia win—this is more usual in live play.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: The Innocents can choose not to kill anybody during the day. Although commonly unsure of Mafia identities, the Innocents are more likely to randomly kill a mafioso than are the Mafia (at night). Therefore, not eliminating anyone (even at random) will typically favor the Mafia.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: However, when the number of survivors is even, No Kill may help the Innocents; for example, when three Innocents and one mafioso remain – voting for No elimination gives a 1/3 chance of killing the mafioso the next day, rather than a 1/4 chance today (assuming random elimination).


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Some variants require all Mafia members to choose the same victim independently for a kill to succeed. This can be achieved in the following ways:


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In some online versions of the game, a particular player (the Godfather or a designated mafioso) must send in the kill.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Another variant requires the night-time vote to be secret and unanimous, but allows multiple players to be added to the execution queue to ensure unanimity.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Multiple, independent groups of mafia or werewolves act and win independently, giving faster game-play and the potential for cross-fire between the factions.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In this variant, players are given two cards: the first contains their role, the second an attribute. Attributes were originally derived from roles that could apply to both Mafia and Innocent alignments such as "Bulletproof" (cannot be killed at night), "Mayor" (has two votes in the elimination), and "Siamese Twins" (more commonly known as Siblings or Lovers).


title: Mafia (party game)

text: This variant was developed by Steven Irrgang and used for a puzzle in the 2008 CISRA Puzzle Competition. The difference from a standard game of Mafia is that players are not initially assigned roles, but rather on each day are given the probabilities describing the game's current quantum state. Each player with a non-zero probability of being a seer or a werewolf performs the appropriate night actions (which may not be effective if it is later determined that the player did not have that role). When a player is killed, the wave function collapses and the players are given updated probabilities.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: Traditional Mafia re-envisioned and heavily modified by the Copenhagen Game Collective to be played in a subway metro. In this variation, players who are eliminated are kicked off the train (at the next stop), and must wait in shame for the following train – a kind of 'afterlife' train – to join a second, interwoven game.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: A location-based mobile gaming variant for Android, designed for city center play. The two factions are: the Rebels, the majority; and the Spies, the informed minority. The rule-set replaces expulsions with scoring by round. Each player is assigned an individual mission each round. Some missions are critical and if one of those fails, the round goes to the Spies, but only one player knows which missions are critical.


title: Mafia (party game)

text: In this version of Mafia, the main enemies are the werewolves, as opposed to the mafia. The werewolves wake at night to kill a player, who is usually a Villager. Other helpful roles such as the Seer, Bodyguard, and Witch exist to help purge the village of werewolves, but other neutral roles exist such as the Tanner, lovers (if Cupid is in the game and the lovers are from different teams), and a third major faction: Vampires.