What does culture, and contestations of it, have to do with ethnic conflicts? They are, to be short, inextricable. In Cultural Contestations in Ethnic Conflict, Marc Howard Ross examines the intersection between culture and ethnic conflict in nine "hot spots" around the world and identifies culture as either an inhibitor or a catalyst for the escalation of violence. In his review, Antony Adolf says Ross' work sets a nice foundation for future studies.