As a case study, the author looks at developments since 2003 in the controversy around the ownership of the New Zealand foreshore and seabed. She argues in favour of a detailed analysis of the relationships between the minority and majority populations and their impact on internal tensions and mobilisation, as well as on the development of ideologies. The article identifies key factors, moments and processes in recent New Zealand history that combined and had the effect of emphasising ethnic differences and polarising the relationships between the minority and majority populations. The analysis relies on Eric Schwimmer's work, in particular on his definitions of 'real competition' and 'symbolic competition'.