Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on the contributors
- Foreword by Charles Taylor
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Justice and stability in multinational democracies
- Part II Struggles over recognition and institutions of accommodation
- Part III Modes of reconciliation and conflict management
- 11 Liberal citizenship in multinational societies
- 12 Nationality in divided societies
- 13 The moral foundations of asymmetrical federalism: a normative exploration of the case of Quebec and Canada
- 14 Federalism and the management of conflict in multinational societies
- References
- Index
13 - The moral foundations of asymmetrical federalism: a normative exploration of the case of Quebec and Canada
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on the contributors
- Foreword by Charles Taylor
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Justice and stability in multinational democracies
- Part II Struggles over recognition and institutions of accommodation
- Part III Modes of reconciliation and conflict management
- 11 Liberal citizenship in multinational societies
- 12 Nationality in divided societies
- 13 The moral foundations of asymmetrical federalism: a normative exploration of the case of Quebec and Canada
- 14 Federalism and the management of conflict in multinational societies
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter is not so much about stability as it is about justice. Several authors have proposed over the years to elaborate workable political arrangements to maintain political stability in plural societies, but too few have explored the need for justice. It is argued here that the objectives sought by political elites should never be limited to stability, as we are reminded too frequently by the poor fate of peoples in less democratic settings.
In this chapter, I intend to concentrate my attention on the notion of justice as it applies to highly democratic federal countries. To avoid being sidetracked I will concentrate on federal countries, that is political entities that are sociologically diverse. Consequently, I will not be discussing the case of territorial or mononational federations due to their homogeneity.
Two literatures will be brought together to understand plural (federal) societies: comparative politics and political theory. Two caveats are in order. First, from a comparative politics perspective, there is a well-known tendency to stress homogeneity and assume that the citizens from a given polis share the same views, speak the same language, and are coming from the same ancestors (McRae 1979). This prevailing view has led many comparativists to equate homogeneity with political stability. A good illustration of this view is the work of Alvin Rabushka and Kenneth A. Shepsle. They believe that a ‘stable democracy (cannot) be maintained in the face of cultural diversity’ (Rabushka and Shepsle 1971, p. 462), and that it would be wrong to think otherwise.
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- Information
- Multinational Democracies , pp. 319 - 337Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2001
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