Premium
Multicultural democracy: can it work?[Note 1. An initial version of this article was presented at ...]
Author(s) -
Van Den Berghe Pierre L.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
nations and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1469-8129
pISSN - 1354-5078
DOI - 10.1111/1469-8219.00060
Subject(s) - multiculturalism , legitimacy , democracy , liberal democracy , politics , sociology , state (computer science) , political economy , political science , obstacle , diversity (politics) , ethnic group , law , law and economics , algorithm , computer science
After differentiating multicultural democracy (MD) from other types of democracy (liberal, consociational, ethnic and Herrenvolk ), this article explores both the conditions favouring MD and the problems it faces. The main obstacle to MD is the model of the ‘nation–state’, which has been the basis of legitimacy in most liberal democracies since the French Revolution. Multiculturalism has existed in many non–democratic states (such as colonial and traditional empires) and in city–states. A distinction is made between minimal MD (the simple tolerance and legal protection of cultural diversity) and maximal MD (the celebration, encouragement and official support thereof). The article concludes that minimal MD is the more feasible of the two, and that political and social conditions for it are the most favourable in urban environments, especially in city–states.