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Ethnic Minorities and the Case for Collective Rights
Author(s) -
Thompson Richard H.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1997.99.4.786
Subject(s) - ethnic group , liberalism , ethnography , minority rights , political science , sociology , law , human rights , law and economics , political economy , anthropology , politics
This essay reviews current debates in philosophical liberalism and international law concerning "collective" or group rights and argues that, under certain circumstances, they should be recognized as a means of protecting and preserving ethnic minority cultures from various actions and policies pursued by the states in which they reside. A classification of different ethnic minorities and the rights that adhere to them are suggested. Anthropologists are urged to address rights issues in their writings and provide the ethnographic grounding that is often lacking in discourses on collective rights.