Multinational Democracies

Multinational Democracies

This excellent collection explores important new ground. The authors of these chapters examine the constitutive tensions at the heart of contemporary democratic societies.

These societies are in fact the site of two opposite tendencies. On the one hand, they require a new kind of unity and homogeneity which earlier, autocratic or hierarchical societies never needed. On the other hand, they are becoming more and more diverse. The need for unity comes from the conditions of legitimacy which belong to a democratic society. We can see this in a number of ways, three of which are especially evident.

First, democratic societies construe the ensemble of citizens as a `people'; that is, as a unit of deliberation and decision. Yet, in order to sustain what can be recognized as a common deliberation, a people has to have a minimal common focus, a set of agreed goals, or principles, or concerns, about which they can debate, argue and struggle. Once they drift apart, with different segments focusing on different things, it becomes hard to construe the upshot as the answer to a common question. But then this upshot begins to lose legitimacy for those who no longer see it as the answer to their question.

If a minority, for instance, comes to see the majority as concerned exclusively for its good, rather than that of the whole, they will begin to feel that they are no longer included in this `people'. Then, according to the very logic of democracy, they are no longer bound by the decisions arrived at without any concern for them...

Charles Taylor

Contents

Notes on the contributors / vii
Foreword by Charles Taylor / xiii
Acknowledgements / xvi

Introduction / 1
james tully

Part I Justice and stability in multinational democracies / 35
1 So many nations, so few states: territory and nationalism in the global era  / 39
Michael Keating

2 Political stability in multinational democracies: comparing language dynamics in Brussels, Montreal and Barcelona / 65
Dominique Arel

3 Justice and stability in multinational societies / 90
Wayne Norman

4 Political liberalism in multinational states: the legitimacy of plural and asymmetrical federalism / 110
Ferran Requejo

Part II Struggles over recognition and institutions of accommodation / 133
5 Federalism, federation and collective identities in Canada and Belgium: different routes, similar fragmentation / 137
Dimitrios Karmis and Alain-G. Gagnon

6 Recognition claims, partisan politics and institutional constraints: Belgium, Spain and Canada in a comparative perspective / 176
François Rocher, Christian Rouillard and André Lecours

7 Ethnoterritorial concurrence in multinational societies: the Spanish comunidades autonomas / 201
Luis Moreno

8 Mutual recognition and the accommodation of national diversity: constitutional justice in Northern Ireland / 222
Shane O'neill

9 Federalist language policies: the cases of Canada and Spain / 242
Pierre Coulombe

10 Competing national visions: Canada-Quebec relations in a comparative perspective / 257
Michael Burgess

Part III Modes of reconciliation and conflict management / 275
11 Liberal citizenship in multinational societies / 279
Alan Patten

12 Nationality in divided societies / 299
David Miller

13 The moral foundation of asymmetrical federalism: a normative exploration of the case of Quebec and Canada / 319
Alain-G. Gagnon

14 Federalism and the management of conflict in multinational societies / 338
Richard Simeon and Daniel-Patrick Conway

References / 366
Index / 378

Foreword

This excellent collection explores important new ground. The authors of these chapters examine the constitutive tensions at the heart of contemporary democratic societies.

These societies are in fact the site of two opposite tendencies. On the one hand, they require a new kind of unity and homogeneity which earlier, autocratic or hierarchical societies never needed. On the other hand, they are becoming more and more diverse. The need for unity comes from the conditions of legitimacy which belong to a democratic society. We can see this in a number of ways, three of which are especially evident.

First, democratic societies construe the ensemble of citizens as a `people'; that is, as a unit of deliberation and decision. Yet, in order to sustain what can be recognized as a common deliberation, a people has to have a minimal common focus, a set of agreed goals, or principles, or concerns, about which they can debate, argue and struggle. Once they drift apart, with different segments focusing on different things, it becomes hard to construe the upshot as the answer to a common question. But then this upshot begins to lose legitimacy for those who no longer see it as the answer to their question.

If a minority, for instance, comes to see the majority as concerned exclusively for its good, rather than that of the whole, they will begin to feel that they are no longer included in this `people'. Then, according to the very logic of democracy, they are no longer bound by the decisions arrived at without any concern for them.

Democracies need to be bonded in a common focus, what one could call a `political identity'. This can be a set of common principles, as in the Republican tradition, but most commonly in the last two centuries, it has primarily centred on the nation.

Second, the need for unity and homogeneity can also be seen from another angle. A second crucial legitimating condition of modern democracy is the equality of the citizens. Any systematic inequality or mode of discrimination in a modern society is seen as a challenge to its right to exist, at least in its present form. Now equality is not homogeneity, although it has frequently been construed as such. In fact, differences frequently can be construed as entailing inequalities, and hence as something to be overcome in the name of democratic legitimacy...

Charles Taylor

Multinational Democracies
Edited by
Alain-G. Gagnon                   James Tully
        McGill University              University of Toronto

Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge
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Cambridge University Press
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In this collection Cambridge University Press 2001

This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2001
Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge
Typeset in 10/12pt Plantin System 3b2 ce
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data
Multinational democracies / edited by Alain-G. Gagnon, James Tully.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 0 521 80029 3 (hardback) isbn 0 521 80473 6 (paperback)
1. Nationalism - Case studies.
2. Minorities - Political activity - Case studies.
3. Federal government - Case studies.
4. Democracy - Case studies.
5. Pluralism (Social sciences) - Case studies.
I. Gagnon, Alain-G. Tully, James, 1946-
JC312.M854 2001
321.8'094'09045-dc21 00-065148
isbn 0 521 80029 3 hardback
isbn 0 521 80473 6 paperback

Dominique Arel is Assistant Professor (Research) at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, and Program Chair of the Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN). His research has focused mainly on language politics and identity shift in Ukraine and on the various instruments by which states categorize their residents along identity lines. He is the co-editor, with David Kertzer, of Categorizing Citizens: the Use of Race, Ethnicity and Language in National Censuses (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming), as well as the author of `Language and the Census', and the co-author of `Census Categorizations and the Struggle for Political Power' in that volume. His work on language politics in Ukraine has appeared in Post-Soviet Affairs, Nationalities Papers and The Harriman Review, as well as in Political Culture and Civil Society in Russia and the New States of Eurasia (edited by V. Tismaneanu) and Parliaments in Transition (edited by T. Remington). He has taught at Yale University and McGill University.

Michael Burgess is Professor of Politics and Director of the Centre for European Union Studies (CEUS), University of Hull, England. His principal research areas include federalism and the European Union, Canadian federalism and constitutional politics, and comparative federalism. He has published widely on these areas, including Federalism and the European Union, 1972±1987 (London: Routledge, 1989), Canadian Federalism: Past, Present and Future (ed.) (Leicester University Press 1990); Comparative Federalism, co-edited with Alain-G. Gagnon (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1993); The British Tradition of Federalism (London: Cassell, 1995). His latest book is entitled Federalism and European Union: the Building of Europe, 1950±2000 (London: Routledge, 2000).

Daniel-Patrick Conway is a PhD candidate in Political Science at Brandeis University, where he specializes in international relations. A graduate from Bristol University, he worked as a journalist in Buenos Aires, hosting a daily current affairs programme on Radio Argentina. He has recently held research and teaching positions at Harvard University and Brandeis.

Pierre Coulombe is a political theorist whose research area is language policy. He has taught political science at McGill University, the University of Ottawa, the University of New Brunswick and the University of Western Ontario. His most relevant publications include: Language Rights in French Canada (New York: Peter Lang, 1995); `Ford v. Quebec: the Language of Public Signs', in M. Westmacott and H. Mellon (eds.), Political Dispute and Judicial Review: Assessing the Work of the Supreme Court (Toronto: Nelson Canada, 2000); `Citizenship and Official Bilingualism in Canada', in Will Kymlicka and Wayne Norman (eds.), Citizenship in Diverse Societies (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2000); `Federalism and Sovereignity: the Case of Quebec in (or outside) Canada', in Michelle Beauclair (ed.), The Francophone World: Cultural Issues and Perspectives (New York: Peter Lang, forthcoming).

Alain-G. Gagnon is Professor of Political Science at McGill University, Director of the Quebec Studies Programme and editor of Politique et Sociétes. His recent publications include Ties That Bind. Parties and Voters in Canada with James Bickerton and Patrick Smith (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1999); Canadian Politics, 3rd edition, co-edited with James Bickerton (Peterborough: Broadview Press, 1999); Quebec y el Federalismo Canadiense (Madrid: Consejo superior de investigaciones cientificas, 1998), Quebec (Oxford: ABC Clio, 1998); and Comparative Federalism and Federation: Competing Traditions and Future Directions, co-edited with Michael Burgess (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1993).

Dimitrios Karmis is Adjunct Professor in Political Science at the Université Laval (Quebec City, Canada). He taught previously at McGill University and Johns Hopkins University. He works in the fields of Political Theory, Comparative Politics and Canadian Politics. His research focuses on federalism, identity politics, citizenship and citizenship education in diverse societies. His publications include articles in Ethnic and Racial Studies (2001), Politique et Sociétés (1998), and the Canadian Journal of Political Science (1993, 1996). He is currently working on a book tentatively entitled Between Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism: Reassessing the Potential of Normative Theories of Federalism in the Modern World.

Michael Keating is Professor at the University of Aberdeen and the European University Institute of Florence. He has been visiting professor or research fellow in Spain, France, Italy, Norway, England and the United States. He is the author of Nations against the State: Nationalism in Quebec, Catalonia and Scotland, 2nd edition (London: Macmillan, 2001) and has co-authored with B. Jones, The European Union and the Regions (Oxford University Press, 1995); and, with John Loughlin, The Political Economy of Nationalism (London: Frank Cass, 1997).

André Lecours is a PhD candidate in political science at Carleton University. His current research focuses on ethnonationalism and nationalist conflict management in western societies.

David Miller is an Official Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford University. His recent publications include On Nationality (New York: Clarendon Press, 1995); he has edited Liberty (Oxford University Press, 1989); and Pluralism, Justice, and Equality (Oxford University Press, 1995).

Luis Moreno is Senior Research Fellow with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). His main research interests are the welfare state and social policy, and territorial politics. Recent works in the area of territorial politics include The Federalization of Spain (London: Frank Cass, 2001); `Multiple Ethnoterritorial Concurrence in Spain', Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 1 (1995), 11±32; and `Multiple Identities in Decentralized Spain: the Case of Catalonia', Regional and Federal Studies 8, no. 3 (1998), 65-88.

Wayne Norman holds a Chair in the Centre for Applied Ethics at the University of British Columbia. His is the co-editor, with Will Kymlicka, of Citizenship in Diverse Societies (Oxford University Press, 2000), and is writing a book entitled Thinking Through Nationalism. He is also the author of several articles, among which are `Theorizing Nationalism (Normatively)', in R. Beiner (ed.), Theorizing Nationalism (Albany: State University of New York Press, forthcoming); `The Ethics of Secession as the Regulation of Secessionist Politics', in M. Moore (ed.), Self- Determination and Secession (Toronto: Oxford University Press, forthcoming); `The Ideology of Shared Values', in J. Carens (ed.), Is Quebec Nationalism Just? (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press 1995).

Shane O'neill is Reader in Politics at Queen's University, Belfast. His recent publications include Impartiality in Context: Grounding Justice in a Pluralist World (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997); Reconstituting Social Criticism: Political Morality in an Age of Scepticism (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1999); `Liberty, Equality and the Rights of Cultures: the Marching Controversy at Dumcree', British Journal of Politics and International Relations 2, no. 1 (April 2000); `The Idea of an Overlapping Consensus in Northern Ireland: Stretching the Limits of Liberalism', Irish Political Studies 11 (1996); and `Pluralist Justice and its Limits: The Case of Northern Ireland', Political Studies 42, no. 3 (September 1994).

Alan Patten is Assistant Professor of Political Science at McGill University. He is the author of Hegel's Idea of Freedom (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) and articles in The Monist, Nations and Nationalism and History of Political Thought. His current research examines the relationship between liberalism and nationalism in normative political theory.

Ferran Requejo is Professor of Political Science at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. His main fields of research are theories of democracy, federalism and nationalism, and political liberalism and social democracy after World War II. In 1997, he was awarded the Rudolf Wildenmann Prize by the European Consortium for Political Research. Among his recent publications are Democracy and National Pluralism (London: Routledge, 2001); ¿Federalisme, per a que? (Valencia: L'Hora del present 1998); Zoom politic: Democracia, federalisme i nacionalisme des d'una Calalunya europea (Barcelona: Edicions Proa 1998); European Citizenship, Multiculturalism, and the State, co-edited with Ulrich K. Preuss (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1998); and AsimetrõÂa federal y estado plurinacional: el debate de la diversidad en Canada, BeÂlgica y EspanÄa, co-edited with Eric Fossas (Madrid, 1999).

François Rocher is Professor of Political Science and Associate Director at the School of Canadian Studies at Carleton University. He has published several articles and book chapters on Quebec nationalism, Canadian federalism and the constitution, the impact of North American integration on intergovernmental relations in Canada and Canadian identity and political culture. He has co-edited New Trends in Canadian Federalism (Peterborough: Broadview Press, 1995) and edited Bilan queÂbeÂcois du feÂdeÂralisme canadien (Montreal: VLB éditeur, 1992). He is the former co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Political Science/ Revue canadienne de science politique.

Christian Rouillard received his PhD in political science from Carleton University. He is currently Professor of Public Management at l'Ecole nationale d'aministration publique (ENAP) in Hull (Québec). His main fields of interest are organization theory, managerial reform and innovation, the transformation of the state, as well as Canadian and comparative federalism and constitutional politics. He has co-authored a number of journal articles on Canadian federalism.

Richard Simeon is Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Toronto. His writings on federalism in Canada began with the award-winning Federal-Provincial Diplomacy: the Making of Recent Policy in Canada (University of Toronto Press, 1972). More recent work includes State, Society, and the Development of Canadian Federalism with Ian Robinson (University of Toronto Press, 1991); Rethinking Federalism: Citizens, Politics and Markets, co-edited with K. Knop, S. Ostry and K. Swinton (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1996); In Search of a Social Contract: Can We Make Hard Decisions if Democracy Matters? (Toronto: C. D. Howe Institute, 1994).

Charles Taylor, FRSC, is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, McGill University. His many publications include: Philosophical Papers, 2 volumes (Cambridge University Press, 1985); Sources of the Self: the Making of the Modern Identity (Cambridge University Press, 1989); Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition: an essay, edited by Amy Gutmann (Princeton University Press, 1992); Reconciling the Solitudes: Essays on Canadian Federalism and Nationalism, edited by Guy Laforest (Montreal: McGill±Queen's University Press, 1993); Philosophical Arguments (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995).

James Tully, FRSC, holds the Jackman Distinguished Chair in Philosophical Studies, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto. He has held positions at the University of Victoria and McGill University. He is the author of several books, among which are An Approach to Political Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 1993); Strange Multiplicity: Constitutionalism and Diversity (Cambridge University Press, 1995); Une eÂtrange multiplicite (Sainte-Foy: Les Presses de l'Université Laval, 1999). He has also edited, among others, Philosophy in an Age of Pluralism (Cambridge University Press, 1994); and Meaning and Context (Princeton University Press, 1990).