Cultural Diversity And The Empowerment Of Minorities

Conflicts between different racial, ethnic, national and other social groups are becoming more and more salient. One of the main sources of these internal conflicts is social and economic inequality, in particular the increasing disparities between majority and minority groups. Even societies that had been successful in dealing with external conflicts and making the transition from war to peace have realized that this does not automatically resolve internal conflicts. On the contrary, the resolution of external conflicts may even sharpen the internal ones. This volume, a joint publication of the University of Haifa and the International Center for Graduate Studies (ICGS) at the University of Hamburg, addresses questions of how to deal with internal issues of social inequality and cultural diversity and, at the same time, how to build a shared civility among their different national, ethnic, religious and social groups.

This is the first comprehensive volume to compare the sociolinguistic situations of minorities in Russia and in Western Europe. As such, it provides insight into language policies, the ethnolinguistic vitality and the struggle for reversal of language shift, language revitalization and empowerment of minorities in Russia and the European Union. The volume shows that, even though largely unknown to a broader English-reading audience, the linguistic composition of Russia is by no means less diverse than multilingualism in the EU. It is therefore a valuable introduction into the historical backgrounds and current linguistic, social and legal affairs with regard to Russia’s manifold ethnic and linguistic minorities, mirrored on the discussion of recent issues in a number of well-known Western European minority situations.

In this book, Arjun Tremblay considers the future of multiculturalism, contextualised within an ideological and political shift to the right. Is there any hope that multiculturalism will survive alongside the rise of the political right across democracies? How can policy makers continue to recognize and to accommodate minorities in an increasingly inhospitable ideological environment? Based on evidence from three case studies, Tremblay develops a hypothesis of multicultural outcomes, arguing that while the threat to multiculturalism is real, there still is hope, and that not only is the fate of minority rights in liberal democracies far from sealed, but it may still be possible to further protect the rights of immigrant and other minority groups in years to come. In order to do this, proponents of diversity politics may need to reconceptualise multiculturalism and other minority rights along instrumental lines as a means to fulfil policy objectives above and beyond the recognition and accommodation of immigrant minorities. This will be an important read for scholars interested in minority rights, multiculturalism, diversity politics, comparative politics, institutionalism, right-wing and far-right studies, and public policy.

Queering Multiculturalism argues for group-specific rights for ethno-cultural minorities, but without ignoring that such rights may lead to ethnic chauvinism, balkanization, and the cultural marginalization of minorities-within-minorities, such as ethnic LGBT people. Thus, it aims to construct a liberal theory of minority rights to accommodate ethno-cultural diversity without destroying ethno-sexual diversity, and without privileging one type of minority group over another.

Most countries around the world exhibit a long history of exclusion and discrimination directed against ethnic, racial, national, religious, or ideological groups. The underlying justifications for these forms of exclusion have been increasingly discredited by the post-war human rights revolution, decolonization, and by contemporary norms of liberal-democratic constitutionalism, with their commitment to equal rights and non-discrimination. However, even as these older practices and ideologies of exclusion are discredited and repudiated, they continue to have enduring effects. The legacies of exclusion can still be seen in a wide range of social attitudes, cultural practices, economic and demographic patterns, and institutional rules that obstruct efforts to build genuinely inclusive societies of equal citizens. Finding ways to overcome this problem is a major challenge facing virtually every society around the world. The Politics of Reconciliation in Multicultural Societies focuses on two parallel intellectual and political movements that have arisen to address this challenge: the 'politics of reconciliation', with its focus on reparations, truth-telling and healing amongst former adversaries, and the 'politics of difference', with its focus on the recognition and empowerment of minorities in multicultural societies. Both the politics of reconciliation and the politics of difference are having a profound impact on the theory and practice of democracy around the world, but remarkably little has been written about the relationship between them. This book aims to fill that gap. Drawing on both theoretical analysis and case studies from around the world, the authors explore how the politics of reconciliation and the politics of difference often interact in mutually supportive ways, as reconciliation leads to more multicultural conceptions of citizenship. But there are also important ways in which the two may compete in their aims and methods. The Politics of Reconciliation in Multicultural Societies is the first attempt to systematically explore these areas of potential convergence and divergence.

As the political landscape of Europe transforms, so too does the field of minority issues. New areas of focus encompass topics as varied as populism and media representation, anthropological insights and intersectional feminist considerations, education in human rights and participatory mechanisms, and the changing categories and roles of minority communities as important actors in a variety of forums. Volume 2 of Minority Issues in Europe reflects a growing range of disciplinary approaches to the field, and a fresh outlook on the issues facing Europe’s diverse communities. Bringing together research from experienced experts and young researchers, this book aims to equip students with critical and considered insights to some of the most pressing questions in minority studies today.

If rights are awarded to minority groups, what should be the response if these groups in turn discriminate against some of their members? Sixteen distinguished scholars examine the balance between group autonomy and individual rights in relation to gender, religion, culture, and indigenous rights in the national and international sphere.

China has been ethnically, linguistically, and religiously diverse. This volume recasts the pedagogical and policy challenges of minority education in China in the light of the state's efforts to balance unity and diversity. It brings together leading experts including both critical voices writing from outside China and those working inside China's educational system. The essays explore different aspects of ethnic minority education in China: the challenges associated with bilingual and trilingual education in Xinjiang and Tibet; Han Chinese reactions to preferential minority education; the ro.