Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights (Oxford Political Theory) [Paperback]

Will Kymlicka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0198290918 | ISBN-13: 978-0198290919

The increasingly multicultural fabric of modern societies has given rise to many new issues and conflicts, as ethnic and national minorities demand recognition and support for their cultural identity. This book presents a new conception of the rights and status of minority cultures. It argues that certain "collective rights" of minority cultures are consistent with liberal democratic principles, and that standard liberal objections to such rights can be answered. However, the author emphasizes that no single formula can be applied to all groups, and that the needs and aspirations of immigrants are very different from those of indigenous peoples and national minorities. He looks at issues such as language rights, group representation, religious education, federalism, and secession--issues central to an understanding of multicultural politics, but which have been neglected in contemporary liberal theory. Scholars of political theory and philosophy, as well as the general reader, will find this work to be the most comprehensive analysis to date of this crucial political issue.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a very important book, one that is indispensable for the present discussion of multiculturalism....An immensely rich, informative, and above all clarifying work, written by a first-class philosophical mind, animated by a humane outlook. It ought to be compulsory reading for all those who want to carry on the debate in this area."--American Political Science Review

"In a powerful argument for the compatibility between liberal theory and "group differentiated rights," Kymlicka resolves the tension between liberalism and group rights by contending that individuals must exist within a "societal culture" in order to express their political and cultural identity....An important addition to liberal theory and necessary for students and scholars at all levels."--Choice

"Will Kymlicka is among the most important and interesting liberal political theorists writing today."--International Affairs

"Clear, unpolemical, and open-minded, it nicely marries normative political theory and institutional analysis...This is a fine book, and the one to which students of multiculturalism must first be sent."--The Journal of Politics

About the Author

Will Kymlicka is Research Director of the Canadian Centre for Philosophy and Public Policy at the University of Ottawa, and Visiting Professor, Department of Philosophy, Carleton University. His previous books include: Liberalism, Community and Culture; Contemporary Political Philosophy and Justice in Political Philosophy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198290918
• ISBN-13: 978-0198290919
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #543,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent treatise on a thorny issue, February 24, 2000

By 

miquel strubell (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights (Oxford Political Theory) (Paperback)

This is a long-awaited book. Those who believe that the liberal tradition requires a back row, laissez-faire attitude to the problems of minorities are put to flight.

Kymlicka shows clearly that there has been a long tradition of leading liberals who have felt that in order for national minorities to be as free as majorities, they need affirmative action to counteract the all-pervading influence of dominant cultures, through the education system, the media, and the general majority discourse.

He sees the individual's freedom as the right to belong to his of her ancestral group, and this of course means that unless the group's rights are recognised and implemented, the individual that belongs to the group cannot be a free person. Kymlicka distinguishes neatly between minorities whose aim is to be considered and treated as the same as anyone else (that is, anyone belonging to the dominant group): women, Afroamericans, etc.; and between minorities who wish not to lose their differentiated culture and identity: American Indians, Quebeckers, Catalans, Welsh, etc. He points out to majority members that what they take for granted is neither the only worldview possible, nor the best worldview, and defends minorities' right to hold other views, their own.

He is also masterly in drawing the limits to allowing national minorities full control over their own affairs: naturally, no-one should tolerate practices, however ancient, which clash with universal human rights. These include the individual's freedom to leave the group, the rejection of female ablation, etc.

The fact that the book has been published in Catalan attests to its international appeal.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars important work, April 12, 2000

By 

Claire Hunter - See all my reviews

This review is from: Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights (Oxford Political Theory) (Paperback)

Along with Tamir's "Liberal Nationalism" and Miller's "On Nationality", "Multicultural Citizenship" is fast becoming a classic work on liberal nationalism. Of the 3, Kymlicka's may be the most clearly laid out. It uses case material, particularly that of aboriginals in Canada, very effectively. A more refined version of some of the arguments presented in "Liberalism, Community, Culture". Highly recommended.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed-bag, December 25, 2004

By 

A Reader (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights (Oxford Political Theory) (Paperback)

This book is a mixed bag- there are interesting and important arguments for a brand of multi-cultural citizenship, and for the idea that national minorities are morally distinct from immigrant groups. However, there are also serious problems. The historical analysis is often at least somewhat off- it's very odd to make a big deal that 19th centruy liberals supported nationalism w/o noting, at all, that this was largely due to their insidious racism and support for colonialism, even by liberals like Mill. That this isn't even mentioned or considered is a shocking omission. That's just one of many examples. Often the book seems to vastly over-generalize from the Canadian experience, w/o making this clear or noting what's being done. Much of the discussion of immigrant groups doesn't really fit that well w/ the facts, and lacks the sympathetic insight that Kymlicka displays towards national minorities. Several of the main thesies are challanged by the experience of the EU, and no mention of that is made at all. (Some of that is surely due to the book being nearly 10 years old, but even at that time some of the claims about what people want, what's possible, etc. were already being challanged by developments in the EU.) SO, the book should be read and considered, but the arguments are too full of gaps to be anywhere close to convincing now.