Minority Representation as a Challenge to the Nation-State Model

Abstract

The emerging cultural configuration of contemporary nation states has been putting the original model of a culturally homogeneous state, with democracy as compensation for the assimilation of cultural minorities, to the test. The distinguishing mark of most contemporary nation states is not anymore cultural unity, but rather the opposite, cultural and religious diversity. National and ethnic minorities no longer coalesce to assimilation, but demand mechanisms of representation that enhance democratic practices. Spearheaded by the demands of indigenous peoples and scattered minorities, contemporary democracies are incorporating mechanisms of individual and minority representation. The crisis in Europe is awakening demands for secession and for new modalities of governance in a more tightly knitted European Union. Faced with these challenges, in what sense are most contemporary liberal democracies still understood as “nation-states”? The aim of this panel is to discuss the theory and practice of novel models of governance for stateless minorities. When these communities inhabit territorially compact areas, forms of devolution emerge. However, most stateless cultural communities inhabit territorially mixed areas, intertwined with other communities, rendering territorial representation unfeasible. Here, old and new mechanisms of non-territorial governance emerge. The panel will evaluate innovative modalities for the representation of stateless cultural communities.

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