MINELRES: JEMIE Special Focus: Will Kymlicka's Model of Liberal Pluralism: Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in CEE

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Graham Holliday <holliday@ecmi.de>


Call for Contributions
Symposium on Will Kymlicka's
Model of Liberal Pluralism: Western Political Theory and Ethnic
Relations in Eastern Europe
Editor-in-Chief: Graham Holliday
Consulting Editor: Marc Weller
Assistant Editor: William McKinney

ISSN: 1617-5247
International Editorial Board

Gudmundur Alfredsson :: Marie-Janine Calic :: Richard Caplan
Fran�ois Grin :: Ted Robert Gurr :: Lauri Hannikainen
Rainer Hofmann :: Donald Horowitz :: Jennifer Jackson Preece
Charles King :: Will Kymlicka :: Joseph Marko
John McGarry :: Margaret Moore :: Brendan O'Leary
John Packer :: Alan Phillips :: Max van der Stoel
Stefan Troebst

The Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe (JEMIE) is
a refereed electronic journal produced under the auspices of the
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI). It is devoted to the
analysis of current developments in ethnopolitics and minority issues,
and aims to stimulate debate between practitioners and academics in
Eastern and Western Europe. As an electronic journal, it also seeks to
make scholarly debate available to as wide an audience as possible,
especially to those who do not have ready access to an academic
library.

Each quarter, a Special Focus section highlights a topic of particular
interest to students of minority issues and ethnopolitics. The
forthcoming winter edition will focus on the vexed question of the
suitability of exporting western political models to countries in
Central and Eastern Europe. Taking the theories of Professor Will
Kymlicka as a starting point, the Focus aims to generate broader
discussion on this timely issue. The Focus will open with a specially
commissioned article by Professor Kymlicka, in which he sets out the
main arguments of his theory. He begins by rejecting what he calls the
myth of the 'ethnocultural neutrality' of the liberal state, and
offers an alternative model of ethnic relations. This model defends
the principle that ethnocultural minorities can legitimately demand
certain group-specific rights for the accommodation of their distinct
identities, but argues that the nature of these rights depends on the
nature of the minority group. Kymlicka then distinguishes six types of
ethnocultural groups which are to be found in Western democracies:
national minorities and indigenous peoples; legal immigrants with the
right to become citizens, illegal immigrants or guestworkers without
the right to become citizens; racial caste groups; and isolationist
ethnoreligious sects; and argues that each type of group has specific
needs that require distinct rights.

A second section then examines some of the possible applications of
this model to Central and Eastern European countries. Kymlicka focuses
in particular on two common objections to applying models of liberal
pluralism in the region. The first objection states that the sorts of
ethnocultural groups in Eastern/Central Europe are often very
different from those in the West, and that given these profound
differences in the nature of the minority groups themselves, Western
models of immigrant multiculturalism or multination federalism may not
be applicable to them. The second objection states that the very idea
of liberal pluralism has little applicability to states in the region,
which are rooted in very different political traditions, with their
own distinct notions of nationhood and statehood. Kymlicka concedes
that there is some truth in both of these objections, but argues that
Western experiences of the accommodation of ethnic differences can
nonetheless be relevant for the region. Indeed, he suggests that there
may be few viable alternatives to Western models of immigrant
multiculturalism and multination federalism. Whatever the limits of
these models, the alternatives may be worse.

But do factors like the legacy of Communism; continued economic
distress; the role of kin-states; and the lack of political
accountability for both states and minority elites suggest that there
are too many impediments in the way of realizing this Western model?
Furthermore, are the terms used by Western political theorists simply
incompatible with those commonly used in many countries of Eastern
Europe? Even if certain minority rights are adopted, could they not
prove unhelpful, and perhaps even dangerous, if they are adopted
without adequate legal and political safeguards? This in turn raises
questions of prioritizing the consolidation of democracy and the rule
of law over the implementation of minority rights, and the legitimate
role of that Western organizations can and have played in issues of
ethnic relations in the region.

The Editors encourage articles and commentary on these issues,
especially from younger academics and practitioners residing in
Central and Eastern Europe. Professor Kymlicka's paper will be posted
towards the middle of November 2002, along with commentaries from
recognized scholars. A provisional deadline for receipt of manuscripts
is scheduled for 29 November 2002  and publication of contributions
will continue into the beginning of 2003.  Contributions of between
6000 and 10000 words may be submitted via email to Graham Holliday
(Editor-in-Chief) at holliday@ecmi.de.

Final decisions on publication are reserved for the Editorial Board.