Democracy and Human Rights in Multicultural Societies - Softcover

'Koenig and de Guchteneire's edited volume is a comparative alternative to the primarily theory-driven study of minority rights and multiculturalism...[this] book explores a broad range of cases...[and] the chapters provide good historical accounts of the development of particular minority rights policies and the nuances of their implementation. These chapters can help inform the broader debate on the design and effectiveness of multicultural policies.' Political Studies Review 'This book will be instructive even for scholars familiar with ethnic studies. The strength of this book lies in the careful way that each author addresses his or her topic. Every chapter combines an interesting mix of theoretical conceptualisation rooted into sociology and some appropriate case studies. In other words, the reader does not get just a juxtaposition of facts and stories.' Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism.

Published in association with UNESCO, Democracy and Human Rights in Multicultural Societies examines the political governance of cultural diversity, specifically how public policy-making has dealt with the claims for cultural recognition that have increasingly been expressed by ethno-national movements, language groups, religious minorities, indigenous peoples and migrant communities. Its principle aim is to understand, explain and assess public-policy responses to ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity. Adopting interdisciplinary perspectives of comparative social sciences, the contributors address the conditions, forms, and consequences of democratic and human-rights-based governance of multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-faith societies.