Democracy, Minorities and International Law

Democracy, Minorities and International Law PDF

Author: Steven Wheatley

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-12-22

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 9780521848985

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This work explores the contribution that international law may make to the resolution of culture conflicts--political disputes between the members of different ethno-cultural groups--in democratic States. International law recognizes that persons belonging to minorities have the right to enjoy their own culture and peoples have the right to self-determination without detailing how these principles are to be put into effect. The emergence of democracy as a legal obligation of States permits the international community to concern itself with both the procedure and substance of 'democratic' decisions concerning ethno-cultural groups.

Justifications of Minority Protection in International Law

Justifications of Minority Protection in International Law PDF

Author: Athanasia Spiliopoulou Åkermark

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-09-27

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13: 9004479872

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This volume examines minority protection in international law. Its task is twofold: to examine existing methods of minority protection, and to analyse the underlying justifications of minority protection as reflected in international legal standards and discourse. Part I outlines the theoretical framework; Part II addresses minority protection and its justifications in the League of Nations, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the United Nations. Finally, the author argues that it is possible to develop a working holistic approach to minority protection combining protection of peace, human dignity and culture.

The Protection of Minorities

The Protection of Minorities PDF

Author: European Commission for Democracy through Law

Publisher: Council of Europe

Published: 1994-01-01

Total Pages: 444

ISBN-13: 9789287126474

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This publication aims to make the Venice Commission's work in the field of protection of minorities more available to the public. It includes, on the one hand, the Proposal for a European Convention on the protection of minorities, as a reply to the heartfelt need for protection of minorities at the European level. The proposal and its explanatory report appear in the first chapter of the publication. This publication includes, in addition, firstly the report on the protection of minorities at domestic law level which was drawn up within the framework of the Venice Commission and secondly the report concerning the special protection of which minorities can take advantage in States with a Federal or Regional structure. The report in question was established on the basis of replies provided by representatives of several European and non-European States to a questionnaire drawn up by the Commission; the questionnaire, together with the replies, appears in an Appendix to the report. Perusal of the replies given by representatives of different States to the same question allows for a rapid appraisal of the solutions adopted in national laws to identical problems of protection of minorities. The European Commission for Democracy through Law considers the question of the protection of minorities to be one of the most important fields of its activity. (Adapted from.

The Strength of Diversity

The Strength of Diversity PDF

Author: Allan Rosas

Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers

Published: 2022-06-13

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 9004479384

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

At the beginning of the 1990's, all CSCE (Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe) States committed themselves to pluralist democracy, the rule of law and human rights and fundamental freedoms. The idea of pluralist democracy is also gaining ground in other parts of the world.

Minority Rights and Liberal Democratic Insecurities

Minority Rights and Liberal Democratic Insecurities PDF

Author: Anna-Mária Bíró

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-11-11

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1000781526

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book addresses the impact of a range of destabilising issues on minority rights in Europe and North America. This collection stems from the fact that liberal democracy did not bring about the “end of history” but rather that the transatlantic region of Europe and North America has encountered a new era of instability, particularly since the global financial crisis. The transatlantic region may have appeared to be entering a period of stability, but terrorist attacks on the soil of Euro-Atlantic states, the financial crisis itself and other changes, including mass migration, the rise of populism, changes in fundamental political conceptions, technological change, and most recently the Covid pandemic, have brought increasing uncertainties and instabilities in existing orders. In these contexts, the book investigates the resulting difficulties and opportunities for minority rights. Bringing together scholars from a range of disciplines who are engaged in work on various unstable orders, the book provides a unique and largely neglected perspective on present developments as well as addressing the pressing issue of the future of the minority rights regime at global, regional and national levels. This book will appeal to those with interests in minority rights, human rights, nationalism, law and politics.

Political Participation of Minorities

Political Participation of Minorities PDF

Author: Marc Weller

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 921

ISBN-13: 0199569983

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This Commentary provides the reader with a review of international standards and practice relating to the political participation of minorities. Political participation has been increasingly recognized as a foundational issue in the debate about minority rights. It is argued that minorities are more likely to feel co-ownership in the state if they have the opportunity to participate freely and effectively in all aspects of its governance, and that sustained and meaningful engagement will guard against the sense of alienation and exclusion among minorities that often emerges in ethnically divided societies. Taking as its starting point the two most important standard-setting documents in the field - the Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public Life, developed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Council of Europe's Thematic Commentary on the Issue of Political Participation of Minorities - the Commentary locates the international legal entitlement to political participation within the wider context of the right to democratic governance. It also considers effective participation in relation to the right to full and effective equality, as well as the legal entrenchment of these provisions and implementation mechanisms. Individual chapters then consider each of the principal mechanisms aimed at enhancing political participation, ranging from procedures covering minority representation in political institutions to consultative mechanisms and autonomy solutions. The Commentary draws on a team of experts, all of whom are recognized authorities in this specialized area of minority issues.

Militant Democracy

Militant Democracy PDF

Author: András Sajó

Publisher: Eleven International Publishing

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 9077596046

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book is a collection of contributions by leading scholars on theoretical and contemporary problems of militant democracy. The term 'militant democracy' was first coined in 1937. In a militant democracy preventive measures are aimed, at least in practice, at restricting people who would openly contest and challenge democratic institutions and fundamental preconditions of democracy like secularism - even though such persons act within the existing limits of, and rely on the rights offered by, democracy. In the shadow of the current wars on terrorism, which can also involve rights restrictions, the overlapping though distinct problem of militant democracy seems to be lost, notwithstanding its importance for emerging and established democracies. This volume will be of particular significance outside the German-speaking world, since the bulk of the relevant literature on militant democracy is in the German language. The book is of interest to academics in the field of law, political studies and constitutionalism.

Minority Groups and Judicial Discourse in International Law

Minority Groups and Judicial Discourse in International Law PDF

Author: Gaetano Pentassuglia

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2009-07-15

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 9047430166

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Set against previous stages of minority protection under international law, this book discusses the role of courts and court-like bodies – particularly in the Americas, Africa and Europe – in articulating and accommodating the interests and needs of ethno-cultural minority groups as part of the human rights discourse. Conceptually, it exposes different moments of intervention by such bodies involving the recognition of group existence or identity, the adjustment of human rights norms to accommodate the group’s perspectives, the establishment of processes designed to address the complexities resulting from competing claims, and the expansion of procedural avenues within litigation. The result is a fresh comparative – practical and theoretical – perspective on international jurisprudence as an emerging distinctive component in the complex history of the field.

Democracy and Human Rights in Multicultural Societies

Democracy and Human Rights in Multicultural Societies PDF

Author: Matthias Koenig

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 463

ISBN-13: 1351569856

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

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.

Minority Self-Government in Europe and the Middle East

Minority Self-Government in Europe and the Middle East PDF

Author: Olgun Akbulut

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-07-08

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 9004405453

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This volume, Minority Self-Government in Europe and theMiddle East: From Theory to Practice, is novel from several perspectives. It combines theory with facts on the ground, going beyond legal perspectives without neglecting existing laws and their implementation.