Democratizing the Hegemonic State
Political Transformation in the Age of Identity
1st Edition
Published on 19. December 2007
978-0-511-34643-9 (ISBN)
Description
This book provides a new, comprehensive analytical framework for the examination of majority-minority relations in deeply divided societies. Hegemonic states in which one ethnic group completely dominates all others will continue to face enormous pressures to transform because they are out of step with the new, emerging, global governing code that emphasizes democracy and equal rights. Refusal to change would lead such states to lose international legitimacy and face increasing civil strife, instability, and violence. Through systematic theoretical analysis and careful empirical study of 14 key cases, Peleg examines the options open to polities with diverse populations. Challenging the conventional wisdom of many liberal democrats, Peleg maintains that the preferred solution for a traditional hegemonic polity is not merely to grant equal rights to individuals, but also to incorporate significant group rights via mega-constitutional transformation.
Reviews / Votes
'This book contributes to our current understanding of democratisation in the context of ethnic politics. ... [it] is a book well worth reading and should be required of any student of ethnic politics and ethnic conflict.' John Ishiyama, Journal of Politics 'Peleg suggests some ways forward; his book is the product of exceptionally wide reading in support of careful analytical thinking, and it deserves attention.' Journal of Communist Studies and Transition PoliticsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
File size
1,28 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-511-34643-9 (9780511346439)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
07/2007
Cambridge University Press
€69.60
Shipment within 15-20 days
Book
07/2007
Cambridge University Press
€41.30
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Ilan Peleg is the Editor-in-Chief of Israel Studies Forum (since 2000), the author of Begin's Foreign Policy, 1977-1983: Israel's Turn to the Right (1987) and of Human Rights in the West Bank and Gaza: Legacy and Politics (1995, selected as Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 1996), and many other scholarly books and articles. His recent studies have appeared in journals including Nations and Nationalism, the Middle East Journal, and Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. Dr Peleg's expertise is in ethnic relations in deeply divided societies, Middle East politics, Israeli society, and US foreign policy, and he has spoken on these topics on CNN, Voice of America, and National Public Radio. Dr Peleg is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Government and Law at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
Content
1. Ethno-national conflict in multinational polities; 2. The crucial triangle: democracy, statehood, and hegemony in multinational settings; 3. Classifying multinational states; 4. Transforming uninational hegemony in divided societies: the gradual option; 5. Transforming uninational hegemony: mega-constitutional engineering; 6. The reverse trend - sustaining or strengthening ethnic hegemony; 7. Beyond hegemony in deeply divided societies: transforming hegemonic systems; Epilogue: genuine democracy for the 21st century.
