The Cultural Defense of Nations: A Liberal Theory of Majority Rights (Oxford Constitutional Theory) - Hardcover

Orgad, Liav

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 019966868X ISBN 13: 9780199668687

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2016

Synopsis

The changing patterns of contemporary immigration have initiated a new form of majority nationalism. In recent years, liberal democracies have introduced immigration and citizenship policies that are designed to defend the majority culture. This trend is fed by fears of immigration -- some justified, some paranoid -- which explain the rise of extreme right-wing parties in the West. Liberal theory and human rights law seem to be out of sync with these developments. While they recognize the rights of minority groups to maintain their cultural identity, it is typically assumed that majority groups have neither a need for similar rights nor a moral basis for defending them. The majority culture, so the argument goes, "can take care of itself." This singular book shifts the focus from the prevailing discussion of minority rights and, for the first time, directly addresses the cultural rights of majorities. The findings reveal a troubling trend in liberal democracies, which, ironically, in order to protect liberal values, violate the very same values. The book criticizes this state of affairs and presents a liberal theory of cultural defense that distinguishes between justifiable and unjustifiable attempts by majorities to protect their cultural essentials. It formulates liberal standards by which liberal states can welcome immigrants without fundamentally changing their cultural heritage, forsaking their liberal traditions, or slipping into extreme nationalism.

The Cultural Defense of Nations presents a timely, thought-provoking thesis on one of the most pressing issues of our time -- immigrants, majority groups, and national identity.

About this title

About the Author

Liav Orgad, 
Fellow-in-Residence, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University; Marie Curie Fellow, Freie Universität Berlin; Assistant Professor of Law , Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC).

Liav Orgad is an Assistant Professor of Law at Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC), a Marie Curie Fellow at Freie Universität Berlin, and a Fellow-in-Residence at the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. He specializes in comparative constitutional law, comparative immigration law, constitutional identity, and citizenship theory. Dr Orgad has been a Fulbright Scholar at NYU Law School, a Jean-Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute, a Visiting Professor at FGV Direito Rio, and a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School, Columbia School of Law, and Universität Luzern. He is the recipient of Dan David Prize for Young Scholars of Exceptional Promise (2013), Russell Sage Presidential Authority Award (2012), Eric Stein Prize for Best Scholarly Article by the American Society for Comparative Law (2011), and the Wolf Prize for Outstanding Achievements of Young Scholars (2010).

 

From the Back Cover

The book addresses one of the greatest challenges facing liberalism today: Is a liberal state justified in restricting immigration and access to citizenship in order to protect the majority culture? Liberal theorists and human rights advocates recognize the rights of minorities to maintain their unique cultural identity, but assume that majorities have neither a need for similar rights nor a moral ground for defending them. On the opposite side, with more than 230 million immigrants worldwide, majority groups increasingly seek to protect what they consider to be their national identity. In recent years, liberal democracies have introduced proactive immigration and naturalization policies that are designed to defend the majority culture.

This singular book shifts the focus from the prevailing discussion of cultural minority rights and, for the first time, confronts the topic of cultural rights of majorities. The findings reveal a troubling trend in liberal states, which, ironically, in order to protect liberal values, violate the very same values. The book criticizes this state of affairs and proposes a new approach by which liberal democracies can welcome immigrants without fundamentally changing their cultural heritage, forsaking their liberal traditions, or slipping into extreme nationalism.

The Cultural Defense of Nations presents a timely, thought-provoking thesis on some of the most pressing issues of our time -- global immigration, majority groups, and national identity.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 019966868X
• ISBN 13: 9780199668687
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 300