Nationalism, Referendums and Democracy
Author | : Matt Qvortrup |
Publisher | : Routledge |
Total Pages | : 168 |
Release | : 2016-04-08 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781134924448 |
ISBN-13 | : 1134924445 |
Rating | : 4/5 (445 Downloads) |
Download or read book Nationalism, Referendums and Democracy written by Matt Qvortrup and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Democracy is above all about majority rule. But which majority should rule if a part of a country wants to secede and become independent? Should the majority of the whole country decide? Or only the majority in the part that seeks to become independent be allowed to vote? Referendums and democracy have often been perceived to be almost incompatible with nationalism and ethnicity. Are they? Are there limits to democracy and the use of referendums? This book looks at these issues through a comprehensive study of the referendums held on ethnic and nationalist issues since the French Revolution. It analyses the pros and cons of referendums and presents a nuanced and up-to date tour d’horizon of the academic and scholarly writings on the subject by experts in international law, comparative politics and international law. This book was published as a special issue of Nationalism and Ethnic Politics.