Majorities, Minorities, and the Future of Nationhood

Democracies have historically restrained against the tyranny of the majority by developing norms of international human rights, cultural minority rights, and ideas of multiculturalism.

In the twenty-first century however, majorities have re-asserted themselves anew, sometimes by emphasising social cohesion and national identity and at other times in the form of populist movements that have challenged the very foundations of liberal democracy. This volume examines the legitimacy of conflicting majority and minority claims. Are majorities a legal concept, holding rights and subject to limitations? How can we define a sense of nationhood that brings groups together rather than tears them apart?

In the launch of this volume, world-leading experts are brought together for the first time to debate the rights of both majorities and minorities in the context of modern democracies.

This event is sponsored by the Alfred Landecker Programme and will be moderated by Dr Maya Tudor.