| ID: |
HARP-474 |
| Title: |
The case against Quebec nationalism |
| Source: |
American Review of Canadian Studies , v.24(2) Summer, 1994 pg 171-195 |
| Parties: |
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| Dispute Resolution Organ: |
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| Year: |
1994 |
| Pages: |
0 |
| Author(s): |
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| Keywords: |
Canada, culture, democracy, human rights, Quebec, politics, ethnic minorities, civil and political rights, liberalism, nationalism, minority rights, self-determination |
| Abstract: |
The case of Quebec illustrates how ethnicity, through powerful symbolic appeals to cultural survival, can be politicized to the extent of seriously threatening the very existence of an otherwise stable and prosperous federation. As Francis Fukuyama has noted, in today’s world the revival of ethnic nationalism poses a threat to various regimes and not only to former totalitarian dictatorships. In this context, Quebec could well be an ideal test case of the resilience of liberal democracy: “The best test case of this in the world right now is Quebec…. The breakup of Canada along national lines would be an interesting piece of evidence concerning the adequacy of modern liberal democracy.” Canada is indeed an interesting case study since it is not only a very successful federation, as Fukuyama rightly notes, but also one that has tottered on the abyss of self-destruction for at least the past twelve years, if not for the past thirty-odd years. |
| Secured: |
False |
| Download Article: |
Available here |
Keywords: Canada, civil and political rights, culture, democracy, ethnic minorities, human rights, liberalism, minority rights, nationalism, politics, Quebec, self-determination
