Nationalism, sovereignty, and political membership

This dissertation focuses on a number of moral and political questions raised by the simultaneous emergence of minority nationalist movements and transnational processes of integration. The dissertation seeks to explain, among other things, why a sense of nationality matters to people; how this sense of nationality contributes to political legitimacy; and the circumstances under which this sense of nationality turns into a pernicious form of nationalism. In this context, the dissertation considers the arguments of eighteenth century romantics like Johann Gottfried Herder, nineteenth century liberal nationalists like John Stuart Mill, and twentieth century anti-nationalist liberals like John Rawls.; The dissertation also investigates the claim that national minorities possess fundamental moral rights to recognition and cultural preservation. In this context, the dissertation examines the arguments of Canadian multiculturalists and European supra-nationalists. The final part of the dissertation focuses more specifically on the challenge posed by European integration to prevailing conceptions of sovereignty and political membership.