Interest group nationalism: Liberalism, democracy, and the politics of minority rights in Europe

Beginning with a critique of theories of liberal nationalism, this dissertation examines how European democracies have coped with identity issues. It argues that over the last 300 years, the communal identity of public concern in Europe has evolved from religious to national to regional. With the rise of immigration and new identity politics centered on gender and sexual orientation, the cleavages which could move to the center of debate over minority rights are on the horizon. This general pattern of shifting identities that demand recognition explains the general evolution of minority policies in Europe. The codification of policies protecting certain identities in European agreements illustrates the emergence and impact of normative behavior. From a prospective of democratic theory, because these identities are values external to the democratic process, nothing about them engenders rights. Within this evolution of values, the specific minority policies in European democracies can be explained by the interests of the minorities (and certain segments of the majority) and ability of minorities to organize. In this way, it is possible to see the quest for "minority rights" as a type of interest group politics. It is only if minority policies are understood as outcomes of the democratic process and not as rights can liberal democracies survive. Otherwise democracies will lose the flexibility necessary to their functioning. As a corollary, liberal democracies can deal more effectively with evolving identity than other political regimes because of their ability to process changing values and interests. The three center chapters of this dissertation examine these processes in European democracies, focusing on language, education, and political participation. The final chapter builds on the conclusions on the role of values in institutionalizing the relationship between certain types of interest groups and the state to explain why extreme nationalists and other natural opponents of minority rights have generally failed to achieve policy successes.