Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Political Science Democracy

Why Canadian Unity Matters and Why Americans Care

Democratic Pluralism at Risk

by (author) Charles F. Doran

Publisher
University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Initial publish date
Nov 2001
Category
Democracy, General, General
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802048738
    Publish Date
    Nov 2001
    List Price
    $83.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780802083913
    Publish Date
    Nov 2001
    List Price
    $47.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442683471
    Publish Date
    Nov 2001
    List Price
    $91.00

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Out of print

This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.

Description

Why is Canadian unity important to democratic pluralism worldwide?

Democratic pluralism is the ability of different cultural and language communities to find representation under a single set of democratic institutions, however configured. Although traditional liberal arguments at best ignored culture, in practise, out of a long struggle to eliminate gargantuan prejudices, errors and wrongs, the liberal tradition has created in democratic pluralism a dialectic of culture and liberal politics that resolves the theoretical conundrums so dear to both. Canadian democracy is a monument to success in its capacity to provide dignity, freedom, opportunity, and prosperity to its citizens throughout the polity. Secession, if it takes place in Quebec, puts these achievements at risk, raising the spectre that cultural-linguistic norms, not a mature liberal democracy, will fashion the kind of state that future generations will inherit.

Charles Doran examines why Canadian unity is important, what drives Quebec separatism in the American view, the concern that after Quebec succession the rest of Canada could unravel, and the nature of the historical era that has shaped and conditioned secessionist impulse.

About the author

Charles F. Doran is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of International Relations, Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C.

Charles F. Doran's profile page