This dissertation provides an analytical framework for understanding the left-indigenous cycle of extra-parliamentary insurrection in Bolivia between 2000 and 2005. It draws from Marxist and indigenous-liberationist theory to challenge the central presuppositions of liberal-institutionalist understandings of contemporary indigenous politics in Latin America, as well as the core tenets of mainstream social movement studies. The central argument is that a specific combination of elaborate infrastructures of class struggle and social-movement unionism, historical traditions of indigenous and working-class radicalism, combined oppositional consciousness, and fierce but insufficient state repression, explain the depth, breadth, and radical character of recent left-indigenous mobilizations in Bolivia. The coalition of insurrectionary social forces in the Gas Wars of 2003 and 2005 was led by indigenous informal workers, acting in concert with formal workers, peasants, and to a smaller degree, middle-class actors. The indigenous informal working classes of the city of El Alto, in particular, utilized an elaborate infrastructure of class struggle in order to overcome structural barriers to collective action and to take up their leading role. The supportive part played by the formal working class was made possible by the political orientation toward social-movement unionism adopted by leading trade-union federations. Radicalized peasants mobilized within the broader alliance through their own rural infrastructure of class struggle. The whole array of worker and peasant social forces drew on longstanding popular cultures of indigenous liberation and revolutionary Marxism which they adapted to the novel context of the twenty-first century. These popular cultures ultimately congealed in a new combined oppositional consciousness, rooted simultaneously in the politics of indigenous resistance and class struggle. This collective consciousness, in turn, strengthened the mobilizing capacities of the popular classes and reinforced the radical character of protest. At key junctures, social movement leaders were able to synthesize oppositional consciousness into a focused collective action frame of nationalizing the natural gas industry. Finally, throughout the left-indigenous cycle, ruthless state repression was nonetheless insufficiently powerful to wipe out opposition altogether and therefore acted only to intensify the scale of protests and radicalize demands still further. The legitimacy of the neoliberal social order and the coercive power required to reproduce it were increasingly called into question as violence against civilians increased.

Canada is considered to be a multicultural country with a long history of cultural diversity. Yet in the field of landscape architecture, we have been shying away from this facet of society, perhaps due to the politically correct movement or other concerns, and focussing more on environmental issues. This thesis proposes a multicultural approach to landscape design, taking into consideration such issues as cultural diversity, federal multiculturalism, grassroots multiculturalism, narrative, history, sublimation, cultural forms, ethnicity, etc. After historical research about cultural diversity and multiculturalism in Canada and a precedent study of multicultural landscape design, these issues are implemented in the landscape design of a greenway system, specifically t he Ontario-Carrall Greenway System. The greenway has four significant nodes: Old Arrival, Multicultural Theatre, Fig Garden and New Arrival. All of these nodes incorporate multicultural, sublimated forms that unite diverse cultures, while the greenway itself interweaves physically and culturally diverse sites within a framework of multicultural landscape design.

This research project seeks to provide a critical and reformist perspective of the rationale for a school district race relations policy. By conducting a comprehensive critique of established assumptions behind traditional race relations models, and by bringing to light the motivations and understandings of committee members who established a school district race relations policy, the researcher hopes to make clear that stated purpose for the policy can be interpreted from variety of perspectives. The policy aims to foster a learning environment in which racial, ethnic, cultural and religious differences are recognized and valued. These differences must not be the basis of discrimination (Taylor School District. 1992) It is not clear what ethnic, cultural, and religious differences are to be recognized and valued. A reformist perspective would promote social structural equality and prepare young, developing citizens to work towards what Freire called "conscientization" (Freire, 1985: 103), to have the desire and skills to question society, see through versions of 'truth' that allow unfairness to be masked, and then to be empowered to "envision, define, and work towards a more humane society" (Sleeter, 1994: 212). This project will contribute to the body of knowledge on the underlying assumptions, factors, and motivations that impact race relations work as well as make recommendations for the implementation of effective race relations strategies. Race relations work that is "Multicultural and Social Reconstructionalist" (Sleeter, 1994: 209) is designed to reflect the concerns and aspirations of diverse groups of people. In education, rather than being limited to additional curricula or increased minority hiring, it is a "different orientation and expectation of the whole educational process" (Sleeter, 1994: 209). It also contends that major institutions such as schools are incapable of being vehicles in the elimination of racism until their institutional reason for being, their purpose, or guiding mission undergoes significant change. Proposing idealistic rationale statements is a fabulous start if the statements mirror, or initiate more subsequential changes within the foundations of educational institutions. Unless there are fundamental changes in the motivations and goals of the ministry, school boards, administrators, teachers, parents, students - all shareholders, we cannot expect to obtain different results when traditional beliefs, motivations, and practices are retained. In order to effectively understand and then employ critical and reformist approaches to race and race relations education, I begin with theorists who are making "strategic interventions" (Apple, 1993: viii) into the debates on race, racial differences, and race relations education. To define culture, I begin with the work of Bullivant (1981) to ascertain whether traditional race relations approaches reflect the following components of his definition of culture: culture is holistic, culture is transmitted, culture evolves, and culture is made up of problem solving approaches to life. To understand the progress being made in the theorization of race, I begin with the traditional biological definitions that still exist. I then look to Omi and Winant (1993) to provide an excellent alternative perspective based on a "racial formation process" (Omi and Winant, 1993: 3) in which race is understood as a social construct. I then use their work to understand the foundations upon which a critical, process orientated, socially comprehensive theory of race must stand, specifically; race must be interpreted in the here and now, race must be seen in its global context, and race must be recognized as a legacy of the modern era. McCarthy (1993) provides a critique of contemporary approaches to multicultural education and also outlines an alternative approach that is critical, reformist and takes into consideration factors that go beyond psychology as well as incorporating the evolving conceptualization of race. Finally, West (1993,1993) provides a call for a "new cultural politics of difference" (West, 1993: 11) in which cultural critics are to attempt creative responses to the particular local and global circumstances we are in regarding matters of race. By also employing the ideas of Sleeter (1993), Calliou (1995), and McCarthy (1993) I can understand why a critical and reformist approach to race relations education is necessary, what it entails, and how it might apply to specific work being done in race relations such as a newly created school district policy. To provide insight into how a critical, reformist approach might apply in the real world, the study also offers a snapshot of how nation-wide cultural and demographic changes are represented in one suburban West Coast school district in British Columbia, Canada. The study provides an in depth look into how the committee members perceived race relations; why they were involved in the formulation of the policy, what their individual motivations were and what they viewed as the purpose of the policy. The research was undertaken during the 1996 - 1997 school year, three years after the committee was first formed. I use an ethnographic sensibility to questioning the committee members to obtain rich, in-depth insights. This is seen as the most effective way in which to ascertain the often hidden, subconscious cognitive and social frameworks, which inform and determine the perspectives of individuals within our contemporary society.\ By asking open-ended questions, I encourage the respondents to elaborate upon their own ideas by active listening and co-participating in the dialogue (Spradley, 1979). By reviewing my notes after each interview I created a verbal understanding of the 'reflective thinking" (Hampton, 1995) that took place in each of the interviews. I have been all too to aware that it can be extremely difficult to articulate a clear perspective within an area in which viewpoints are often subconsciously framed by a myriad of socially and personally developed cognitive articulations. Theorists such as Bullivant and Peter believe we must go through a process of critical inquiry into the basic assumptions of established theories and models in order to address the perspectives that we claim to maintain (Bullivant, 1986: 35).

I address claims of offence of feelings, religious freedom and language rights, which are all ‎justified by the intrinsic interest individuals attach to their culture. I call them ‘claims from ‎cultural identity’. I develop a conception of substantive equality, understood as distributive ‎justice and underpinned by dignity, for regulating claims from cultural identity in the legal ‎system of multicultural states. I call it Equality of Cultural Identity. ‎ It is a ‘complex equality’ model, which takes cultural identity to be a sphere in ‎peoples’ lives. Unlike majority members, cultural minority members are usually under ‎constant pressure to compromise their cultural identity and assimilate in the majority ‎culture to succeed in other spheres of their lives like education and career. In accordance ‎with Walzer’s theory of Spheres of Justice, I propose a regulative principle to determine ‎the extent of cultural protection minority members deserve, according to which the ‎influence of other spheres of their lives on their sphere of cultural identity should as ‎minimal as possible. ‎ I apply this principle to claims of offence to feeling, which I re-conceptualize as ‎claims from integrity of cultural identity. I suggest the vulnerable identity principle: The ‎more vulnerable a person’s cultural identity, the stronger her claim from integrity of ‎cultural identity. This principle enhances a just distribution of symbolic goods between ‎majority and minority members, is based on objective evaluation standards, and avoids ‎legal moralism. Thus, it overcomes the major liberal worries about regulating speech. ‎ With respect to the language rights and religious freedom, I comparatively analyze ‎them qua cultural rights. I argue that the right to religious freedom, which is generously ‎interpreted by courts, bears all of the allegedly unique features of language rights that are ‎used to support their restrained judicial interpretation. Thus, the existing arguments for ‎their restrained interpretation are not valid. I identify a novel argument for their restrained ‎interpretation, which is that they impose a cultural burden on majority members, but ‎drawing on my conception of equality, I argue that it is not sound as the burden they ‎impose is not great.‎

The results of Vancouver’s 2008 municipal election led to critiques that South Asian candidates, and possibly all visible minority candidates, face reduced electability under Vancouver’s at-large electoral system than they would under a different municipal electoral system. This thesis employs numerous quantitative research methods to assess whether visible minority candidates do face reduced electability under the at-large system compared to a ward system proposed for Vancouver in 2004. The extent that Vancouver’s 2008 election results fulfill three U.S. Supreme Court conditions for establishing minority vote dilution is also assessed as part of this thesis research.

I address claims of offence of feelings, religious freedom and language rights, which are all ‎justified by the intrinsic interest individuals attach to their culture. I call them ‘claims from ‎cultural identity’. I develop a conception of substantive equality, understood as distributive ‎justice and underpinned by dignity, for regulating claims from cultural identity in the legal ‎system of multicultural states. I call it Equality of Cultural Identity. ‎ It is a ‘complex equality’ model, which takes cultural identity to be a sphere in ‎peoples’ lives. Unlike majority members, cultural minority members are usually under ‎constant pressure to compromise their cultural identity and assimilate in the majority ‎culture to succeed in other spheres of their lives like education and career. In accordance ‎with Walzer’s theory of Spheres of Justice, I propose a regulative principle to determine ‎the extent of cultural protection minority members deserve, according to which the ‎influence of other spheres of their lives on their sphere of cultural identity should as ‎minimal as possible. ‎ I apply this principle to claims of offence to feeling, which I re-conceptualize as ‎claims from integrity of cultural identity. I suggest the vulnerable identity principle: The ‎more vulnerable a person’s cultural identity, the stronger her claim from integrity of ‎cultural identity. This principle enhances a just distribution of symbolic goods between ‎majority and minority members, is based on objective evaluation standards, and avoids ‎legal moralism. Thus, it overcomes the major liberal worries about regulating speech. ‎ With respect to the language rights and religious freedom, I comparatively analyze ‎them qua cultural rights. I argue that the right to religious freedom, which is generously ‎interpreted by courts, bears all of the allegedly unique features of language rights that are ‎used to support their restrained judicial interpretation. Thus, the existing arguments for ‎their restrained interpretation are not valid. I identify a novel argument for their restrained ‎interpretation, which is that they impose a cultural burden on majority members, but ‎drawing on my conception of equality, I argue that it is not sound as the burden they ‎impose is not great.‎

The results of Vancouver’s 2008 municipal election led to critiques that South Asian candidates, and possibly all visible minority candidates, face reduced electability under Vancouver’s at-large electoral system than they would under a different municipal electoral system. This thesis employs numerous quantitative research methods to assess whether visible minority candidates do face reduced electability under the at-large system compared to a ward system proposed for Vancouver in 2004. The extent that Vancouver’s 2008 election results fulfill three U.S. Supreme Court conditions for establishing minority vote dilution is also assessed as part of this thesis research.

Šiame darbe analizuojama, kaip Lietuvoje aiškinamas multikultūralizmo reiškinys ir kokie yra multikultūralizmo elementai Lietuvos švietimo politikoje. Šiandienos globalizacijos sąlygos atveria vis platesnes galimybes multikultūralizmo plėtrai, kultūrų dialogui ir integracijai. Kaip ir kiekvienas reiškinys, multikultūralizmas įvairių šalių skirtingose visuomenėse yra suvokiamas skirtingai, o tai lemia nevienodas iškylančias problemas ir diskusijas jas sprendžiant politiniame kontekste. Lietuvos viešojoje erdvėje multikultūralizmo sąvoka įsitvirtino visai neseniai, šiandien ją matome ir kai kuriuose Lietuvos švietimo politikos dokumentuose. Pastebima, kad Lietuvoje multikultūralizmas dažniausiai suvokiamas primityviai ir yra menkai nagrinėtas reiškinys. Pasirinkto darbo objektas – Lietuvos švietimo politika multikultūralizmo kontekste. Darbe keliama hipotezė, kad Lietuvoje iki šiol nėra nuoseklios multikultūralizmo politikos, kadangi švietimo politika formuojama tautinės – etninės politikos kontekste, įgyvendinti multikultūralizmo politiką trukdo siauras šios sampratos suvokimas. Darbe siekiama atskleisti ir įvertinti multikultūralizmo apraiškos formas Lietuvos švietimo politikoje, išanalizuoti jos ypatumus ir perspektyvas. Darbe keliami uždaviniai: apžvelgti multikultūralizmo teorijos modelius, juos palyginti su Lietuvos ir kitų šalių patirtimi, atskleisti, kaip Lietuvoje yra suprantama etninė kultūra, išnagrinėti pagrindinius teisinius dokumentus, identifikuoti, kuo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The master’s final work analyses how manifestation of multiculturalism is explained and what the elements of multiculturalism in Lithuanian education policy are. Nowadays the conditions of globalization are opening wider possibilities for the development of multiculturalism, for the dialogue of cultures and integration. For that reason every manifestation of multiculturalism in different societies of various countries is differently understood, consequently it influences various arising problems, discussions and their solutions in the political context. The concept of multiculturalism has become stronger not so long ago and it is obviously visible in some Lithuanian education political documents. Noticeably, that multiculturalism in Lithuania is perceived primitively and is rarely discussed manifestation. The studying object of this work is Lithuanian education policy in the context of multiculturalism. The framed hypothesis in this work claims that there is no consecutive multicultural policy in Lithuania as the education policy is formed in the context of nation – ethnic policy. The narrow-minded understanding of this concept hinders to imply the policy of multiculturalism in everyday life. The work seeks open and estimates the forms of manifestation of multiculturalism in Lithuanian education policy, to analyze its peculiarities and prospects. The objectives of this work are to observe the models of multiculturalism theory and compare them with Lithuanian and other... [to full text]

In a world of presumed nation-states, nation has been, and still is, an intrinsic part of political legitimization and identity formation. Thus, it is clear that the understanding of nationality and people's relationship too it is of great importance for our understanding of how a stable society, partly built on nationality, can prevail in a world of migration consisting of individuals with diverging moral, religious and cultural conceptions. This thesis examines national sentiments in a cross-country comparative perspective. It consists of an introductory chapter and five articles. The first objective is to study the relationship between policy regimes and supposedly related national sentiments. The question is whether there are differences in national sentiments that can be derived from differences in policy regimes or whether there are more universal features to be found. In examining this we have the possibility to further understand what factors that help to create and sustain national sentiments. The second objective is to study the relation between different national sentiments and other complex attitudes such as xenophobia and protectionism. This includes the study of national identities as well as of nationalism. The following conclusions are drawn. First, it appears that we need to reconsider the almost taken for granted assumption of a correspondence between regime types prevalent in a certain society and people's sentiments towards such a society. Second, there exist substantial cross­country similarities in the effect that different national sentiments have. It is shown that people who have more civic forms of national sentiments are clearly less inclined to hold derogatory preconceptions about people perceived as not belonging to the group, compared the ideas held by those who have more ethnic national sentiments. Moreover, the findings also supply empirical evidence supporting the notion that a clear-cut positive nationalism can never exist. All in all, it is shown that multicultural ideas are something worth striving for on an individual level. Moreover, the results seem to indicate that a liberal form of multiculturalism is preferable to a more communitarian version, which is explored and supported in the normative exposé of the two forms of multiculturalism. / digitalisering@umu

This thesis develops an account of non-domination as a principle of legitimacy that ought to govern both inter-group and intra-group relations in multicultural states. It applies this principle to the question of how political institutions should respond to claims for the accommodation of controversial minority practices, using the example of the polygamous community in Bountiful, British Columbia. In developing this account, the thesis engages with three bodies of theoretical literature – of multiculturalism, of political legitimacy, and of autonomy. In the dominant normative theories of multiculturalism, answers are centered on what the limits of toleration are, what it means to recognize a collective identity, or what group rights can be claimed and how group rights are balanced with individual rights. While not rejecting the importance of these issues in a pluralistic state, my approach de-centers them by subsuming them under the broader problem of what makes a political authority morally legitimate vis-à-vis particular collective - as well as abstract individual - subjects. I argue that the most promising response to this problem lies with the concept of non-domination, conceived as a foundational principle of political legitimacy for multicultural states. This principle both demands and checks a democratic method for determining specific forms of accommodation. In some cases the advancement of non-domination between groups conflicts with the advancement of non-domination within groups. In political theory this question is often taken up by feminist scholars concerned with the ‘paradox of multicultural vulnerability’ and, more generally, with the dilemma of how to identify and critique internalized oppression while promoting full respect for individual moral agency. Borrowing from these debates, I outline a conception of the relational moral autonomy of the person and argue that it forms a necessary component of a non-domination- based analysis. The conclusion of the thesis with respect to minority social practices is that specific claims should be determined on the basis of a democratic process aimed at uncovering whether and when, all things considered, the accommodation of that particular practice is consistent with non-domination both between and within groups. / Thesis (Ph.D, Political Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-29 11:13:58.516