One of the most influential authors of the past decade who has tried to assess a theoretical model of defense of 'cultural rights' from a liberal prospective is Will Kymlicka. Kymlicka appears even to believe that his model of multiculturalism represents the only systematic account of minority rights that is yet available within liberal theory. He assumes that other liberal thinkers---e.g. Raz, Taylor, Habermas---'have sketched some concepts or principles which they think should govern liberal approaches to ethnocultural demands' but their views constitute, at the end of the day, 'more outlines than systematic theories' (Kymlicka 1997: 86, n. 1). This essay stems from my critical reading of Kymlicka's theory. / It is not my intention here to provide an alternative model of dealing with 'cultural differences'. My aims are much more modest. First, I want to provide a critical assessment of Kymlicka's theory by pointing out some of its conceptual ambiguities. Second, I want to discuss the case of Switzerland by defending the thesis that it does not constitute a multinational state. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

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