ABSTRACT

Self-determination respects human agency and the capacity for self-direction within a universalistic context that acknowledges the equality of all human beings. Despite general formal recognition of the principle of self-determination, there are distinct interpretations of this foundational principle. This chapter critically examines some of these interpretations. Yael Tamir points out that political and cultural rights of self-determination are distinct rights that are not reducible to one another. Will Kymlicka's approach for cultural and political self-determination involves both group-differentiated rights and special electoral systems which allow for equitable minority political representation. Before evaluating the adequacy of Kymlicka's account of cultural and political self-determination for ethnocultural groups, it is important to appreciate the significance of his achievement. The chapter argues that in many cases the absence of economic empowerment can seriously hinder the exercise of cultural and political self-determination, and that material inequalities undermine the cultural and political autonomy of ethnocultural groups in distinctive ways.