ABSTRACT
Beside the empirical investigations, there are philosophical inquiries into ways of revising liberal theory to take account of ethnic differences. This is also in response to conflicts generated in the Occident by the strains and tensions of liberal democracy and the recognition that there are over 5,000 ethnic groups that have to coexist in the 184 independent states of the world (Kymlicka, 1995, p. 1). The philosophical revision of liberal principles will not receive attention here; instead, the focus is on empirical arguments that prescribe democratic arrangements for conflict-reduction.
