Deliberative Democracy, Political Legitimacy, and Self-Determination in Multicultural Societies ― Political Legitimacy and Self-Determination in Multicultural Societies

Most foundational works in political philosophy have made fundamentally false and far-reaching assumptions concerning the culturally homogenous character of the polity, argues Valdez (Our Lady of the Lake U.). If we reconceptualize our theories of democracy while accounting for the obvious plurality of modern societies, misconceptions emerge on many topics from the limits of democratic deliberation, the justification and function of political communities, the nature of self-determination, and the moral rationale for regional self-government and succession. The book is written for graduate students, upper-level political science students and the general reader interested in understanding a major source of conflict and instability in modern democratic societies. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)