Circumstantial liberals Ethnic minorities, political competition, and democracy. 20 March 2023.

Описание: ‘In this talk, Jan Rovny (Sciences Po, Paris) presents a project that demonstrates how permanent ethnic minorities in the search for group preservation champion rights and liberties protecting them from the tyranny of the majority. It shows that ethnic mobilization can translate into broader ideological preferences and political behaviour, inducing the formation of liberal political poles on the one hand, and illiberal opposition on the other. This dynamic is system forming, as it configures political cleavages, shapes party systems, and informs the absorption of new political issues. Ultimately, the presence of ethnic minorities can be a force for liberal democracy. Simultaneously, conditional factors cross-pressure ethnic minority search for rights and liberties, potentially attenuating ethnic liberalism and inducing exclusionary particularism. The talk thus highlights that ethnic minorities and their representatives are circumstantial liberals. The analyses combine the study of ethnic politics with research on electoral behaviour and party competition, using mixed experimental, quantitative, and qualitative methods.

This research seminar was organised by the Transnational democracy in the 21st century interdisciplinary research cluster. To find out more about cluster’s activities, please visit our website https://www.eui.eu/research-hub?id=tr...