Consociationalism

In this chapter Asier Blas focuses on the Basque state as the most effective instrument for the management of the diverse cultures that have a place in present-day Euskal Herria, taking as its point of departure the diversity of national sentiments found in the Basque Country. A consociational model where different nations and cultures can be managed in a balanced way may be the most democratic solution for the management of diversity. But the implementation of this model requires an appropriate political setting that for a number of reasons the Spanish and French states cannot provide, such as their size, the present imbalance among the nations that form part of it, and most importantly, because of the Jacobin political culture that has dominated both states for centuries. In Blas’ opinion, a hypothetical Basque state meets all the conditions for the implementation of the fairest model for diversity management.

The theory of consociational democracy has emphasized the internal conditions under which elites in “segmented pluralist” countries may choose such a strategy. This article suggests a distinction between genetic and sustaining conditions of this type of conflict management and, with the aid of this distinction, seeks to analyze the complex relationships between the internal structure of consociational democracies and their position in the international system. Consociationalism serves as a strategy for the settlement of international conflict (and may be imposed from outside) or for the preservation of national integrity in a situation of international conflict. On the other hand a reduction of foreign policy loads may contribute to the stabilization of consociational democracy; this may explain why most consociational democracies are small countries.

""El volumen arroja luz sobre la complicada y multifacética relación entre nacionalismo y democracia, mediante el examen de cómo el nacionalismo confiorma y es conformado, en diversos períodos y contextos, por la prácticas democráticas o por la ausencia de las mismas. El libro analiza la relación del nacionalismo con la democracia adoptando tres enfoques:
(a) El desafío de la democracia para el nacionalismo subestatal, prestando una especial atención a las circunstancias bajo las cuales dicho nacionalismo subestatal es compatible con la democracia, y evaluando las implicaciones democráticas de los diversos proyectos nacionalistas.
(b) Los efectos del nacionalismo estatalista en las prácticas democráticas, examinando las implicaciones de dicho nacionalismo estatal o mayoritario para la democracia tanto en países donde los principios y prácticas democráticos están consolidados y en aquellos donde no lo están.
(c) Explicar y comprender cómo el nacionalismo estatalista condiciona los procesos de democratización y qué impacto tiene el nacionalismo subestatal en dichos contextos.""

"""This book sheds light on the complicated, multifaceted relationship between nationalism and democracy by examining how nationalism in various periods and contexts shapes, or is shaped by, democratic practices or the lack thereof. This book examines nationalism’s relationship with democracy using three approaches:
• The challenge of democracy for sub-state nationalism: analyzing the circumstances under which sub-nationalism is compatible with democracy,
and assessing the democratic implications of various nationalist projects.
• The impact of state nationalism on democratic practices: examining the implications of state nationalism for democracy, both in countries where liberal
democratic principles and practices are well established and where they are not.
• Understanding how state nationalism affects democratization processes and what impact sub-state nationalism has in these contexts."""

""This short paper was presented at a conference organized by the Foundation Public Law Center in Sarajevo (July 2013), aimed at the assessment of the "Recommendations for the Reform of the Federation of B&H" drafted by the Expert group formed upon the initiative of the Embassy of the United States of America in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It evaluates one aspect of the "Recommendations", namely the effort to ameliorate the systematic and institutional discrimination immanent to the current ethnocratic legal and political structure in the Federation of B&H. The "Recommendations" tackle this complex task through the introduction of a more elaborate concept of "differentiated citizenship", such that the Federation of B&H is defined as a "community of equal citizens", which further consists of three categories of citizens: a) "members of constituent peoples (Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs)"; b) "members of national minorities"; and c) "those that do not declare themselves as members of constituent peoples (because they cannot or do not want to declare themselves in such a manner)".

It is argued that this effort should be seen as a process aimed towards the "pluralization of the consociation" in the Federation of B&H. However, detailed analysis of the "Recommendations", as well as the accompanying "Analysis of Justification" of the Expert group, indicates that the proposed model, under a reasonable interpretation, could result in a far reaching exclusion of at least one group of citizens from the participation in the structures of government of the Federation of B&H. If that was an intention of the Expert group it required a thorough justification, which was not provided. Either way it is argued that such a model would be very hard to justify legally. If it was an oversight, it is one that requires systematic revision of the "Recommendations".

This document is in Bosnian language. Download from SSRN (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2296537%20)"