Illusion of the Peoples: A Critique of National Self-Determination

by Omar Dahbour

Overview

The principle of national self-determination is one of the two or three most influential, but least understood, concepts in modern political thought. While recent philosophical examination has failed to look at the concept in any systematic fashion, in this book Omar Dahbour examines all of the arguments that have been given for national self-determination, whether by international lawyers, moral philosophers, democratic theorists, or political communitarians. Without trying to either justify of condemn nation-states, Dahbour attempts to rescue this frequently invoked idea from nationalistic misuse, and applies it to current political struggles against globalization and imperialism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739105245
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	01/21/2003
Series:	Lexington Studies in Social, Legal, and Political Philosophy
Pages:	276
Product dimensions:	6.34(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.03(d)

About the Author

Omar Dahbour is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College, CUNY. He coedited The Nationalism Reader (with Micheline Ishay, 1995).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: Nationalism as Belief and as Doctrine Chapter 2 National Identity and Political Autonomy Chapter 3 Peoples and Nations in International Law Chapter 4 Cultural Rights and the Ethics of Self-Determination Chapter 5 Consent Theory and Democratic Self-Determination Chapter 6 The Nation-State as an Ethical Community Chapter 7 The Contradictions of Liberal Nationalism Chapter 8 Conclusion: Self-Determination Without Nationalism

Editorial Reviews

An important and persuasive study of the highly influential doctrine of national self-determination. Dahbour subjects claims that groups have a right to a state of their own to lucid philosophical examination, and gives the concept of nationalism the moral scrutiny it deserves.

Virginia Held

An important and persuasive study of the highly influential doctrine of national self-determination. Dahbour subjects claims that groups have a right to a state of their own to lucid philosophical examination, and gives the concept of nationalism the moral scrutiny it deserves.--Virginia Held, City University of New York

From the Publisher