A Deliberative Approach to Conflicts of Culture

Abstract

How should liberal democratic states respond to cultural practices and arrangements that run afoul of liberal norms and laws? This article argues for a reframing of the challenges posed by traditional or nonliberal cultural minorities. The author suggests that viewed from up close, such dilemmas are revealed to be primarily intracultural rather than intercultural conflicts, and reflect the political and practical interests of factions of communities much more thandeep moral differences. Using the example of the reform of customary marriage laws in post-apartheid South Africa, this article makes the case for a more pragmatic, politically focused approach to resolving conflicts of culture that it is argued is both more democratic and effective than alternatives recently advanced by liberals and deliberative democracy theorists.

Secularism or Democracy? : Associational Governance of Religious Diversity

“…This is increasingly also seen by defenders of deliberative democracy (e.g. Deveaux 2005). Moderately agonistic theories of democracy have to combine plausible accounts of civic and democratic virtues with institutional designs that enable lively and inclusive public debate (para 6.1.2).…”

“…Some authors try to show that it should not be seen as a conflict of moral principles -as 'competing equality claims' (Phillips 2005: 118ff, 122), or as a 'rights conflict' (Moore 2005: 274) -but rather, one concerning more pragmatic and political conflicts of interests, power, positions or identity. Also claimed is the fact that such conflicts allow easier negotiations, practical deliberations, compromise and contextual ways of resolution (Deveaux 2005, Eisenberg 2005), particularly if one listens to the internal voices of minorities within minorities. Yet, these authors accept that they may be confronted with hard strategic dilemmas (Phillips 2005;Reitman 2005).…”

The Dilemma of “Reasonable Accommodation” in Canada’s Multiculturalism: State’s Decision to Ban the Niquab at Citizenship Oath Ceremony

“…Perhaps, if the public is more aware of the role of minority's religious practices, accommodating such practices might be easier and this could be achieved via deliberation. After all, the most democratically legitimate and just means of mediating tensions around contested cultural and religious practices is through deliberation that involves those affected (Deveaux, 2003). As this paper suggests, deliberation could improve our understanding of the religious dressing code and raises our awareness with the potential of shaping people's views about Muslim women in the larger society.…”

Democratizing Resource Governance Through Prior Consultations? Lessons from Bolivia’s Hydrocarbon Sector

“…from Habermas and Rawls) and have instead investigated hurdles that frequently emerge in practice and ways to overcome them (Bohman 1996;Dryzek 2005;Fraser 1990;Deveaux 2003;McCormick 2007;Gutman and Thompson 2004;Gastil and Levine 2005;Fung and Wright 2003;Benhabib 1996): among them, deliberative inequalities and other challenges that result from the existence of cultural pluralism or social inequalities. Some of their insights on the creation of favorable conditions for carrying out fair deliberations will be picked up in Section 4 of this article, where I will apply them to meaningful consultations.…”

“…In contemporary Bolivia, the general democratic system and current state-society rela- Deveaux 2003;Benhabib 1996;Bohman 1996) -is likely to account better for the existing heterogeneity of local populations, in order to both avoid the exacerbation of power asymmetries and guarantee that minority interests do not go unheard.…”