Perspectives on a Liberal-Pluralist Approach to Ethnic Minorities in Ukraine

Abstract

A comment on Will Kymlicka's "Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe" (2001) opens with a summation of Ukraine's multiethnic society, finding four of the five ethnocultural groups cited by Kymlicka. The case of Ukrainian-Russians is highlighted before delineating seven key components of Ukrainian nation building: (1) territorial-state organization; (2) Russian language status; (3) the status of Crimea & Crimean Tatars; (4) citizenship issues; (5) ethnic vs civic nationalism; (6) minority rights protection; & (7) illegal immigration. It is contended that while the liberal-pluralist perspective on minority rights issues will bear fruit, in the current political climate, it will not prevail until stereotypes related to multiethnicity are overcome. J. Zendejas