Nation-Building and Beyond

Abstract

A comment on Will Kymlicka's "Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe" (2001) disagrees with his assertion that it is the kind of nation building that impacts the handling of ethnocultural diversity rather than the fact that nation building occurs. After characterizing the nation-state, it is argued that nation building presupposes an international regime of nation-states. After elaborating on the notion of nation building, attention turns to establishing Kymlicka's claim that if ethnocultural justice requires that the one-nation state be superceded by a multination state, ie, minority self-government is necessary, then ethnocultural justice requires that exclusive jurisdiction be superceded by overlapping jurisdiction, ie, governance across nation-state borders. Hungarian nationalism is taken as a case to consider the practical relevance of overcoming the nation-state regime, demonstrating that shifts in the international environment have already affected perceptions of political alternatives. J. Zendejas