Public Legitimacy of Minority Claims

Plamen Makariev is Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy, Sofia University, Bulgaria.

• IntroductionWhy Communicative Empowerment of Minorities?OverviewMethodologyDemographic Data about the Countries of Central and Eastern EuropePart I: Identities and Policies1. Minority IdentitiesMinorityIdentity and CultureWhose Identity?Identity: Essence or Construct?Identity: an End, or a Means?2. The Complexity of Minority IssuesCultural DifferencesGroup SolidaritySocial and Political Factors3. Political Power and Minority PoliciesSocialist InternationalismConsociational DemocracyThe Politics of PresenceIdentity Relations and Political PowerPart II: Identities and Communicative PowerIntroduction II4. Communicative PowerPublic Legitimization within the Framework of the Habermasian Model of the Public SphereThe Plurality of the Public SphereGenuine and Fictitious Legitimacy5. Legitimacy and Public DeliberationWhat Is "Public Deliberation"?Differentia Specifica of Deliberative Decision-MakingThe Unforced Force of the Better ArgumentProcedure as a Safeguard against the Manipulation of Public Communication6. The Internet as a Medium for Public DeliberationHow Does "Communicative Power" Work?The Public Sphere and the InternetPublic Deliberation and the Internet7. Is Intercultural Public Deliberation Possible?The Challenges of Communication across Cultural BarriersSolutions Proposed8. The Communicative Empowerment of Minority GroupsEthical-Political Discourses as Instances of Public DeliberationEthical-Political Discourses as Enclave DeliberationsThe Dual Identity of Minority Group MembersConclusion