Minorities and the Democratic Image
Minorities and the Democratic Image

Summary/Abstract: A major concern in many post-communist countries is reconciling minorities to democratic rule. This problem is made more difficult by the widely accepted image that democracy is centrally associated with political equality, majority rule, and active political participation by the mass of people. Taking these notions at face value, a national or other minority-particularly one that knows it inspires considerable hostility in the majority-is likely to conclude that it faces the potential of persecution in a democratic system because it will obviously be outnumbered. Democratic imagemakers characteristically argue that the minority's only hope is that the majority will somehow treat it with respect and tolerance. [...]

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