Democracy, Ethnic Diversity, and Security in Post-Communist Europe - by Anita Inder Singh & Anita I Singh (Hardcover)

About the Book

Inder Singh examines why international organizations including the UN, OSCE, and Council of Europe advocated democratic governance, based on the rule of law and respect for human and minority rights, as the method by which states should try to accommodate their ethnically mixed populations. She discusses how realistic this advice has been, given the tension between the principle of the sovereignty of states and their international obligations, and the extent to which democratization had made for ethnic and political stability in post-communist Europe.

Inder Singh demonstrates that this advocacy of democracy to handle ethnic diversity questions the perception of nationalism as a cause of war and disorder. This pathbreaking study will be of appeal to academics and policy makers interested in how the management of ethnic diversity through democracy can enhance domestic and international security.

Book Synopsis

Inder Singh examines why international organizations including the UN, OSCE, and Council of Europe advocated democratic governance, based on the rule of law and respect for human and minority rights, as the method by which states should try to accommodate their ethnically mixed populations. She discusses how realistic this advice has been, given the tension between the principle of the sovereignty of states and their international obligations, and the extent to which democratization had made for ethnic and political stability in post-communist Europe.

Inder Singh demonstrates that this advocacy of democracy to handle ethnic diversity questions the perception of nationalism as a cause of war and disorder. This pathbreaking study will be of appeal to academics and policy makers interested in how the management of ethnic diversity through democracy can enhance domestic and international security.

Review Quotes

?[A] useful overview of the relationship between democracy and interethnic relations. Academic collections, upper-division undergraduates and above.?-Choice

?[A] useful source of facts and ideas for students and researchers in ethnic conflicts.?-Nations and Nationalism

?[A] well-researched, carefully documented and balanced book....Democracy, Ethnic Diversity and Security in Post-Communist Europe makes an important contribution by challenging conventional statist and ethno-nationalist interpretations.?-www.apsanet.org

?[T]his work points to crucial problems in both political theory and political life and provides rich historical insights into the cases analyzed.?-Slavic Review

"ÝA¨ useful overview of the relationship between democracy and interethnic relations. Academic collections, upper-division undergraduates and above."-Choice

"ÝA¨ useful source of facts and ideas for students and researchers in ethnic conflicts."-Nations and Nationalism

"ÝA¨ well-researched, carefully documented and balanced book....Democracy, Ethnic Diversity and Security in Post-Communist Europe makes an important contribution by challenging conventional statist and ethno-nationalist interpretations."-www.apsanet.org

"ÝT¨his work points to crucial problems in both political theory and political life and provides rich historical insights into the cases analyzed."-Slavic Review

"[A] useful overview of the relationship between democracy and interethnic relations. Academic collections, upper-division undergraduates and above."-Choice

"[A] useful source of facts and ideas for students and researchers in ethnic conflicts."-Nations and Nationalism

"[T]his work points to crucial problems in both political theory and political life and provides rich historical insights into the cases analyzed."-Slavic Review

"[A] well-researched, carefully documented and balanced book....Democracy, Ethnic Diversity and Security in Post-Communist Europe makes an important contribution by challenging conventional statist and ethno-nationalist interpretations."-www.apsanet.org

About the Author

ANITA INDER SINGH is a Fellow at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Wolfson College, Oxford. Dr. Singh has been a Fellow at the Centre for International Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science and the International Forum for Democratic Studies, National Endowment for Democracy. Among her earlier publications are The Limits of British Influence: South Asia and the Anglo-American Relationship, 1947-56 and The Origins of the Partition of India, 1936-1947.