Publications
Multiculturalism - A Critical Introduction
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(2011) London and New York: Routledge (Contemporary Political Philosophy Series).
What is multiculturalism and what are the different theories used to justify it? Are multicultural policies a threat to liberty and equality? Can liberal democracies accommodate minority groups without sacrificing peace and stability? In this clear introduction to the subject, Michael Murphy explores these questions and critically assesses multiculturalism from the standpoint of political philosophy and political practice. The book explores the origins and contemporary usage of the concept of multiculturalism in the context of debates about citizenship, egalitarian justice and conflicts between individual and collective rights. The ideas of some of the most influential champions and critics of multiculturalism, including Will Kymlicka, Chandran Kukathas, Susan Okin and Brian Barry, are also clearly explained and evaluated. Key themes include the tension between multiculturalism and gender equality, cultural relativism and the limits of liberal toleration, and the impact of multicultural policies on social cohesion ethnic conflict. Murphy also surveys the legal practices and policies enacted to accommodate multiculturalism, drawing on examples from the Americas, Australasia, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Multiculturalism: A Critical Introduction is an ideal starting point for anyone coming to the topic for the first time as well as those already familiar with some of the key issues.
Prisons of Culture: Judicial Constructions of Indigenous Rights in Australia Canada and New Zealand
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Forthcoming, Canadian Bar Review
The article examines the manner in which High Courts in Australia, Canada and New Zealand define indigenous rights in relation to the traditional laws, customs, and practices of pre-contact indigenous societies. One of the great disappointments of this interpretive framework has been its deployment as a means of limiting or denying indigenous rights claims when the laws, customs or practices which are the subject of, or which govern the right in question, have been substantially changed, interrupted or disrupted – regardless of the source of the alteration in question. The article argues that this cultural continuity model of recognition is both unreasonable and discriminatory, and not a particularly effective means of structuring a jurisprudence of state-indigenous reconciliation.
Representing Indigenous Self-determination
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(2008) “Representing Indigenous Self-determination.” University of Toronto Law Journal LVIII(2): 185-216.
Discussions of indigenous self-determination have traditionally shown little enthusiasm for the idea of indigenous engagement in electoral politics – and for good reasons. Self-determination is usually understood as a means of gaining distance from, rather than inclusion in, state institutions. Legislative bodies are regarded with particular suspicion, even hostility, evoking memories of historic disenfranchisement or strategies of electoral inclusion linked to assimilation and the loss of indigenous rights. As a means of advancing indigenous objectives, moreover, electoral representation seems at best to offer only a token presence in institutions dominated by non-indigenous majorities, and at worst looks like a strategy for pacifying indigenous representatives while energy and resources are diverted away from the goal of indigenous self-government. In spite of these reservations, this article defends the view that electoral politics can be viewed as part of a broader strategy for advancing indigenous self-determination by targeting a variety of complementary access points to political power. The argument is grounded in a relational model of self-determination that emphasizes the importance of self government and the need for modes of shared decision making capable of governing the complex interdependence characteristic of state–indigenous relationships today. While it is important to acknowledge its many shortcomings, much of the opposition to the electoral route to indigenous self-determination is based on unrealistic expectations regarding what this form of political voice is capable of delivering. Hence, one of the objectives of this article is to clarify the various functions that indigenous electoral representation can and cannot be expected to perform.
Quebec and Canada in the New Century: New Dynamics, New Opportunities Canada: The State of the Federation 2005
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(2007) Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press
For three decades following the Quiet Revolution Quebec society was captivated by a discourse of sovereignty and Quebec nation-building that posed a fundamental challenge to the legitimacy and integrity of the Canadian federation. Since the 1995 referendum, however, the political intensity of the sovereignty discourse seems to have abated, and a different set of priorities has come to the fore in Quebec society – health care, education, employment and economic development, security, and the environment. These are the same issues that dominate the public agenda across the country. Canada: The State of the Federation 2005 explores the significance of this shift - is it a temporary period of calm in the regular ebb and flow of Quebec nationalism? Might the abatement of overt nationalist sentiment be attributed to the success of nationalist policies themselves, particularly those relating to the French language? Or perhaps we are witnessing a more fundamental transformation of Quebec society and politics, and an essential realignment of Quebec’s relationship with Canada and the rest of the world? These questions are at the core of the volume, which seeks to enhance our understanding of current trends in Quebec society and politics and their corresponding impact on the intergovernmental dynamics in the federation. The chapters canvass a wide range of themes including the political economy of Quebec nationalism, language policy and politics, the role of globalization and new social movements in shaping the provincial political agenda, provincial political party alignments, and the shifting contours of the sovereignty debate.
