National Minorities

The nation-state, a fairly recent invention, came into being in the early nineteenth century and over the course of two centuries, has been in constant decline, mainly due to globalization. Today, national homogeneity within a state is becoming a great rarity. Currently, of 193 independent states recognized in the contemporary world, over 170 are multinational (Flint and Taylor, 2007). Striking a balance between supporting the national majority in any society while simultaneously protecting any national minorities continues to be a significant challenge facing almost all states. The phenomenon that issues relating to the interests of a single person belonging to a national minority has become a focal point for discussion in society comes as

If states do not adequately protect the interests of their national minorities, they would create or increase intergroup hostility and consequently, a desire for independence leading to ultimate secession by minorities. History demonstrates that a biased towards majority group leads to increasing internal tensions, evolving into violent conflicts. Quebec (Zhang, 2017) is one such example. Anglophones’ social and historical status dominant group in Canada granted it an inherently superior socio-political status to that of French-speaking Quebecers – one with which French-speaking Quebecers cannot compete. Thus a Quebecer tended to be excluded from the power and decision-making centers of Canada (Zhang, 2017), affecting their equal participation in Canada’s future as whole. This contributed to the two provincial referendums on Quebec independence were held in 1980 and 1995. The foregoing consideration shows that the interests of minority groups should be recognized and protected to avoid the threat to national peace, security and the ultimate integrity of a

The case of Canada has shown that the protection of the interests of its national minorities of course benefits both dominant majority and minority groups. By far, the most important point is if national minority interests are neglected, this could no doubt provoke political instability. The focus on incorporating national minority interests stems not merely from a desire to create a peaceful and stable political environment. The contribution made by national minorities to cultural diversity and multiplicity of society require active protection. Though opinions could be more controversial for the case of social cohesion, in general the protection of the interests of national minorities achieves harmony rather than incites distrust. Overall, the interests of national minorities should be adequately