Minorities in the Open Society (1986) challenges optimistic assumptions regarding race relations in western nations, namely that social justice will prevail without much effort. It examines the interests behind public affirmations of commitment to integration, and presents a range of contemporary and historical material which illustrate the double-binds created for minorities by the dominant communities, who offer equality with one hand while obstructing it with the other. Individual members of minorities may be given the opportunity to achieve social prominence – but only to carry out special jobs on behalf of the majority.
Part 1. The Ambivalent State 1. Two Faces of Modern Nationalism 2. Serving Two Masters Part 2. Captive Leaders 3. Pierre Trudeau in Thrall to Canadian Integrity 4. The Red Tsar as a Pawn of Great Russian Chauvinism 5. JFK: Messenger for Second Reconstruction 6. Disraeli’s Tribute to British Imperialism Part 3. Torments in Captivity 7. The Treadmill of Ethnic Honour 8. On the Rack of Democratic Politics 9. Trials of Commitment Part 4. The Framework of Containment 10. The Power of Communalism 11. Minority Rights and National Strategies 12. Discrimination and the Liberal Social Order
Biography
Geoff Dench
