democracy and the minority question
In a liberal democracy based on equal suffrage, if political fault lines appear along ethnic or national identity lines, minorities have minor chance of gaining a role in government. Democracy, understood as majority rule, is not suitable for representing the interests of minority groups in decision-making. From a minority perspective democracy can be said to exist if, within a given state, equality between majority and minority groups is achieved alongside equality between individuals and if minority communities enjoy the same freedom as the majority, and if the members of the minority community decide on issues affecting the minority community, ensuring internal democracy. Prohibition of discrimination is not sufficient for protecting and ensuring the flourishing of the culture of the minority as a group. Power-sharing the institutions of consensual democracy – special rights and measures – can help to ensure effective equality for minorities. These may relate to the political system (e.g. territorial or personal autonomy), public administration (e.g. ethnic representation, minority language use) or the electoral system (e.g. preferential parliamentary mandate, lower electoral threshold).