European Policies toward ethnic minorities
Charles University in Prague
2015-2016
AQCI 3 – Vivegnis Betsy
Texts :
Luc Turgeon and Alain-G. Gagnon. The representation of ethnic and linguistic groups in the federal civil
service of Belgium and Canada. Canadian Public Administration, Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 565-583 (Dec. 2013)
Jaak Billiet, et al., National identity and Attitude Toward Foreigners in a Multinational State : a Replication.
Political Psychology, Oxford, Vol. 24, No. 2, 2003
Central Question : « the struggles of national groups have affected the politics of bureaucratic representation
of ethnic minorities in Belgium and Canada, and vice-versa. […] the politics of multinational representation in
Belgium limited the adoption of measures seeking to guarantee a greater representation of ethnic and racial
minorities. » (Turgeon and Gagnon, p. 565)
Argument : In this article, Luc Turgeon and Alain-G. Gagnon try to demonstrate that the institutional settings
influence the relationship between national or linguistic groups and the representation of ethnic minorities. The
authors study the politics of representative bureaucracy in multi-national countries and they try to analyze the
role of the civil service which can attenuate political conflicts. According to them, ‘the struggles of national
groups have affected the politics of bureaucratic representation of both racial and ethnic minorities’ (Turgeon
and Gagnon, p. 569). Turgeon and Gagnon make a comparison between Belgian and Canadian systems of
representation of ethnic minorities which are opposites by nature. While Belgium public administration
operates with the principle of ‘linguistic parity’ and had put in place a system of ratio (McRae) for the linguistic
representation, Canada had set up a bilingual system for the federal public administration and permitted on the
notion of individual merit and duality. The contrast lies in the limited number of ‘anti-discrimination initiative’
measures adopted in Belgium and in the elaborate mechanism to ensure the representation of ’visible
minorities’ in Canada. Between Consociationalism and Majoritarian politics. The authors maintain that
Belgian’s strategies adopted in order to improve representation of ethnic minorities were very rare and reflect
from the European (or republican) view. At a contrary, Cadana adopted a lot of measure to ensure a ‘fairer
representation of visible minorities’
Question : This article gives rise to an interesting question based on multinational states - which contain
national plurality - and the connection with the management of ethnic minorities. In a way, this kind of states
are exclusively composed of minorities. The question raised in this essay is therefore, to what extent the
political decision making system influence the management of ethnic minorities representation in multinational
states ?
Experiential Connection : I think it is very interested showing that struggles in Belgium were mostly based on
linguistic issues and this, such as nationalism, hides probably the real society debates during National General
Elections. Nowadays, Belgian Politicians still interested in the representation of their own community and the
question of other minorities is maybe forgotten. As Belgian citizen, I see the Consocialism as a game of poker
in which respective politicians protect the interests of its community.
Textual Connection : Specifics of multinational states are particular. This should influence the way citizens
identify themselves and, to go farther, the attitude they have toward foreigners. After having seen the
representation of the ethnic minorities in the political authority in Belgium, I was interested in the connection
between Belgian identity (Belgian, Flemish or Walloon) and citizens’ attitude toward foreigners. In its research,
Billiet tried to see if such a connection could be possible. According to her, ‘citizens with a strong subnational
identification tend to have a negative attitude toward foreigners ; those with a strong Belgian identification are
more positive’ (Billiet, p. 255). So, those who identify themselves with the identity of minority adopt a more
negative attidude toward foreigners.
Implications : I think that this text is very useful to understand the Belgian struggles nowadays between
Flemings and French-speakers. In a European scale, this could be interested to make connections between
Belgian state building and the European Integration. In deed, the European Union is an ‘unification’ of different
minorities and languages. According to the article, Canadian multiculturalism is a better way to represent
minorities rather then Belgium one.
European Policies toward ethnic minorities
Charles University in Prague
2015-2016
Department of Public and Social Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University
AQCI ASSESSMENT FORM
Student’s
name:
Name of
assessor:
Date:
Essay title:
Excel
lent
1) Is the chosen quotation central to the
author’s argument?
2) Has the main argument been fully
understood (including its ‘for’ and
‘against’ sides, if applicable)?
3a) Is the question raised
important/relevant/interesting?
3b) Has this question not been fully
answered in the text?
4) Is the experiential connection
relevant/interesting?
5a) Is the textual connection
relevant/interesting?
5b) Has it been cited properly?
5c) Has it been adequately explained
how the present text's argument
contrasts with, contradicts, confirms,
clarifies, or elaborates the other text's
argument or point?
6) Have the implications been well
understood, can they have a practical
impact for policy making?
7) Expression/Presentation
a) Are the style, grammar and general
use of English adequate?
b) Is the AQCI professionally presented?
Essay grade:
Further comments:
Go
od
Aver
age
Po
or
Not
accept
able
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