KINPOL: Observatory on Kin-State Policies

Ethnopolitics Special Issue: Poland’s Kin-state Policies: Opportunities and Challenges, Forthcoming January 2021

Andreea Udrea, David Smith

In this article, we propose a new normative approach that recognises and responds more adequately to the quadratic political reality of kin-state – kin minorities relations. Our point of departure is the dual contention that home-states have the primary duty to achieve full and effective equality between their citizens, while accommodating fairly their internal cultural and linguistic diversity; and that kin-states have a legitimate interest in their co-ethnics abroad. Building on this foundation, we argue that kin-state engagement should complement home-states’ domestic commitments to cultural justice, in order to foster more effective minority protection. We conclude by outlining a concept of shared responsibility for minority protection between kin-state and home-states.

 

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First published: 29 July 2020