A major feature of the political development of Western democracies is the growth of indigenous, ethnic and national groups striving for political self-determination. This book analyses the institutional responses individual governments have made to these demands. Sub-State Nationalism provides a much needed categorization and genuinely comparative analysis of the political voice gained by sub-state national groups in multinational democratic communities. The book includes international case-studies drawn from Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the USA. It covers the empirical question of what voice these groups have, and how its institutions are structured, and the analytical question of how such knowledge contributes to our theoretical understanding of the politics of group rights and representation.

Contents:
Part I: Introduction
1. What Type of Political Voice?
2. Extent of Political Voice
Part II: Evidence from the Cases
3. Separate Bodies
4. Sub-Legislative Bodies and Representatives
Part III: Using the Matrix
5. Theory and Practice
6. Legitimacy
7. A Shopping Catalogue
Concluding Words