Books

Zoopolis: A Political Theory of Animal Rights
with Sue Donaldson, Oxford University Press, 2011, 352 pages (OUP Listing)

Zoopolis offers a new agenda for the theory and practice of animal rights. Most animal rights theory focuses on the intrinsic capacities or interests of animals, and the moral status and moral rights that these intrinsic characteristics give rise to. Zoopolis shifts the debate from the realm of moral theory and applied ethics to the realm of political theory, focusing on the relational obligations that arise from the varied ways that animals relate to human societies and institutions. Building on recent developments in the political theory of group-differentiated citizenship, Zoopolis introduces us to the genuine "political animal". It argues that different types of animals stand in different relationships to human political communities. Domesticated animals should be seen as full members of human-animal mixed communities, participating in the cooperative project of shared citizenship. Wilderness animals, by contrast, form their own sovereign communities entitled to protection against colonization, invasion, domination and other threats to self-determination. `Liminal' animals who are wild but live in the midst of human settlement (such as crows or raccoons) should be seen as "denizens", resident of our societies, but not fully included in rights and responsibilities of citizenship. To all of these animals we owe respect for their basic inviolable rights. But we inevitably and appropriately have very different relations with them, with different types of obligations. Humans and animals are inextricably bound in a complex web of relationships, and Zoopolis offers an original and profoundly affirmative vision of how to ground this complex web of relations on principles of justice and compassion. Table of Contents and more...

Multicultural Odysseys: Navigating the New International Politics of Diversity
Oxford University Press, 2007. 374 pp. (OUP Listing)
Translated into: Greek, Spanish, Serbian.

We are currently witnessing the global diffusion of multiculturalism, both as a political discourse and as a set of international legal norms. States today are under increasing international scrutiny regarding their treatment of ethnocultural groups, and are expected to meet evolving international standards regarding the rights of indigenous peoples, national minorities, and immigrants. This phenomenon represents a veritable revolution in international relations, yet has received little public or scholarly attention. In this book, Kymlicka examines the factors underlying this change, and the challenges it raises. ...an exceptional book…an extremely important book for scholars and policy makers in the area of ethnic relations and multiculturalism.
Jim Friderers, International Migration and Integration

...the first of its kind in breadth and depth of research… a hugely important volume, and a readable one at that…Jenefer Curtis, Globe and MailAgainst those critics who argue that multiculturalism is a threat to universal human rights, Kymlicka shows that the sort of multiculturalism that is being globalized is inspired and constrained by the human rights revolution, and embedded in a framework of liberal-democratic values. However, the formulation and implementation of these international norms has generated a number of dilemmas. The policies adopted by international organizations to deal with ethnic diversity are driven by conflicting impulses. Pessimism about the destabilizing consequences of ethnic politics alternates with optimism about the prospects for a peaceful and democratic form of multicultural politics. The result is often an unstable mix of paralyzing fear and naive hope, rooted in conflicting imperatives of security and justice. Moreover, given the enormous differences in the characteristics of minorities (eg., their size, territorial concentration, cultural markers, historic relationship to the state), it is difficult to formulate standards that apply to all groups. Yet attempts to formulate more targeted norms that apply only to specific categories of minorities (eg., "indigenous peoples" or "national minorities") have proven controversial and unstable. Kymlicka examines these dilemmas as they have played out in both the theory and practice of international minority rights protection, including recent developments regarding the rights of national minorities in Europe, the rights of indigenous peoples in the Americas, as well as emerging debates on multiculturalism in Asia and Africa. Table of Contents and more...

Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction
Second Edition. Oxford University Press, 2002. 497 pp. (OUP Listing)
Translated into: Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Complex Chinese, Serbian, Portugese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Greek, Slovenian, Turkish, Hindi, Polish, Spanish, German.

This new edition of Will Kymlicka's best selling critical introduction to contemporary political theory has been fully revised to include many of the most significant developments in Anglo-American political philosophy in the last eleven years, particularly the new debates over issues of democratic citizenship and cultural pluralism. ...by far the best introduction to contemporary political philosophy currently available...Jonathan Wolff, Philosophical Books

...an excellent book, which combines profound and sharp criticism with an admirably clear style ..I know of no better survey of this field...William Stafford, Talking PoliticsThe book now includes two new chapters on citizenship theory and multiculturalism, in addition to updated chapters on utilitarianism, liberal egalitarianism, libertarianism, socialism, communitarianism, and feminism. The many thinkers discussed include G. A. Cohen, Ronald Dworkin, William Galston, Carol Gilligan, R. M. Hare, Chandran Kukathas, Catherine Mackinnon, David Miller, Philippe Van Parijs, Susan Okin, Robert Nozick, John Rawls, John Roemer, Michael Sandel, Charles Taylor, Michael Walzer, and Iris Young. Extended guides to further reading have been added at the end of each chapter, listing the most important books and articles on each school of thought, as well as relevant journals and websites. Covering some of the most advanced contemporary thinking, Will Kymlicka writes in an engaging, accessible, and non-technical way to ensure that the book is suitable for students approaching these difficult concepts for the first time. This second edition promises to build on the original edition's success as a key text in the teaching of modern political theory. Table of Contents and more...

Politics in the Vernacular: Nationalism, Multiculturalism and Citizenship
Oxford University Press, 2001. 383 pp. (OUP Listing)
Translated into: Romanian, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese.

This volume brings together eighteen of Will Kymlicka's recent essays on nationalism, multiculturalism and citizenship. These essays expand on the well-known theory of minority rights first developed in his Multicultural Citizenship. In these new essays, Kymlicka applies his theory to several pressing controversies regarding ethnic relations today, responds to some of his critics, and situates the debate over minority rights within the larger context of issues of nationalism, democratic citizenship and globalization. The essays are divided into four sections. The first section summarizes 'the state of the debate' over minority rights, and explains how the debate has evolved over the past 15 years. The second section explores the requirements of ethnocultural justice in a liberal democracy. Kymlicka argues that the protection of individual human rights is insufficient to ensure justice between ethnocultural groups, and that minority rights must supplement human rights. In particular, Kymlicka explores why some form of power-sharing (such as federalism) is often required to ensure justice for national minorities; why indigenous peoples have distinctive rights relating to economic development and environmental protection; and why we need to define fairer terms of integration for immigrants. The third section focuses on nationalism. ...essential reading for anyone interested in the minority rights debate...Derek Bell, Democratization

Few theorists redefine their field of knowledge. Will Kymlicka belongs to this very short and dignified list.Yael Tamir, EthicsKymlicka discusses some of the familiar misinterpretations and preconceptions which liberals have about nationalism, and defends the need to recognize that there are genuinely liberal forms of nationalism. He discusses the familiar (but misleading) contrast between 'cosmopolitanism' and 'nationalism', and discusses why liberals have gradually moved towards a position that combines elements of both. The final section explores how these increasing demands by ethnic and national groups for minority rights affect the practice of democratic citizenship. Kymlicka surveys recent theories of citizenship, and raises questions about how they are challenged by ethnocultural diversity. He emphasizes the importance of education as a site of conflict between demands for accommodating ethnocultural diversity and demands for promoting the common virtues and loyalties required by democratic citizenship. And, finally, he explores the extent to which 'globalization' requires us to think about citizenship in more global terms, or whether citizenship will remain tied to national institutions and political processes. Taken together, these essays make a major contribution to enriching our understanding of the theory and practice of ethnocultural relations in Western democracies. Table of Contents and more...

Finding Our Way: Rethinking Ethnocultural Relations in Canada
Oxford University Press, 1998. 220 pp. (OUP Listing)
Translated into: French.

Many people today believe that ethnocultural politics in Canada are spiralling out of control,...something of a page-turner, increasingly revealing a real drama under the unruffled surface of its moderation and objectivity... a source of endless good argument...Sam Ajzenstat, Books in Canada

Kymlicka's defense of multiculturalism is infinitely superior to any public defence of the policy by governments in more than a quarter of a century...Alan Cairns in Canadian Journal of Political Science with ever more groups in society making ever greater demands. Finding Our Way offers a more balanced view. Will Kymlicka argues that the difficulties involved in accommodating ethnocultural diversity are not insurmountable, and that Canadians have an impressive range of experience and resources on which to draw in addressing them. A crucial part of his argument is the distinction between the ethnic groups formed by immigration and the 'nations within' constituted by the Québécois and Aboriginal peoples, whose existence pre-dates that of the Canadian state. With respect to immigrant groups, he maintains that the 'multicultural' model of integration adopted by the federal government in 1971 has worked much better that is commonly thought, and can be adapted to new circumstances. The challenges of accommodating the self-government demands of national minorities are admittedly greater. Yet here too Kymlicka argues that we have lost confidence in our ability to work out fair and mutually beneficial solutions to ethnocultural conflicts, Finding Our Way makes an invaluable contribution to two critical national debates. Table of Contents and more...

States, Nations and Cultures: Spinoza Lectures
Van Gorcum Publishers, Amsterdam, 1997. 72 pp.
Translated into: Spanish, German, Ukrainian.

Excerpted as "Modernity and National Identity", in Shlomo Ben-Ami, Yoav Peled and Alberto Spektorowski (eds) Ethnic Challenges to the Modern Nation State (Macmillan, London, 2000), pp. 11-41. Re-issued in book-club edition by Büchergilde Gütenberg, Franfkurt, 2000, with new introduction by Micha Brumlik. 158 pp.

Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights
Oxford University Press, 1995. 280 pp. Reprinted in paperback 1996. (OUP Listing)
Translated into: Arabic, Spanish, Turkish, Italian, Japanese, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Korean, Ukranian, Swedish, French, Serbian, Norwegian, Macedonian, Indonesian, Bulgarian, Bosnian (Excerp).

The increasingly multicultural fabric of modern societies ...this is an immensely rich, informative, and above all clarifying work, written by a first-class philosophical mind, animated by a humane outlook. Charles Taylor, American Political Science Review

...exemplary in its commitment to bring liberal theory to bear on some of the most tormenting issues of our day...David Laitin, Political Theoryhas given rise to many new issues and conflicts, as ethnic and national minorities demand recognition and support for their cultural identity. This book presents a new conception of the rights and status of minority cultures. It argues that certain "collective rights" of minority cultures are consistent with liberal democratic principles, and that standard liberal objections to such rights can be answered. However, the author emphasizes that no single formula can be applied to all groups, and that the needs and aspirations of immigrants are very different from those of indigenous peoples and national minorities. He looks at issues such as language rights, group representation, religious education, federalism, and secession--issues central to an understanding of multicultural politics, but which have been neglected in contemporary liberal theory. Scholars of political theory and philosophy, as well as the general reader, will find this work to be the most comprehensive analysis to date of this crucial political issue. Table of Contents and more...

Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction (first edition)
Oxford University Press, 1990. International Student Edition, 1994. 321 pp.
Translated into: Spanish, Italian, German, Swedish, Polish, French, Japanese, Macedonian.

This important new book provides a critical introduction to the rapidly growing literature on theories of justice and community. Each chapter covers a major school of contemporary political thought--utilitarianism, liberal egalitarianism, libertarianism, Marxism, communitarianism, and feminism--while discussing the work of the most influential contemporary Anglo-American theorists, including G. A. Cohen, Ronald Dworkin, Carol Gilligan, R.M. Hare, Catherine Mackinnon, Robert Nozick, John Rawls, John Roemer, Michael Sandel, and Charles Taylor. ...a significant milestone in the renaissance of political philosophy...James Child, Philosophical QuarterlyBy showing how each of these thinkers interprets the idea of treating people as equals, Kymlicka highlights the key similarities and differences in their modes of thought. He demonstrates how viewing different theories in terms of this "egalitarian plateau" can help to clarify traditional philosophical disputes over the meaning of such concepts as rights, freedom, the common good, exploitation, and justice. Written in a lively, non-technical style that is accessible to students approaching the subject for the first time, this book will be useful and important reading in a wide variety of courses in political science, philosophy, and legal studies. Table of Contents and more...

Liberalism, Community and Culture
Oxford University Press, 1989. Reprinted in paperback 1991. 280 pp. (OUP Listing)
Translated into: Croatian, Russian, Macedonian, Chinese.

...essential reading for political and legal theorists and philosophers who are interested in real, urgent political issues...Susan Moller Okin, Political TheoryLiberalism is often described as a theory about the proper relationship between the individual and the state. But liberalism also contains a broader account of the relationship between the individual and society. Kymlicka here presents the liberal view about the nature and value of community culture in an unusually explicit and systematic way, and links it to more familiar liberal views on individual rights and state neutrality. Table of Contents and more...

Will Kymlicka, 2009