Deliberative democracy, political legitimacy, and self-determination in multicultural societies / Jorge M. Valadez.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 367-374) and index.

1. Introduction -- 2. Deliberative Democracy -- 3. Epistemological Egalitarianism -- 4. The Function and Justification of Political Communities -- 5. The Nature of Self-Determination -- 6. Self-Determination for Accommodationist Groups -- 7. Self-Determination for Autonomist and Secessionist Groups -- 8. Property Rights in Multicultural Liberal Democracies -- 9. Rights to Mediated and Intellectual Property -- 10. Developing Democratic Citizenship in Multicultural Societies.

"Most foundational works in political philosophy have made fundamentally false and far-reaching assumptions concerning the culturally homogeneous character of the polity.

Deliberative Democracy, Political Legitimacy, and Self-Determination in Multicultural Societies provides a much-needed corrective to conventional accounts of the normative foundations of the state by reconceptualizing some of the fundamental issues in political theory form a perspective that recognizes the culturally pluralistic character of contemporary democracies. Among the issues considered are democratic deliberation in multicultural societies, the justification and function of political communities, the nature of self-determination, the justification of cultural rights, and the moral rationale for regional self-governance and secession.

This work is suitable for graduate and upper-division undergraduate courses in political philosophy and political science, as well as the lay reader interested in understanding the major sources of conflict and instability in democratic societies."--BOOK JACKET.