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Globalization and Minority Nationalism

It used to be thought that processes associated with globalization would result in the erosion of minority nationalisms and the creation of national uniformity within nation-states. However, it is now clear that this has not happened. On the contrary, the global era has coincided with the emergence or re-emergence of a significant number of nationalisms, including Quebec in Canada; Scotland and Wales in the United Kingdom; the Basque Country, Catalonia, and Galicia in Spain; and Corsica in France.

Dr. John F. McGarry, Canada Research Chair in Nationalism and Democracy, has established a global reputation as a scholar in the field of nationalism. His research program has two broad but related goals. First, he will study the phenomenon of minority nationalism and its relationship to globalization in a number of contexts, particularly in the European context where this process has developed the furthest. Second, Dr. McGarry will research methods in which these minority nationalisms can be managed in ways that are compatible with fairness and democratic governance. This involves two broad areas of inquiry: the role that exogenous actors, particularly the new international institutions associated with globalization, can play in reducing conflict; and the role that endogenous democratic institutional design can play in reducing conflict.

A central aim of the Chair is to establish Queen's as a national centre for the graduate and post-doctoral study of minority nationalism and its management in the changing international environment. Different facets of Dr. McGarry's research will complement work being conducted in three interdisciplinary research centres at Queen's: the Centre for the Study of Democracy, the Centre for International Relations, and the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations.