This book provides a new, comprehensive analytical framework for the examination of majority-minority relations in deeply divided societies. Hegemonic states in which one ethnic group completely dominates all others will continue to face enormous pressures to transform because they are out of step with the new, emerging, global governing code that emphasizes democracy and equal rights. Refusal to change would lead such states to lose international legitimacy and face increasing civil strife, instability, and violence. Through systematic theoretical analysis and careful empirical study of 14 key cases, Peleg examines the options open to polities with diverse populations. Challenging the conventional wisdom of many liberal democrats, Peleg maintains that the preferred solution for a traditional hegemonic polity is not merely to grant equal rights to individuals, but also to incorporate significant group rights via mega-constitutional transformation.

This book provides a new, comprehensive framework for the examination of majority-minority relations.

About the Author
Ilan Peleg is the Editor-in-Chief of Israel Studies Forum (since 2000), the author of Begin's Foreign Policy, 1977-1983: Israel's Turn to the Right (1987) and of Human Rights in the West Bank and Gaza: Legacy and Politics (1995, selected as Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 1996), and many other scholarly books and articles. His recent studies have appeared in journals including Nations and Nationalism, the Middle East Journal, and Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. Dr Peleg's expertise is in ethnic relations in deeply divided societies, Middle East politics, Israeli society, and US foreign policy, and he has spoken on these topics on CNN, Voice of America, and National Public Radio. Dr Peleg is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Government and Law at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Reviews
'This book contributes to our current understanding of democratisation in the context of ethnic politics. ... [it] is a book well worth reading and should be required of any student of ethnic politics and ethnic conflict.' John Ishiyama, Journal of Politics
'Peleg suggests some ways forward; his book is the product of exceptionally wide reading in support of careful analytical thinking, and it deserves attention.' Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics



Book Information
ISBN 9780521707329
Author Ilan Peleg
Format Paperback
Page Count 250
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 360g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 14mm