A Remedial Right

Abstract

Defenders of preferential ethno-cultural citizenship often combine claims about freedom of association, democratic self-definition, national solidarity and just inclusion. In this chapter I address arguments for preferential inclusion that rely primarily on claims about the duty of states to include ethno-cultural groups on grounds of remedial justice. I distinguish between claims of restitution of citizenship to former citizens who have been unjustly deprived of citizenship status in the past and claims of preferential admission to citizenship grounded in the duty to ensure the survival of the nation and the adequate protection of ethno-cultural minorities.