The Subject of Minority Rights New Categories and a Critique of Will Kymlicka’s Group-Differentiated Rights

Abstract

Will Kymlicka has attempted to harmonize the positions of liberals and communitarians with respect to minority rights. His distinction between group rights as external protections and internal restrictions sought to account for minority vindications without violating the liberal principle of autonomy. The objective of this article is twofold: first, to adopt a critical perspective by arguing that said distinction avoids the core of the discussion, that is, the issue of ownership of rights, and, second, to proposed a new classification of rights applicable to minorities that can serve as a model for future institutional designs.

Keywords

• W. Kymlicka
• communitarians
• minority rights
• liberals.