Minority Language Rights: What Matters? A Comparison of Belgium and Canada

Abstract

Public Policy and Public Administration, M.A. CandidateIn federal societies, intergovernmental relations are necessarily a part of political life.But, as a student of intergovernmental relations (IGR), I want to understand, how much do intergovernmental relations really matter to particular policy outcomes? In order to assess this question, I have undertaken a study of minority language rights policies in two federal societies, Belgium and Canada (the Countries). In these circumstances, the above question is refined and can instead be stated as follows: what factors influence the content of minority language policies in the Countries?Again, coming from the perspective of an IGR student, I expected the answer to be that intergovernmental relations influence the content of minority language rights.However, my initial expectations have been disproved and I have discovered that minority language policies in the Countries are more susceptible to normative influences than institutional ones. More exactly, in this essay, I will argue that the dominant variables affecting the content of minority language rights in the Countries are the relative situation of language groups and the values underlying political culture (the Dominant Variables).Both my above-stated research question and hypothesis are not matters of simple assertion. Instead, my study is undertaken against a rich academic background, as the topic of minority language rights has been vigorously studied, and theories regarding influences and approaches abound. In my view, the interest in this subject is unsurprising