Conclusion

Abstract

We now wish to offer brief concluding remarks. What are the lessons to be learned from contributions to this volume? One conclusion is perhaps that there is no magic solution to the problems raised by multinational societies. At the very least, a lot more research must be done if we want to identify basic principles that ought to be applicable in all multinational states. Theories that have been devised for dealing with the challenges raised by multinational societies are certainly relevant, but they cannot provide in absolute terms answers to current uncertainties. In the social sciences, there is no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ solution to the political accommodation of many different peoples living within a single country. The problem is that ethnopolitical dynamics may vary considerably from one country to another. A model that is applicable in a certain type of society may not be workable elsewhere. In some cases, multinational federalism may be the best outcome, but in some other cases, peoples might be better off forming distinct (unitary or plural) nation states or else creating loose confederations of sovereign states.KeywordsMultinational SocietyGross National ProductSovereign StateComparative PoliticsNational MinorityThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.