Cultural Autonomy, core values and Europe’s legacy: a response to Joshua A. Fishman

Abstract

In response to Joshua Fishman’s article, this paper examines the fate of the principle of national cultural autonomy (NCA), first theorized within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and later revived within contemporary Europe. It posits that NCA can be more easily implemented in cases where culture is built around a set of shared core values and cultural elements, including language. Yet, an exclusive focus on language may not lead to a vibrant pluralistic society where various forms of culture coexist and interact