Minorities have found various degrees of recognition in democratic societies as a result of changes in the sociopolitical world context. From the perspective of democratic theory and practice, Williams presents an analysis of the participation of cultural minorities in European states. The sociopolitical context of each state and the minorities' relationships to their respective states are presented to make the argument that linguistic policy is part of public policy, and that the design and implementation of language policies needs to be cognizant of this context. If designed and implemented for the populations' sociopolitical and economic contexts, language policy will be more effective for those populations.
The first four chapters provide the political and social analytical framework. Changes in the nation-state as understood in 19th-century Europe have resulted in more participation for ethnic minorities. Globalization and European integration have challenged the idea of a nation-state, thereby challenging territorial relationships and opening up new forms of interregional interaction. Regional-level government has affected group equality issues and language rights, allowing minorities the space to seek recognition and rights. The switch from the 19th-century view of nation-state to a more participatory 20th-century view of democratic pluralism has created room for participatory democracy and the inclusion of different minority populations within the state (chap. 2). The lack of correspondence between the formal political system and different cultural identities within it, as well as attempts to maintain linguistic diversity as opposed to linguistic standardization, provide a contradiction within which other grievances may be mobilized. Inclusion is a key concept in building a European identity (chap. 3). Historically, four types of language policy have corresponded to different ways of understanding cultural diversity in the processes of state formation. Williams analyzes these policies and their relation to language maintenance or shift within the context of European, African, and Asian experience. He explains the conditions that allow minorities to achieve greater representation in education, public administration, and the economy (chap. 4).
The chapters that follow present cases in which populations have gained autonomy and recognition: the integration of minorities' languages concerns with reference to Euskadi, Catalonia, and Wales (chap. 5), official bilingualism in the UK, Ireland, and Canada (chap. 6), the experience of Scotland and Ireland with respect to language revival, recognition, and regulation (chap. 7), language policy in Wales as an example of a solution to questions surrounding the promotion of a minority language and the development of a bilingual society (chap. 8), and language planning and policy making in relation to the Québécois and Canadian experience (chap. 9).
In the final chapter Williams deals with the difficulties that language minorities encounter when advancing their claims for recognition and participation in multicultural states. Attention to data collection, language legislation, and management of language diversity is required for the formulation of public policies that reflect cultural pluralism and equality and that allow for democracy and freedom of action in a multicultural world order.
