Justice and cultural diversity in Guatemala : an analysis of the rights of ethnic groups in Guatemala based on two liberal approaches to justice in multicultural democracies

Abstract

This thesis analyses the implications of taking cultural diversity into account when discussing the elaboration of a just political system and just policies in Guatemala. In 1996, a long lasting civil war came to its end in Guatemala, and since then the implications of cultural diversity for the organisation of the Guatemalan State has been at the centre stage of public debate. The demands and proposals of the Guatemalan indigenous movement and a peace accord that addresses the identity and rights of the indigenous peoples provide the framework for this debate.

This thesis examines the situation in Guatemala in light of contemporary normative political theory. Political liberalism, one of the major schools of contemporary political thought, is chosen as the basic normative framework for understanding the requirements of a just political system and just policies. Two different approaches for how cultural differences should be accommodated in democratic states are examined, and the implications of them for Guatemala are discussed. The two approaches or policies, both of which have a long history within liberal political theory, can be outlined as follows: non-discrimination requires that the state is neutral when it comes to the particular cultural identities of its citizens. According to this approach, the state should not seek to identify, protect, or promote any particular ethnic identity or culture.

Recognition, on the other hand, requires that the state gives explicit recognition to the particular cultural identities of its citizens, usually through a system of rights that differentiates between members of different ethnic groups. The Canadian philosopher Will Kymlicka s book, Multicultural Citizenship, is a comprehensive and highly acclaimed liberal defence of recognition , and it provides the theoretical focus throughout this thesis. However, a discussion of the characteristics of ethnicity, political participation, political autonomy, and concerns for social unity in Guatemala leads to a conclusion which diverges from Kymlicka s, and a third approach is suggested that may solve some of the dilemmas created by both non-discrimination and recognition for the achievement of justice.